Articles

Why a cricket ball curves through the air — the whole science, in plain words. From the seam and the shine to reverse swing, the great swing bowlers, and the laws that police the ball.

1. 01Swing, Seam, Spin: Three Ways a Ball Deviates
2. 02The Anatomy of a Cricket Ball
3. 03Why the Ball Curves
4. 04The Outswinger and the Inswinger
5. 05The Cloud-Cover Question
6. 06Reverse Swing: The Science
7. 07Reverse Swing: The Outlaws
8. 08Contrast and Wobble
9. 09SG, Kookaburra and Dukes
10. 10Where and When It Swings
11. 11The Masters
12. 12The Dark Art and the Law

How England tried to save Test cricket by attacking it — the rescue, the idea behind it, the failures, and whether anyone else could ever copy it.

1. 01The Rescue
2. 02Why England Batted in Such a Hurry
3. 03Why It Broke Abroad
4. 04Leadership Without Fear
5. 05Can Anyone Else Do This?

The most important object in cricket, explained from the soil up — what it is, how it's made, and how it decides Test matches.

1. 01What a Pitch Actually Is
2. 02The Science of Soil
3. 03How a Pitch Is Made
4. 04A Field Guide to Pitch Types
5. 05Why Every Country Plays Differently
6. 06The Five-Day Life of a Pitch
7. 07Reading the Pitch, and the Toss
8. 08How the Pitch Decides the Match
9. 09Ratings, Doctoring and Famous Pitches