Forty Years of Pitches with a Rawalpindi Groundsman
A long conversation with head groundsman Riaz Ahmed on how a pitch is prepared, why it changes across five days, what captains ask for, and the day the roller broke before a Test.
How Reverse Swing Is Really Made
0:00 / 1:10
This episode is for members. Sign up free or log in to hear the whole episode.
Show notes
The art of the old ball
Reverse swing is misunderstood by most fans and half the commentators. Saad breaks down what actually makes an old ball move the wrong way, the roughness, the weight of sweat and polish on one side, and the arm speed needed to trigger it. He explains the fielding routines that protect the ball, the line between care and tampering, and why the dry grounds of Pakistan made it a national speciality.
- The aerodynamics in plain words
- Who looks after the ball and how
- The speed threshold and why not every bowler can do it
- Legal maintenance versus tampering
- Sarfraz Nawaz, Imran, Wasim, Waqar and the lineage
The weekend episode is a long conversation with a groundsman from Rawalpindi.
Transcript
Assalamu alaikum, welcome to Reverse Swing Diaries. I am Saad Farooqi, I bowled fast-medium for Karachi for eight seasons, and this is the show where we talk cricket the way players talk it in the dressing room, with the arguments left in. Today, the thing this show is named after. Reverse swing. Most people think it is magic, some people think it is cheating, and the truth is a mix of physics, patience and a fielding side that treats one half of the ball like a newborn. I will explain what the ball is actually doing in the air, how you get it there legally, and why it was Pakistani bowlers who turned it into an art. Later in the week I have a groundsman from Rawalpindi with forty years of stories. You are listening on Witspeak Podcasts. Let us get the old ball out.
Open as text