Aaron Briggs
@aab1871.bsky.social
Cricket data analyst and general sports fan, lapsed aerodynamicist.
Blog on the Science of Swing Bowling at https://swingdoctor.substack.com
Blog on the Science of Swing Bowling at https://swingdoctor.substack.com
Pinned
Aaron Briggs
@aab1871.bsky.social
· Nov 16
The Science of Swing | Aaron Briggs | Substack
A series of articles on the aerodynamics of swing bowling in cricket. Click to read The Science of Swing, a Substack publication. Launched a year ago.
open.substack.com
While everyone is new here, I might as well plug my blog on the science of bowling in cricket:
swingdoctor.substack.com
Come for slow motion videos of Jimmy Anderson's bowling, stay for discussion of how boundary layers affect reverse swing!
swingdoctor.substack.com
Come for slow motion videos of Jimmy Anderson's bowling, stay for discussion of how boundary layers affect reverse swing!
Not to defend England's performance with the bat, but this innings from Head shows you *exactly* how damaging an aggressive approach can be in a low scoring game.
No-one is criticising Head's shot selection because it's working. Execution, not intent, is the issue.
#Cricket #Ashes
No-one is criticising Head's shot selection because it's working. Execution, not intent, is the issue.
#Cricket #Ashes
November 22, 2025 at 8:46 AM
With the #Ashes round the corner, and some new followers as a result, it's time repost this from the 2023 Ashes:
swingdoctor.substack.com/p/2023-ashes...
Your guide to navigating talk of conditions, the 'new Kookaburra ball' and other theories on swing bowling!
#Cricket 🏏
swingdoctor.substack.com/p/2023-ashes...
Your guide to navigating talk of conditions, the 'new Kookaburra ball' and other theories on swing bowling!
#Cricket 🏏
2023 Ashes Preview - A guide to watching swing bowling
Things to look and listen for in the next few weeks while watching the best series in cricket!
swingdoctor.substack.com
November 20, 2025 at 11:36 AM
With the #Ashes round the corner, and some new followers as a result, it's time repost this from the 2023 Ashes:
swingdoctor.substack.com/p/2023-ashes...
Your guide to navigating talk of conditions, the 'new Kookaburra ball' and other theories on swing bowling!
#Cricket 🏏
swingdoctor.substack.com/p/2023-ashes...
Your guide to navigating talk of conditions, the 'new Kookaburra ball' and other theories on swing bowling!
#Cricket 🏏
Reposted by Aaron Briggs
Boosting these as The Ashes fast approach. 2 cricket starter packs including official accounts, journalists, bloggers, enthusiastic amateurs and passionate followers.
We don't like cricket, we love it!
Check out the Cricket feed too, use the 🏏 to help separate from the insect or #Cricket #TheAshes
We don't like cricket, we love it!
Check out the Cricket feed too, use the 🏏 to help separate from the insect or #Cricket #TheAshes
Cricket Starter Packs are now live.
Part 1 - the original
go.bsky.app/Uq6tVD6
Part 2 - the follow-on
go.bsky.app/12FSHyh
You don't have to be a member to follow
Part 1 - the original
go.bsky.app/Uq6tVD6
Part 2 - the follow-on
go.bsky.app/12FSHyh
You don't have to be a member to follow
November 19, 2025 at 9:03 PM
Really enjoyed chatting to The Athletic on the (lack of) impact of 'overhead conditions' in cricket:
www.nytimes.com/athletic/675...
A pleasure meeting @nallum.bsky.social too, who approached the problem from a different perspective, but firmly joins the 'Look Down, Not Up' brigade
#cricket
www.nytimes.com/athletic/675...
A pleasure meeting @nallum.bsky.social too, who approached the problem from a different perspective, but firmly joins the 'Look Down, Not Up' brigade
#cricket
The science of swing bowling: Do overhead conditions really make a difference?
Traditional thinking dictates that the cricket ball will swing under cloud cover, but data suggests the reality is rather different
www.nytimes.com
November 8, 2025 at 9:06 AM
Really enjoyed chatting to The Athletic on the (lack of) impact of 'overhead conditions' in cricket:
www.nytimes.com/athletic/675...
A pleasure meeting @nallum.bsky.social too, who approached the problem from a different perspective, but firmly joins the 'Look Down, Not Up' brigade
#cricket
www.nytimes.com/athletic/675...
A pleasure meeting @nallum.bsky.social too, who approached the problem from a different perspective, but firmly joins the 'Look Down, Not Up' brigade
#cricket
Reposted by Aaron Briggs
Linsey Smith out in the middle for England at No.10, which makes her the first left-handed batter to face a ball at a World Cup for England Women since Lydia Greenway in 2013.
By ending 5*, she becomes England's fifth-highest left-handed run-scorer at Women's World Cups, ever.
By ending 5*, she becomes England's fifth-highest left-handed run-scorer at Women's World Cups, ever.
October 11, 2025 at 1:12 PM
Linsey Smith out in the middle for England at No.10, which makes her the first left-handed batter to face a ball at a World Cup for England Women since Lydia Greenway in 2013.
By ending 5*, she becomes England's fifth-highest left-handed run-scorer at Women's World Cups, ever.
By ending 5*, she becomes England's fifth-highest left-handed run-scorer at Women's World Cups, ever.
Reposted by Aaron Briggs
The organisation of this entire Women's Cricket World Cup cycle has been a farce from start to finish, but because no-one cares about cricket administration, it has largely passed completely under the radar.
August 22, 2025 at 11:53 AM
The organisation of this entire Women's Cricket World Cup cycle has been a farce from start to finish, but because no-one cares about cricket administration, it has largely passed completely under the radar.
A dark, overcast Day 1 of a Test match? Time to repost my blog on cloud cover:
swingdoctor.substack.com/p/look-up-no...
#ENGvsIND #cricket
swingdoctor.substack.com/p/look-up-no...
#ENGvsIND #cricket
'Look Up, Not Down' - The Cost of Trusting Clichés
A discussion of overhead conditions, inefficient decision making, and the advantages of breaking away from status quo thinking
swingdoctor.substack.com
July 31, 2025 at 9:41 AM
A dark, overcast Day 1 of a Test match? Time to repost my blog on cloud cover:
swingdoctor.substack.com/p/look-up-no...
#ENGvsIND #cricket
swingdoctor.substack.com/p/look-up-no...
#ENGvsIND #cricket
Some late-stage Test match thoughts from me on some of the cold adages in cricket, why we shouldn't always trust them, and how to actually think about 'overheads':
swingdoctor.substack.com/p/look-up-no...
#cricket #ENGvsIND
swingdoctor.substack.com/p/look-up-no...
#cricket #ENGvsIND
'Look Up, Not Down' - The Cost of Trusting Clichés
A discussion of overhead conditions, inefficient decision making, and the advantages of breaking away from status quo thinking
swingdoctor.substack.com
July 27, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Some late-stage Test match thoughts from me on some of the cold adages in cricket, why we shouldn't always trust them, and how to actually think about 'overheads':
swingdoctor.substack.com/p/look-up-no...
#cricket #ENGvsIND
swingdoctor.substack.com/p/look-up-no...
#cricket #ENGvsIND
Here's a repost of my thread on drift and how it works too, for anyone who missed it the first time!
#cricket #ENGvsIND
#cricket #ENGvsIND
My #cricket science posts never got much traction on the old platform, so let's see how they do here!
I recently wrote about drift for spinners on my blog, and how it isn't all about the revs on the ball. Watch these two Rashid deliveries below and how they move in the air.
🧵1/4
I recently wrote about drift for spinners on my blog, and how it isn't all about the revs on the ball. Watch these two Rashid deliveries below and how they move in the air.
🧵1/4
July 26, 2025 at 10:51 AM
With all the talk in this Test match about Washington Sundar's drift, it's a good time to reshare my blog on the science of drift, and how it actually works:
swingdoctor.substack.com/p/the-scienc...
TL;DR: It's more about seam position, and less about revs, than you likely think
#cricket #ENGvsIND
swingdoctor.substack.com/p/the-scienc...
TL;DR: It's more about seam position, and less about revs, than you likely think
#cricket #ENGvsIND
The Science of Drift and Dip
How much do we really know about how spinners move the ball in the air?
swingdoctor.substack.com
July 26, 2025 at 10:48 AM
With all the talk in this Test match about Washington Sundar's drift, it's a good time to reshare my blog on the science of drift, and how it actually works:
swingdoctor.substack.com/p/the-scienc...
TL;DR: It's more about seam position, and less about revs, than you likely think
#cricket #ENGvsIND
swingdoctor.substack.com/p/the-scienc...
TL;DR: It's more about seam position, and less about revs, than you likely think
#cricket #ENGvsIND
I love to hear Ponting compare Archer to Steyn in terms of lowering his pace to move the new ball, then cranking it up later in an innings.
It's a rare skill to be able to do both, and often gets lost when people see Jofra bowling 93mph+. He's more than just an out-an-out pacer.
#ENGvsIND #cricket
It's a rare skill to be able to do both, and often gets lost when people see Jofra bowling 93mph+. He's more than just an out-an-out pacer.
#ENGvsIND #cricket
July 24, 2025 at 10:48 AM
Really important piece from @hganjoo.bsky.social on what makes Bumrah not only exceptional, but also so *different*.
A truly unique bowler, who is joy to watch, even when he is playing against your team!
#cricket #ENGvIND
www.espncricinfo.com/story/how-bu...
A truly unique bowler, who is joy to watch, even when he is playing against your team!
#cricket #ENGvIND
www.espncricinfo.com/story/how-bu...
The magician's wrist: how Bumrah does what he does
The snap he imparts produces large amounts of backspin - which makes the ball to do things other bowlers can't make it do
www.espncricinfo.com
July 21, 2025 at 8:25 AM
Really important piece from @hganjoo.bsky.social on what makes Bumrah not only exceptional, but also so *different*.
A truly unique bowler, who is joy to watch, even when he is playing against your team!
#cricket #ENGvIND
www.espncricinfo.com/story/how-bu...
A truly unique bowler, who is joy to watch, even when he is playing against your team!
#cricket #ENGvIND
www.espncricinfo.com/story/how-bu...
*Tuning into the Boxing Day Test*
Commentator: 'And England have chosen the Milk & Cookies approach again, but sadly, there are no presents to be found, here on Day 1'
Me, a Christmas analyst: 'Not again lads...'
Commentator: 'And England have chosen the Milk & Cookies approach again, but sadly, there are no presents to be found, here on Day 1'
Me, a Christmas analyst: 'Not again lads...'
If we can believe in Father Christmas and that makes Christmas better why can’t we make cricket more fun by believing in overheads?
July 10, 2025 at 7:42 AM
*Tuning into the Boxing Day Test*
Commentator: 'And England have chosen the Milk & Cookies approach again, but sadly, there are no presents to be found, here on Day 1'
Me, a Christmas analyst: 'Not again lads...'
Commentator: 'And England have chosen the Milk & Cookies approach again, but sadly, there are no presents to be found, here on Day 1'
Me, a Christmas analyst: 'Not again lads...'
Imagine a world where the myth of the clouds affecting swing never existed, and then think how this quotation would sound.
(Shubman Gill referenced the 'overheads' too, so it's not just Stokes)
#cricket
(Shubman Gill referenced the 'overheads' too, so it's not just Stokes)
#cricket
"It's not rocket science"
Bowling first has been Ben Stokes' preferred decision in home Tests, but will England opt to bat at Lord's if the toss goes their way? bit.ly/44n2ksv #ENGvIND
Bowling first has been Ben Stokes' preferred decision in home Tests, but will England opt to bat at Lord's if the toss goes their way? bit.ly/44n2ksv #ENGvIND
July 10, 2025 at 7:14 AM
Imagine a world where the myth of the clouds affecting swing never existed, and then think how this quotation would sound.
(Shubman Gill referenced the 'overheads' too, so it's not just Stokes)
#cricket
(Shubman Gill referenced the 'overheads' too, so it's not just Stokes)
#cricket
The negativity today around this Test is so baffling.
Apparently Stokes 'got away with' bowling first in Leeds and is now getting his comeuppance.
Can we not accept that it's okay to go against conventional wisdom, and fail, if it's the price for multiple incredible victories?
#cricket #EndvInd
Apparently Stokes 'got away with' bowling first in Leeds and is now getting his comeuppance.
Can we not accept that it's okay to go against conventional wisdom, and fail, if it's the price for multiple incredible victories?
#cricket #EndvInd
July 4, 2025 at 11:27 AM
Now is the time in the Test where we see how aggressively India are going to approach this series.
Traditionally, teams have batted to avoid a loss in the 3rd innings, but Gill has a chance to leave all results possible (not that Eng will see the draw).
A fun choice for a young captain!
#EngVsInd
Traditionally, teams have batted to avoid a loss in the 3rd innings, but Gill has a chance to leave all results possible (not that Eng will see the draw).
A fun choice for a young captain!
#EngVsInd
June 23, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Now is the time in the Test where we see how aggressively India are going to approach this series.
Traditionally, teams have batted to avoid a loss in the 3rd innings, but Gill has a chance to leave all results possible (not that Eng will see the draw).
A fun choice for a young captain!
#EngVsInd
Traditionally, teams have batted to avoid a loss in the 3rd innings, but Gill has a chance to leave all results possible (not that Eng will see the draw).
A fun choice for a young captain!
#EngVsInd
For all the talk of the wobble-ball, spin has been taking wickets at an extremely high rate too. The last 3 years of Test have the lowest spin SR of any year since 1932.
Teams are leaning into home conditions for both bowling types and it has made batting very difficult in Tests.
#cricket #WTC
Teams are leaning into home conditions for both bowling types and it has made batting very difficult in Tests.
#cricket #WTC
June 13, 2025 at 4:27 PM
The first day of the English Test summer is always one of my favourites every year, really excited to see how England's bowlers perform in this game.
It's also been too long since I've heard discussion of 'overheads', 'getting the lacquer off' and 'late swing'. Always good to stay grounded.
It's also been too long since I've heard discussion of 'overheads', 'getting the lacquer off' and 'late swing'. Always good to stay grounded.
May 22, 2025 at 8:32 AM
The first day of the English Test summer is always one of my favourites every year, really excited to see how England's bowlers perform in this game.
It's also been too long since I've heard discussion of 'overheads', 'getting the lacquer off' and 'late swing'. Always good to stay grounded.
It's also been too long since I've heard discussion of 'overheads', 'getting the lacquer off' and 'late swing'. Always good to stay grounded.
In non-cricket news, Reading band The Amazons (featuring my brother on bass) have released their new album, and it is amazing!
Go buy/download/listen to it everywhere, you won't regret it
open.spotify.com/album/6PXuxQ...
Go buy/download/listen to it everywhere, you won't regret it
open.spotify.com/album/6PXuxQ...
21st Century Fiction
The Amazons · Album · 2025 · 13 songs
open.spotify.com
May 12, 2025 at 12:19 PM
In non-cricket news, Reading band The Amazons (featuring my brother on bass) have released their new album, and it is amazing!
Go buy/download/listen to it everywhere, you won't regret it
open.spotify.com/album/6PXuxQ...
Go buy/download/listen to it everywhere, you won't regret it
open.spotify.com/album/6PXuxQ...
Reposted by Aaron Briggs
Rougher squares at #IPL2025 have been a key factor in the increase in reverse swing, not just the reintroduction of saliva to shine the ball.
Sidharth Monga explains: bit.ly/4jYmcqK
Sidharth Monga explains: bit.ly/4jYmcqK
May 6, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Rougher squares at #IPL2025 have been a key factor in the increase in reverse swing, not just the reintroduction of saliva to shine the ball.
Sidharth Monga explains: bit.ly/4jYmcqK
Sidharth Monga explains: bit.ly/4jYmcqK
Really nice to be asked to comment on old ball swing in the IPL for this great, in-depth piece.
Data and science can help challenge the myths that pervade the cricket narrative, even when there is little evidence supporting them.
#cricket #ipl
www.espncricinfo.com/story/ipl-20...
Data and science can help challenge the myths that pervade the cricket narrative, even when there is little evidence supporting them.
#cricket #ipl
www.espncricinfo.com/story/ipl-20...
Saliva may not be the only reason we're seeing reverse swing this IPL
The rougher squares this year have fulfilled the precondition for reverse swing in a span as short as 20 overs
www.espncricinfo.com
May 6, 2025 at 11:15 AM
Really nice to be asked to comment on old ball swing in the IPL for this great, in-depth piece.
Data and science can help challenge the myths that pervade the cricket narrative, even when there is little evidence supporting them.
#cricket #ipl
www.espncricinfo.com/story/ipl-20...
Data and science can help challenge the myths that pervade the cricket narrative, even when there is little evidence supporting them.
#cricket #ipl
www.espncricinfo.com/story/ipl-20...