when you watch a cricket player catch the cricket ball, you will notice that he allows his hands to trace the path of the ball as it reaches him

what is the physics principles behind this?

and baseball catching is different, as the catcher moves towards the ball often with his hand extended in front of him. what's the reason for the difference?

can someone please explain?thx

The cricket gloves are not padded heavily, are they? Whereas baseball gloves significantly reduce the impact of the oncoming ball.

How does it do this: Hint..force is spread by padding, padding absorbs energy, and, padding allows the ball to slow to a stop over time. Force=momentumball/time

thankyou!

In cricket, when a player catches the ball, they allow their hands to trace the path of the ball as it reaches them. This technique is influenced by a few physics principles.

Firstly, it has to do with the concept of force and momentum. When a cricket ball is hit towards the fielder, it carries a certain amount of momentum. By allowing the hands to trace the path of the ball, the fielder is essentially providing a larger area for the ball's momentum to be spread over. This helps reduce the impact force on their hands.

Moreover, cricket gloves are not heavily padded like baseball gloves. This means that the gloves do not provide as much cushioning or absorption of energy from the ball. Therefore, it is important for the fielder to "give" with the ball and allow their hands to follow its trajectory, reducing the impact force on their hands and preventing injury.

On the other hand, in baseball, catchers wear heavily padded gloves that can significantly reduce the impact force of the oncoming ball. The catcher often moves towards the ball with their hand extended in front of them because the padding in the baseball glove is designed to absorb the energy of the ball over a longer period of time. By moving towards the ball and extending their hand, catchers can use the padding to slow down the ball's momentum and bring it to a stop more gradually, thereby reducing the force experienced and preventing injury to their hand.

To summarize, the difference between cricket and baseball catching techniques involves the amount of padding in the gloves and the approach to reducing the impact force. In cricket, with less padding, fielders allow their hands to trace the path of the ball to spread its momentum over a larger area. In baseball, catchers rely on heavily padded gloves and move towards the ball to gradually absorb and slow down the ball's momentum.