Cricket matches under day-night conditions are associated with shifts in humidity and moisture. However, most cricket teams’ captains have not displayed awareness that choosing to bowl first in a day-night game – because dew is expected later – carries specific risks.
Fans of the sport are aware of the ‘dew factor’: water vapour condenses on the ground in the evening, creating a slippery surface. As a result, spinners have a harder time getting the ball to grip and fast bowlers have more trouble producing swing and seam. Fielding on a slippery ground is also obviously harder.
As a result of these changes in ground conditions, batters appear to have an advantage under dew, as they face less swing, less spin, and less lateral movement of the ball. (Sometimes, fast bowlers release the ball at a certain angle into its flight path. As a result, air flow is turbulent on one side of the ball and streamlined on the other. This causes a sudden pressure difference that causes the ball to deviate from its path in a motion called its swing.) Batters also expect the ball to skid off the bat under dew, and expect opportunities to maintain a higher run rate with less effort.
