Fast Bowlers Ready To Outwit Batsmen With Reverse Swing

Typically, swing bowlers use the new ball to deviate it in the air to outwit batsmen.

But the Pakistan fast bowlers, considered to be the pioneers of the skill, stunned the cricket world in the 1980s by swinging the old ball in the reverse direction.

Armed with the weapon, popularly called as reverse swing, the Pakistan pace duo of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis became deadlier with the old ball.

Since then, fast bowlers have gone to great lengths to master the art but not everyone has succeeded.

However, while most teams will be keen to let their spinners loose on rival batsmen during the six-week long World Cup, India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was convinced matches could be won and lost depending on the success of reverse swing.

"It's a tournament where reverse swing will come into action and where fast bowlers will contribute in the powerplay and the slog overs," Dhoni, who led his team to a resounding 87-run win over fellow co-hosts Bangladesh in their opening match of the 2011 event, said.

"If the opposition does not have wickets in hand and the fast bowlers can utilise the conditions when the ball gets old, then it can be tricky."