A cricket ball is made of cork that bears rows of stitched elevations through its centre known as the seam. In professional cricket, the ball is hurled from a distance of 22 yards at a pace which varies between 70 to 160 km/hr.
Bowlers pitch the ball on a surface that is a combination of dust, grass, and dry soil. Not every pitch has all the three elements necessarily, making the playing conditions variant and challenging.
The new cork ball taken during the start of the innings is shiny, allowing the pace bowlers to swing the ball in the earlier overs. The art of swing bowling is technically sound, where the he preliminary step of execution requires the bowler to hold the seam in an upright position. This means that the bowler will grip the ball on the seam with their index and middle fingers.
As the ball gets older and starts becoming rough, the amount of swing imparted on the ball becomes negligent. In the middle overs, the spin bowlers take charge by pitching the ball in certain areas of the pitch such that the ball’s roughness adds to the amount of spin imparted.
While the batters are faced with such variety from the bowling side, not every match would see the pace bowlers get the swing they deserve. In some scenarios, the absence of wind or a flat pitch diminish the amount of swing on the ball. This is when bowlers opt for a cross seam position.
The cross seam position is one where instead of gripping the ball vertically with respect to the seam, the bowlers grip the ball such that the seam position is horizontal. The ball is released such that eitherone of the halves of the ball or the seam strikes the pitch. If the seam hits the pitch the ball is likely to bounce higher then its usual trajectory. If any other part of the ball makes contact with the pitch, then because of its smoother surface and less friction with the pitch, it skids towards the batter faster while keeping low.
Both variations of cross seam bowling are effective in confusing the batter or forcing them to mistime their shots. It is important to note that the terms wobble seam and scrambled seam must not be confused with cross seam. The former two terms are explained in different explainers on this website.
