How, just how?

[Boris]

How, just how?

Some of you may have seen my bowling videos from a little while ago, if not they are below. Liz helped my on my way to bowling even faster and even better and her advice has also resulted in something strange, but good happening.

Bowling Action 1

Bowling Action 2

I don't have time to post another up now, but my action hasn't changed a great deal. I now push my hips around a little more as I go through the action and have increased the height of the delivery arm slightly, but not much so it is still a slingy action. I now get some quite serious pace out of it without hurting my back as much and have developed swing. I cannot see from my own action, but all batsman that have faced me in the nets say I have a stock delivery of either a straight ball or an outswinger, which is expected of a slingy action, but then occasionally I now get INSWING to the right hander, and quite violently. I have worked a bit and can now bowl them almost at will, with about a 50% chance that they will swing enough to be any good, which is definitely enough for me.

Two questions:

How the hell do I get swing from an action as slingy as that with my wrist position at 45 degrees like the rest of my arm?

And how the hell am I getting INSWING from that when straight over the top arm bowlers I know can never get inswing?

It really doesn't make sense to me but I'm grateful. Just like some insight as to how things are happening like that, perhaps being able to control them more.

If possible I would like to get a closer video of the arm at training next Thursday.

Many, many thanks go to Liz for making this possible. Seriously, if you were willing to give some stranger like me your bank account details I would deposit all of my money in there for the next four years. That's how grateful I am.

 

[Rampant]

Re: How, just how?

Wrist position comes into it as well, and how you cock the wrist as you release the ball.

 

[Boris]

Re: How, just how?

Well from the video and internal feedback I can gather that as I go through the first movements of the action just before my arm begins the wind-up, I have my wrist cocked so the ball is almost touching my forearm. I like this because it stops me holding the ball too far up in my hand and is a habitual position in my action. From there my wrist straightens back suddenly as I push forward with my arm and pushes forward and towards the batsman, and comes through just before the ball does, with my wrist forward and a flick as the ball comes through as the release. I don't have my wrist so that the seam can be placed straight up and down the pitch as it is done traditionally, it either comes out scrambled or straight but on an angle that you would expect of an off spinners.

I can't see how the swing comes from that.

 

[Jim2109]

Re: How, just how?

im only speculating, but swing doesnt have to be created by the conventional methods, especially when you dont use a conventional bowling action. with a cocked wrist slingy method like yours you could be putting revolutions on the ball, and in much the same way as a spin bowler utilises different angles of rotation to create effects on the ball in flight (e.g. drift) your bowling could be doing a similar thing. when im bowling leg spin i can generate quite a lot of drift, even at relatively slow speeds (sub-40mph) because i spin the ball hard. the faster i bowl it the more if drifts. if you remove the revs so that it spins less, but increase the speed you could still get the ball to move in flight. which could well be what you are doing.

depending on how the seam gets released you could then also generate conventional swing. i dont buy into the theory that the wrist position is the be all and end all of conventional swing bowling. the wrist position is only important because of where it positions the seam, and the consistency and stability of the seam that it creates. there is more than 1 way to skin a rabbit.

ive hypotehsised on the wrist spin thread in the past about the behaviour of a ball in flight based on rotation, seam position, speed, etc. on a typical leg spin delivery the rotations on the ball create drift from off to leg, but the seam position promotes swing in the opposite direction, but the rotations on the ball counteract the swing as they create more force, so the ball moves from off to leg. if you remove the rotations though then it would swing the opposite way, in theory. if you are bowling with some element of rotation on the ball then it could be that a very slight alteration in your wrist varies this and tips the balance either way. one ball swings in, the other drifts away, or vice versa.

its only speculation though. it could be just as likely that you are creating completely conventional swing. as said, wrist position isnt the critical factor, seam position is. you could bend your wrist backwards and hold the ball with your thumb and your pinky finger, and if you had the seam in the right place youd still get swing.

 

[Boris]

Re: How, just how?

Thanks for you time Jim.

I get a lot of drift with my offies, which funnily enough is what I am, not a pace bowler, and I get that with the flick of my wrist. My wrist is quite flexible too so I guess that could be quite possible.

This is the seam position approximately as I release the ball looking from behind. As I tend to pull down and across the ball gets a bit of a scrambled seam, but still rotating on that axis. In this way it is spinning in a simlar fashion to a leg spinner, not the same seam position but the axis of spin is only a few degrees different. Since both sides are still predominantly shown there could be conventional swing there as well. I'm thinking a mixture maybe because I do flick my wrist quite hard.

I am trying to get a close up video of my wrist as it releases the ball, but no guarantees on that.

 

[Liz Ward]

Re: How, just how?

Many, many thanks go to Liz for making this possible.

O Boris, it is truly a pleasure; especially with such nice feedback ... but remember... all the work was yours!

I am of the same school of thought as Jim but would add that conditions also play a part; when you have movement, it can accentuate it... but you have to have the movement in the first place. So, if you can do some things one day and not the next, don't be disheartened... it's not you.

It is great that you are trying to analyse the good aspects but don't over engineer it. Relax into the movement and it will come to you [probably in the middle of the night during a deep sleep ]. As long as you keep yourself safe, go with the flow and enjoy it for a while.

 

[Boris]

Re: How, just how?

You didn't see anything concerning about my action health wise did you either? I tend to still have soreness down the right side of my back and in my shoulder.

 

[Liz Ward]

Re: How, just how?

It would be great if I could see another video [to include your feet]. You do challenge your right side but I suspect you have made subtle changes to your action which I would like to see before I comment.

Otherwise, just try to think a little taller.

 

[Boris]

Re: How, just how?

Well hopefully if we have the camera up and running at training I might be able to get one up by this weekend. If not, I will try and get a bit of a run through in my backyard again.