Swing and reverse swing are two types of swing bowling that are used to serve a ball in a game of cricket.
A used ball has two sides: a worn-out side, which is also called the shined part, and another side that might not be as worn out.
There is a huge pressure variation due to the frictional force difference that might arise between the air and the shined as well as the less worn out part.
The ball usually tends to move towards the higher pressure side, which is the shining part, and this is what makes all the difference.
The batsman would never know towards which side the ball would turn and therefore would be confused as to where to swing the bat.
Everything depends on the wrist moments of the player, who has to join forces with the air movement and ensure that their swing is as per it.
If the batsman is a newbie and has no idea about the different fast bowling types, then any swinger can easily catch the batsman off guard and take off a wicket.
But if an experienced batsman is faced off against a swinger, then he/she can read the movements of the bowler and try and get a run.
References
- https://www.nature.com/articles/303787a0
- https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1243/0954406011520508