Is a baseball like knuckleball possible in cricket?

Abstract

The knuckleball is considered to be one of the hardest pitches to hit in baseball due to its seemingly unpredictable motion. It has gained popularity in cricket in recent times. It is shown that the delivery referred to as knuckleball in cricket, at present, does not exhibit a zigzag motion and is, therefore, a misnomer. We propose a delivery in cricket that is associated with an erratic trajectory similar to the knuckleball pitch in baseball. Force measurement experiments in a wind tunnel on a new cricket ball in various orientations of the seam to the incoming flow and at different Reynolds number are carried out. The results are utilized to estimate the trajectory of knuckleball deliveries. The key parameters are the seam angle, speed and spin rate of the ball at the time of its release. Their effect on the trajectory is studied in detail. The optimal combination of these parameters that result in a knuckleball, which is likely hard for the batter to play, is identified.