Talk:Flight (cricket)

Merger

This page should be merged with spin bowling. For one thing, its not really a big enough topic to warrant its own page, and for another thing, the current information is almost completely incorrect. Flight describes everything that happens between a ball leaving the bowlers hand and bouncing. "loopy" flight as described here is just one small example of the various techniques employed to confound a batsman. The article doesn't even distinguish between a higher trajectory caused by a reduction in bowling speed or by topspin. Py0alb (talk) 10:40, 12 January 2011 (UTC)

I'm not sure on this one. Technically, flight applies to all kinds of bowling, although it's mostly associated with spin. No argument on the article needing improvement, but that's no argument for merging. --Dweller (talk) 11:46, 12 January 2011 (UTC)

What would your definition of "flight" be? Mine would say something like "A skill employed by bowlers to deceive a batsman as to the exact location that a ball will pitch. The two methods used to achieve this are a change of velocity and a variation in the angle of spin on the ball." That pretty much covers it. I have never personally heard the term flight used in any context other than spin bowling.

Heres a definition from a coaching site I use:

"To understand how to deceive the batsman in the flight we need to know what it is.

A ball with flight is about more than 'tossing it up', it needs to be spun with force above the eyeline of the batsman giving it that effect of hanging in the air.

The intention is to make the ball seem like doing one thing when in fact it does something different enough to deceive: The mythical combination of flight and guile.

Bob Woolmer and Tim Noakes identify several different ways of achieving this:

Top spin. Where the ball hangs in the air before dropping sharply. Back spin. Where the ball skids through lower and fuller than expected, like Shane Warne's flipper. Side spin. Where the ball drifts in the air laterally more akin to swing bowling. "

Py0alb (talk) 15:37, 12 January 2011 (UTC)

I've heard flight mentioned in the context of medium pace bowling, too, but perhaps the commentators used the term erroneously? I wonder if we can find some definitions from reliable sources - I'd guess they'll deal exclusively with spin, in which case you're right. But I'm not sure the value in merging this article, unlike those on the various varieties of spin, which are better off accumulated in one place, there is no equivalent of flight in other sports and it's not a variety of spin bowling. It can do with improvement though. --Dweller (talk) 15:57, 12 January 2011 (UTC)