When a cricketer lowers his hands while catching a ball, the force on his hands:

1. The change in momentum of the ball is fixed by its mass and velocity at impact. 2. Impulse equals force times time: F·t = Δp. 3. Lowering the hands while catching increases the duration of impact (t). 4. For a fixed Δp, increasing t reduces the average force F. 5. So the force felt by the hands decreases when the cricketer lowers his hands. _Source: Selina Concise Physics ICSE Class 9, Ch 3 'Laws of Motion' (aplustopper.com extract)_