If you’ve ever watched a batter get beaten by a ball that curved, jagged or dipped at the last moment, you’ve seen one of cricket’s great mysteries.

Whether it’s a Mitchell Starc inswinger, a Josh Hazlewood delivery that nips off the seam, or a Nathan Lyon off-spinner turning sharply, each comes down to physics and biomechanics working together.

Bowlers make the ball move in three ways: swing, seam and spin.

Each challenges batters differently, and scientists are still learning how bowlers achieve them.

Swing bowling is the sideways curve of the ball in flight.

It’s most common for fast or medium-pace bowlers, though some spinners swing the new ball in shorter formats.

For batters, swing is one of the hardest balls to face. Despite coaches urging them to “watch the ball”, it often curves too quickly.

Batters rely on cues from the bowler’s action and early ball flight to predict where it will land – any deviation throws off that prediction.

There are three main types of swing bowling: conventional, contrast and reverse swing.

Conventional swing happens with a new, shiny ball.

When the seam is angled slightly, it makes one side of the ball’s surface rougher than the other. As the air hits the raised seam, it becomes turbulent on that side,........

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