The dew factor in cricket is the word we hear most often every T20 game. Especially during the day and night matches during the winter season, the teams playing the match are worried about the bowling in the second half of the game. Because the dew factor in cricket bothered the players’ natural performance.
Bowlers, in particular, pray for the god to escape from this dew factor in cricket. Because when there is dew, the team that batted first loses no matter how many runs they put on the scoreboard. So the dew factor in cricket can potentially change the match’s outcome as a 12th player of the game. Simply dew is a match-winner for the chasing side. But what exactly is this dew factor in cricket? Why do bowlers struggle to bowl in these dew conditions?
What Is Dew Factor In Cricket
At night, the air particles at ground level turn into water droplets when they touch the outfield due to the temperature difference in the atmosphere. Accordingly, our Earth’s surface mainly absorbs heat during the day and releases it out at night. With this, the heat from the cold air-ground at night turns into water droplets from the cold vapor stage and falls on the ground.
Simply, the ice air particles on the ground level convert into water droplets by heat from the Earth’s surface and form a wet layer on the surface. This is what we call dew. Now, this is dew falls during a cricket match and wet the whole field, known as the dew factor in cricket.
How Dew Factor Effects Cricket Pitch
Dew has a lot of influence on the cricket pitch. In general, as the match progresses, cracks on the pitch open lightly further. That slows down the pitch, and the ball doesn’t come onto the bat comfortably. So the pitch favors the bowlers in the second half of the game, and chasing seems complicated.
But if the dew falls on the same pitch, cracks do not open much as the match progresses. The pitch will stay fresh even in the second half of the game. With that, the ball comes onto the bat very smoothly. The pitch supports the chasing team better than the defending team. But still, this is a slight advantage for the chasing team. Because some bowlers use their skill to bowl regardless of the pitch. However, in the daytime, their bowling skills will work. But no matter how big the skill, the bowler will definitely get in trouble when there is dew because it affects the bowler’s grip.
Also Read – What Is Two Paced Wicket In Cricket? Explained With 1 Best Example
How Dew Factor Effect The Bowlers
Spinners are the primary victims of this dew factor in cricket. Because as we said above, the outfield gets wet due to the dew. If the batsman hits the ball into that outfield, the wetness will stick to the ball. Especially the whole seam around the ball becomes soft, preventing any bowler from gripping the ball firmly. We often see that defending team members try to dry down the ball with a towel because of this dew factor in cricket. Spinners always have difficulty in obtaining the grip when the wet ball is released.
At last, the spin bowler won’t spin or revolute the ball while bowling, leading them into safe mode. They mostly try to bowl wicket-to-wicket without attempting any variations. With this, the batsman reads the bowler well and defends his wicket by batting effortlessly.
In the case of pace bowlers, their situation also is the same. They intended to try the one variation, but the outcome will transpire differently. Slower balls, in particular, are tough to execute. Also, they didn’t get a natural swing from the ball because the moisture on the outfield makes the ball look shiny on both sides. So getting a swing out of a damp ball is almost unimaginable.
Like spin bowlers, pacers also try to bowl in safe areas without trying many variations. Primarily they intended to bowl cross-seam delivers to get some awkward bounce from the pitch. But their tricks do not work efficiently because an international batsman can easily predict the bounce on the dew-filled wicket. So it becomes challenging to bowl after 9 pm when the dew falls on the ground. The bowling-friendly pitch in the first innings will turn into a batting-friendly surface in the second half because of this dew factor in cricket. But if the same dew is not laid, the pitch will be slower as the match progresses, and it will help for defending team.
Hence a single factor called dew would turn the match around. However, there are two ways to escape from this dew factor in cricket. One is to take the field if you win the toss, and if you do not, you have to score more than 200 runs when you bat first. Because huge scores always put pressure on the chasing side as they lead to play mistimed shots to lass their wickets. So if either of these happens, then we can conquer the 12th player named dew factor in cricket.