The ability to get the ball to swing is precious. It depends on the position of the bowler’s wrist and also on the atmospheric conditions. Even if the wicket is flat with no help for bowlers, a good swing bowler can take wickets if the conditions are overcast. Some countries rely on pace bowling while others rely on spin to bowl out the opposition. However, an area of the game that is often neglected is swing bowling.

With the amount of cricket that is played these days, out and out fast bowlers have become a rare commodity. Moreover most top batsmen cannot be beaten just by sheer pace. Therefore bowlers with the ability to swing the ball are worth their weight in gold.

In a country like India, where the climatic conditions and general physique of the natives is not conducive for fast bowling, swing bowlers become even more vital to the team’s cause. Bowlers like Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohamed Shami, and Umesh Yadav all have the ability to swing the ball. This is what the bowling coaches should focus on when unearthing bowling talent and grooming them to reach the next level.

Even bowlers who had express pace like Brett Lee, Shoaib Akhtar and Mitchell Johnson were more effective when they found some movement. The two best fast bowlers of the last generation in Dale Steyn and James Anderson are both prodigious swingers of the ball. Neither of them is express even though Steyn is capable of serious pace on occasions.

In the sub-continent, the wickets are never going to be very quick but there will be always be reverse swing. Therefore a good swing bowler will always have a better chance of succeeding than a bowler who relies just on pace alone.