In the blink of an eye
The ability to successfully negotiate a 90mph delivery separates a good batsman from lesser mortals
Kanishkaa Balachandran
25-Feb-2013
The ability to successfully negotiate a 90mph delivery separates a good batsman from lesser mortals. Few sports can match cricket's need for super-fast, unconscious reaction. The Economist looks at the reflexes required by a batsman to counter fast bowling.
Whether you are Virender Sehwag or a village-green clubber, it will take you around 200 milliseconds to react to the ball. The best batsmen are set apart by what happens in the next 200 milliseconds, which the book calls the preparation stage. This means deciding on the shot, moving into the correct position and swinging the bat. (The third stage, hitting the ball, accounts for the last 100 milliseconds.) And here the margin between us and them is miniscule.
Kanishkaa Balachandran is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo