Alan Smith says bounce of the Jabulani ball is sure to baffle all

It seems to happen every time. A new ball is designed for the World Cup and, within days, every goalkeeper starts to have a good moan. Too light. Swerves in the air too much. Not fair on keepers.

Worrying: Alan Smith tries to control the new World Cup ball

Well, it has happened again, only this time the complaints are more concerted than ever. None of England's goalkeepers are fans of the Jabulani, which ironically translates as 'happy' or 'rejoice'.

Neither word could be attached to Brazil's Julio Cesar, who was positively scathing in describing it as "a ball you'd buy in the supermarket". Worryingly, that is just one criticism of many from a list that includes comments from Iker Casillas of Spain and France's Hugo Lloris.

As if to confirm the fear, Joe Cole predicted that keepers would be "petrified" of what this ball could get up to.

That did it. I had to get hold of one to test it myself, just to make sure these players were not exaggerating. So, thanks to the England camp, I took a couple across to one of the pitches at their plush training complex at Royal Bafokeng.

And it did not take long to understand all the fuss. No matter how I hit it, the white and gold Jabulani kept doing the oddest of things, both in the air and on the ground.

I tried a curler, for example, with the inside of my right foot, and instead of the ball bending gradually to the left as you would expect, it somehow defied the laws of physics by momentarily veering to the right halfway to goal. Was I seeing things here? Just to make sure, I tried it again and, amazingly, the ball reacted in the same way.

Yet the opposite happened when I struck it with my instep on the half-volley. It was heading narrowly wide when, a few yards from the target, it swerved violently to the left to find the top corner. Blimey, this is good, I thought – a tracking device implanted in the ball that finds the net however you hit it. I would have scored 50 a season with that kind of help.

But would it work with volleys? Well, yes and no. Launching the ball out of my hands, the ball tended to dip up and down rather than move from side to side.

As for a powerful thump off the deck with my laces, the ball flew forward in a fairly straight line before oscillating wildly in flight like an excited fly.

Up until now, all these deviations added up to bad news for keepers and promising news for players trying their luck. But then something happened that widened the implications. Standing by the goal, my photographer retrieved a ball and side-footed it back along the floor. And even though it was not travelling with any real pace it still managed to swerve on its short journey.

That means every single player in this World Cup is going to have to concentrate hard when receiving a pass, even if it is a simple, 10-yard job. As for a raking 40-yard effort, some people are going to end up looking stupid because they can not control the approaching missile.

It might even be the same with judging the bounce, because the England lads have witnessed some extraordinary reactions when this ball rears up in front of them in training. At the moment, they can not make up their minds if the type of grass used in Bafokeng is responsible or if it is this darned ball playing tricks again.

Brazil's Luis Fabiano highlighted the basic point, revealing that "all of a sudden it changes trajectory on you. I think it's supernatural."

Cole, in slight contrast, was loath to make a big thing of the issue when quizzed. "First of all, it's the same for everyone," he said diplomatically before admitting wistfully that the unpredictable nature of these balls took "a bit of the skill out the game".

Now that would be a travesty if proved correct in a tournament when the world's best players deserve the best equipment.

For their part, Adidas defend their corner with pride. For a start, they claim the Jabulani is the roundest ball ever made and, as for all these complaints about its erratic movement, they blame the high altitude, as if the ball had not been specifically designed for use in this country.

Their publicity blurb, in fact, has proved unwittingly prophetic when it talks about a 'grip and groove' texture that provides 'unmatched flight characteristics'.

Well, you can't argue with that. This ball behaves like no other I have ever kicked in my life.