Introduction
Shining a ball implies keeping one side of the seam rough and polishing the other one. Pacers mostly do this to achieve swing which can help them take wickets. Still, it is only effective done on a new ball since with time, no matter how hard the bowler tries, both the sides of the seam get roughened up. How To Shine A Cricket Ball? Those of you who follow cricket already know that keeping the ball smooth on one side and rough on the other gives leverage to bowlers in taking wickets.
Methods Of Shining Cricket Ball
Here are a few methods that can be used to shine a cricket ball.
- Saliva: One of the most widely used methods. Players take their saliva and apply it to the ball surface which they wish to polish. Though some might argue that it is unhygienic but it works quite well. However, during covid-19,the use of saliva is banned. Due to which players are facing issues while shining the ball because it is the most common method of shining the cricket ball.
- Sweat: Sweat too can be used to shine the ball. And given that pacers run a lot, they sweat as a result.
- Rubbing It Against Jersey: While this method can be used on its own, it can be combined with the two that we mentioned above. As in, you can apply sweat or saliva and then rub the ball surface on your jersey.
Why Does Shining The Ball Help The Bowler?
Keeping one side of the ball shining and the other rough makes the airflow around the ball such that the ball moves in the air. This makes it difficult for the batsman on the crease to choose a proper shot. But, in some cases, the ball hits the bat’s edge and the wicketkeeper catches and dismissed the batsman
Ball-Tampering
This is something which you as a cricketer and a bowler need to stay away from. Many well-known cricketers have faced serious action because they were involved in the ball-tampering scandal. Making use of foreign substances or things to polish the ball has been declared illegal by the ICC. And getting involved in doing it isn’t a minor offence.
