Pushing of the back foot to drive through.

Auzayr

New Member
Pushing of the back foot to drive through.

Hi,
Please I really want this question answered. On page 48 in Fast Bowlers Bible mentions bowling on the front foot it talks about pushing off the back foot to drive through. Quote " To get maximum power and pace through the crease you will need to drive the hips through. this can only take place when you push off the back foot. So the back foot begins the drive of the action." Could you please explain to me what you mean by push off the back foot? Would prefer an answer with pictures or a video to help.

please could you kindly answer my question with some detail .


Thanks
 
Re: Pushing of the back foot to drive through.

as a spinner pushing off the backfoot for me is when my body goes forward and back heel is raised on my toes, i think its the same for a pacer
 
Re: Pushing of the back foot to drive through.

Basically, think of the action broken down into little segments. Now, you've landed on the front foot and have the bowling arm raised and going through the action. You're back foot will come through at the same time but the more push you can get from it, the more drive/power you'll get in order to get you through your action, push the hips through and get through the crease.

Look at the photo attached of Brett Lee. See his back foot, now, the more push he can get from it, then the more power can be driven with the use of the hips.

It's hard to explain, so I'll try to get some more detail.
 
Re: Pushing of the back foot to drive through.

Yeh but also I see bowlers like brett lee, stuart broad, dale steyn and much more really fast bowlers start thier drive even before landing their front foot. Have a look in the pics below and you will know what I mean. How do bowlers do this because I cannnot, can you tell me how to do this.
 
Re: Pushing of the back foot to drive through.

The best way is to break the action down into segments. It's easier to analyse parts than the whole event.
 
Re: Pushing of the back foot to drive through.

yeh but how can I get this hip drive before the front foot is planted?
 
Re: Pushing of the back foot to drive through.

yeh but how can I get this hip drive before the front foot is planted?
 
Re: Pushing of the back foot to drive through.

I wouldn't be an expert or anything, but from reading the book I took it to be a way of explaining how it feels to make sure your back leg isn't slowing you down or dragging you off-line. It's a problem I had in my bowling that after the back foot contact I more or less forgot about my back leg meaning that it was trailing well behind the rest of the action resulting in a loss of pace and a good few balls down the leg side (as I couldn't line up my shoulders and hips with the batsman in time). I was kinda getting "stuck" in the crease.

So basically after landing, try to have a sense that the back leg is still striving towards the target as opposed to just being dragged along behind the rest of the body. As for videos and pictures - you've provided some of them yourself :) I don't know if you can document how something feels in pictures though. I suppose if you're trying to add this in your action you should follow Ian Pont's advice - start by walking through the action without a ball to try and get a feel for the stages of it, then gradually add pace and eventually the ball!

What do other people think about this? Is the hip drive something that is fundamental to the action, or is it one of those 1% things that can give you that extra edge over someone else that has all the basics mastered? And what do you think Auzayr - how have you been trying to add this to your action, and has it had any benefits for you so far?
 
Re: Pushing of the back foot to drive through.

edladd pretty much nailed it.

the whole point is to ensure that you're back leg isn't simply an accessory to the action.

think of it in a similar way to how you would think of your front arm/ non bowling arm: You need to really pull that non-bowling arm through, rather that just leave it as guide. By the same token, you need to push through with your back leg to maximise momentum, rather than letting it just slide through.

there's no need to over complicate it, or to think too much about the mechanics of it all. simply look to maintain momentum as you push through the crease.

and a note to everyone: i've seen it happen a few times lately - while the pictures are great, do not worry hugely about emulating Brett Lee's action. He is an incredibly, incredibly strong and more than anything, flexible athlete. His body is capable of withstanding some absolutely ridiculous forces than none of us here are conditioned for.
 
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