Computational Fluid Dynamics Study of Cricket Ball Aerodynamics Associated With Swing

Abstract

The lateral deviation of the cricket ball, often named as ‘Swing’, is one of the most complex phenomena in the sport of cricket. As the ball proceeds through the flight path, the interaction between the ball surface and flow field causes a deviation for the ball from the initial path, resulting in a modified curved path. Several experimental tests have been conducted to study the parameters which cause the ‘swing’ phenomenon, in order to improve and optimize the performance of the cricket ball. A seam is a governing factor for the magnitude of swing. This is attributed to the considerable difference in the pressure acting on the seam and non-seam side of the ball which, consequently, produces the side force. In this work, a computational fluid dynamic modeling for the cricket ball in the flow field has been carried out. The Flow field at 0° and 20° seam angles and four bowling velocities of 5, 25, 29, and 36.5 m/s have been computationally analyzed. The pressure difference across the ball at 0° seam angle has no significant effect for producing any observable swing. The maximum pressure difference was achieved at the velocity of 29 m/s, and, generally, the speed above 30 m/s does not affect the swing. As the flow velocity increases above 30m/s, asymmetric pressure distribution can be noticed but with a negligible effect as in the lower velocities. Thus, the optimum swing can be obtained only at velocities below 30 m/s.