Brett,
Reverse swing is a type of bowling pattern where a ball diverts later when it reaches the batsmen. The movement is more over towards the batsmen as the shinning part makes the movement of the ball and not like the early new ball which moves in the air both ways.

Reverse swing is harder to control as if not bowled in right place then it can be bonus for the batsman who spots the shine and comes to know where the ball is going after pitching. The later swing helps the bowler in many ways as it can be bowled towards the batsmen by making the ball come in or go out as one side of the ball is a shiny side and the other side is kept rough (untouched and let it get roughs it travels while it is hit).

This is type of bowling which was excelled by the Pakistanis, bowlers like W.Akram and W.Younis have excelled in this type of bowling, and Pakistan has always had the pleasure of creating good bowlers one after another.

Answered by Jateen Gutta , an ibibo Master, at 12:41 PM on October 15, 2008

When the ball is worn out, it starts swinging in the opposite direction of the direction in which it used to swing. The ball swings in the direction which is shining more. If the ball is delivered with a great speed, it is very difficult for a batsman to face such kind of swing....

Answered by Chinmay , an ibibo Citizen, at 3:27 PM on October 03, 2008

Well Brett, Reverse Swing was in earlier time considered a cricket myth that was heard but never seen until Pakistani Numero Uno's brought it to fore front with Sarfraz Nawaz founding it and then Imraan Khan perfecting it, it became one of the most sought after art in cricket's fast bowling department.

In itself it is the art of reversing an old ball due to the assymetry of the balls two side, which was considered to be possible with only new and polished bowl, but here a fairly old bowl is also made to do tricks. Normal swing occurs mostly when the ball is fairly new. As it wears more, the aerodynamics of the asymmetry change and it is more difficult to extract a large amount of swing.

When the ball becomes very old—around 40 or more overs old, it can begin to swing towards the polished side rather than the rough side. This is known as reverse swing In essence, both sides have turbulent flow, but here the seam causes the airflow to separate earlier on one side. The result is always a swing to the side with the later separation, so the swing is away from the seam.

Answered by Shreshtha , an ibibo Master, at 12:01 AM on October 03, 2008

the art of swinging the ball contrary to how a conventionally swung ball moves in the air; i.e. movement away from the rough side. Many theories as to how this may occur. Usually happens with an older ball than conventional swing, but not always, atmospheric conditions and bowler skill also being important factors. It has been espoused that once the 'rough' side becomes extremely rough a similar effect to that of a dimpled golf ball may cause it to move more quickly through the air than the 'shiny' side of the ball

Answered by ani , an ibibo Advisor, at 8:14 PM on October 02, 2008

Once the ball becomes older and more worn, it will begin to move in the opposite direction to where it would usually swing with no great change in the bowling grip.

Answered by Chetan , an ibibo Citizen, at 2:45 PM on October 02, 2008

REVERSE SWING is the art of bowling in which the bowls swings to the opposite side of its natural swinging side.The PAKISTANIES r the masters in it.Reverse swing is possible only with the old ball.It generally takes about 75-80 overs for a ball 2 reverse swing.For reverse swing the ball must be prepared from the beginning,from the point when the ball stops swinging its natural way, then the natural/shinning side should be left alone and the and the side should kept in good condition and preserved.

Answered by abhinav , an ibibo Citizen, at 1:15 PM on October 02, 2008

The art of swinging the ball contrary to how a conventionally swung ball moves in the air; i.e. movement away from the rough side. Many theories as to how this may occur. Usually happens with an older ball than conventional swing, but not always, atmospheric conditions and bowler skill also being important factors. It has been espoused that once the 'rough' side becomes extremely rough a similar effect to that of a dimpled golf ball may cause it to move more quickly through the air than the 'shiny' side of the ball.
A very fast reverse swing is difficult to play.

Answered by Beekay , an ibibo Advisor, at 11:46 AM on October 02, 2008

When an old ball, well scuffed, is bowled and swings sharply, in the opposite direction that a bll normally does. ie , when bowled the ball moves through the air in the opposite direction that it normally would with a new ball. Quite often bowlers who are good athis are accused of ball tampering!!! Quite difficult to bowl, and difficult to face!

Answered by Satyakam , an ibibo Master, at 9:17 PM on October 01, 2008