Several Fast Bowling Questions

[FBI]

Several Fast Bowling Questions

Originally posted on CW but will do here too, hope some of you can help, I feel I have posted enough advice to get a little help in return:

As you may or may not know, I am obsessed with fast bowling. Sadly, I do not quite have the correct technique to match my passion and although I am quite good, I am hardly spectacular.

1. I am primarily a left arm over the wicket medium pace bowler but have a problem with dragging the ball down the leg side. On a normal day it can be one or two times an over and on a bad day it can be almost once a ball. It is very annoying and means I have to simply put the ball on the spot and sacrifice any sort of swing or pace. Does anyone have any action related tips to help? Even getting my bowling arm higher does not help because it means the ball travels in a straight line from where I release it which is down the leg side. I am extremely good at bowling to left handers (infact it usually takes me about 5 balls to dismiss one) but I cannot bowl to right handers well because of this reason.

2. The second problem is my swing. When I swing the ball, the swing is absolutely massive but it goes away from the right hander and I cannot find a way to get it to come in whilst keeping the line correct. Swinging it away is all well and good but does not get me enough wickets and I feel the inswinger from left arm over can be deadly as Mitchell Johnson showed Sachin Tendulkar today. Holding it with the seam pointing towards fine leg and the fingers on either side of the seam seems to result in my wrist wrapping around the ball and it going short and, you guessed it, down the leg side.

3. The third problem is my pace and unlike the other two, I feel I know the proble,s, just not how to solve them. I am about 53-58mph and I feel I need to be about 10mph quicker.

I feel that my jump is the main cause of my lack of pace. I seem to jump up and not up and forwards like I should. Any conscious attempt to make the jump attack the stumps more results in either me jumping several hundreds of feet into the air or I do jump forwards but the action is rushed and the pace is slower than before.

Also, after my release, my back goes a bit too far to the leg side (I know most bowlers have this as part of the hip drive but mine is a bit too much), are there any drills or ways to help correct this or is practice the only method.

My wrist is also not behind the ball, should I try and twist it anti clockwise and practice with that to get it behind the correct line? I currently have it straight.

I am also unable to bowl a bouncer, when I try and bang the ball in, the ball is length or a tad shorter and it just hits the pitch harder which at my pace means it sits up to be whacked. Any tips on how to bowl a bouncer, I have seen bowlers a tad quicker than my trouble good batsman with bouncers, how is it done?

That concludes my post for now, I may be obsessive, but you can't say I'm not thorough

Any help to either of the three points would be greatly appriciated as I am extremely keen to dramatically improve my bowling in this preseason in order to get on my school's tour to Australia in two years and to get into my club first team soon too. Although some of the staff members may know that I aspire to be a journalist, my primary goal is to be a successful cricketer, but that dream seems further and further away each day I bowl like I do now.

 

[mas cambios]

Re: Several Fast Bowling Questions

Manee, great post and I'll try to help where I can but I will also put it across to Peter as you cover many areas of pace bowling.

I'll have a good read through and address the points I can in a little bit.

 

[FBI]

Re: Several Fast Bowling Questions

Manee, great post and I'll try to help where I can but I will also put it across to Peter as you cover many areas of pace bowling.

I'll have a good read through and address the points I can in a little bit.

Thank you

 

[FBI]

Re: Several Fast Bowling Questions

I have seen numerous books claiming that angled run ups for left handers are rubbish but as my paint 'diagram' demonstates, going in a straight line as left arm over does not work.

 

[Simbazz]

Re: Several Fast Bowling Questions

I agree Manee, although lets not rubbish away the straight run up :laugh:

I myself do both, when the ball is swinging away (This is when i dabble in medium pace) i keep a straight run up, but when its doing ************ all i go for that angled run up, which i find gets you a lot closer to the stumps

Its whatever you're happy with i suppose.

 

[mas cambios]

Re: Several Fast Bowling Questions

I have seen numerous books claiming that angled run ups for left handers are rubbish but as my paint 'diagram' demonstates, going in a straight line as left arm over does not work.

It is one of the things that apparently prevents left arm bowlers from being out and out speed merchants.

The exceptions to the rule such as Wasim Akram generated pace from the shoulder rather than the run up - in theory he would still retain 95% of his pace coming off 6 or 7 paces.

 

[FBI]

Re: Several Fast Bowling Questions

It is one of the things that apparently prevents left arm bowlers from being out and out speed merchants.

Which is? Running straight or angled the run ups or the whole issue?

 

[FBI]

Re: Several Fast Bowling Questions

It is one of the things that apparently prevents left arm bowlers from being out and out speed merchants.

The exceptions to the rule such as Wasim Akram generated pace from the shoulder rather than the run up - in theory he would still retain 95% of his pace coming off 6 or 7 paces.

Was Wasim ever that quick? I have seen clips of him in 2001 and he was low to mid 80s.

 

[mas cambios]

Re: Several Fast Bowling Questions

Was Wasim ever that quick? I have seen clips of him in 2001 and he was low to mid 80s.

I think he could get it up there to around 90mph but wasn't able to sustain it. Obviously during the early years of his career speeds guns weren't so prevalent so you had to rely a lot on word of mouth.

All I know from watching him is that he was quicker than most.

 

[mas cambios]

Re: Several Fast Bowling Questions

Originally posted on CW but will do here too, hope some of you can help, I feel I have posted enough advice to get a little help in return:

As you may or may not know, I am obsessed with fast bowling. Sadly, I do not quite have the correct technique to match my passion and although I am quite good, I am hardly spectacular.

1. I am primarily a left arm over the wicket medium pace bowler but have a problem with dragging the ball down the leg side. On a normal day it can be one or two times an over and on a bad day it can be almost once a ball. It is very annoying and means I have to simply put the ball on the spot and sacrifice any sort of swing or pace. Does anyone have any action related tips to help? Even getting my bowling arm higher does not help because it means the ball travels in a straight line from where I release it which is down the leg side. I am extremely good at bowling to left handers (infact it usually takes me about 5 balls to dismiss one) but I cannot bowl to right handers well because of this reason.

This is just going to be a case of practice, practice and practice. Make sure your action is as correct as it can then practice. You're maybe a bit too stiff in your action so, try opening your chest a little, it may help you to put the ball across the right hander.

Other than that it really is a case of just net bowling to hit targets on the pitch - it can take around 10,000 balls to perfect a new action. Sadly there is no short cut here, its really is down to practice.

I will maybe have more on this for you tomorrow or Tuesday.

2. The second problem is my swing. When I swing the ball, the swing is absolutely massive but it goes away from the right hander and I cannot find a way to get it to come in whilst keeping the line correct. Swinging it away is all well and good but does not get me enough wickets and I feel the inswinger from left arm over can be deadly as Mitchell Johnson showed Sachin Tendulkar today. Holding it with the seam pointing towards fine leg and the fingers on either side of the seam seems to result in my wrist wrapping around the ball and it going short and, you guessed it, down the leg side.

Again practice is the key, make sure you have know where your fingers should be on the ball, and on which side the shine is meant to be (I know you already do this, but there is no harm in double checking). Try playing with the seam, so its not so far to leg, more to leg etc. Keep experimenting, you'll find what works for you. Also, keep the hand relaxed around the ball and just rest the thumb on the seam.

It may be that you just can't bowl it, no matter what you try (it sounds weird but it does happen) as swing is a strange thing. I would suggest working on the on\off cutter as well, as a back up ball. This can be just as effective as the inswinger.

3. The third problem is my pace and unlike the other two, I feel I know the proble,s, just not how to solve them. I am about 53-58mph and I feel I need to be about 10mph quicker.

I feel that my jump is the main cause of my lack of pace. I seem to jump up and not up and forwards like I should. Any conscious attempt to make the jump attack the stumps more results in either me jumping several hundreds of feet into the air or I do jump forwards but the action is rushed and the pace is slower than before.

An easy drill is to have a small hurdle to jump over, not so big that you're going jump up, but enough so you have to 'step over it'. You can even have it so you have a target box to land in, so that you have to get forward distance rather than height. A chat with an athletics coach may help, especially one who teaches hurdles or long jump.

Don't try to do it all at once, just get used to running up and jumping without the worry of bowling. You can put it all together afterwards.

Also, after my release, my back goes a bit too far to the leg side (I know most bowlers have this as part of the hip drive but mine is a bit too much), are there any drills or ways to help correct this or is practice the only method.

This is a bio-mechanical issue, you need a bowling coach to look into it.

My wrist is also not behind the ball, should I try and twist it anti clockwise and practice with that to get it behind the correct line? I currently have it straight.

I'm not quite sure what you mean by this - a photo or more info would help.

I am also unable to bowl a bouncer, when I try and bang the ball in, the ball is length or a tad shorter and it just hits the pitch harder which at my pace means it sits up to be whacked. Any tips on how to bowl a bouncer, I have seen bowlers a tad quicker than my trouble good batsman with bouncers, how is it done?

You have to get the mental aspects right with this, so get into your head that you're going to bowl one. Try to whip through your action a little quicker, in order to put a bit more pace on it. You need to get it targeted towards the heart or throat area of the body, which is something that comes with practice although it will be trial and error in a match situation.

The key technique in bowling a bouncer is in getting all the momentum towards hitting the pitch rather than getting the ball to the batsman. Imagine that you are trying to stick your shoulder into the ground, you should finish the action looking at your feet, with a full shoulder rotation. It's a maximum effort ball.

This is something you'll get better with as you get older.

That concludes my post for now, I may be obsessive, but you can't say I'm not thorough

Any help to either of the three points would be greatly appriciated as I am extremely keen to dramatically improve my bowling in this preseason in order to get on my school's tour to Australia in two years and to get into my club first team soon too. Although some of the staff members may know that I aspire to be a journalist, my primary goal is to be a successful cricketer, but that dream seems further and further away each day I bowl like I do now.

That's just a quick run through for now and I probably haven't told you anything new but from what I've seen your action is reasonable and if anything just needs tweaking rather than over hauling. Some of it is down to your age and build, which will of course change as your grow.

The main thing I would say is to learn to relax a little more, enjoy the game and don't worry so much about things, sometimes you can tie yourself up in knots correcting this and that, and miss the point that your making things worse by stressing about them.

 

[FBI]

Re: Several Fast Bowling Questions

Thanks for the post, especially the last bit. It is kinda hard, at about 11, I played for Kent and everyone was saying that I was amazing and very fast and now I am pretty run of the mill. I feel that pace and inswing are the way I am going to become a force to be reckoned with again.

I love bowling fast because it is an outlet for any pent up anger and agression and a way to stamp my authority down, at school especially, people treat me just like a little weak kid and don't really give me much respect and I get that rage out with the occasional beating () but mostly by bowling fast and now that I no longer have the ability to terrorise batsman, the rage is staying pent up.

I was just practising in the mirror and I realised that I sorta hang in the air and that my bowling arm during the jump seems to hang beside my head; although my brother, who is a bit of a fast bowling guru and is constantly giving me tips (might get him to write a bit for the site), although their effectiveness can be debated, says that putting the arm there is good, he also says that I need to almost 'bounce' it off that point (ala Allan Donald) to keep the action flowing. I also feel that extending the front arm at the target might help with accuracy; I feel that if I can get the ball naturally just outside off stump, I can bowl the inswinger, just like a right hander does, with the seam basically angled.

 

[mas cambios]

Re: Several Fast Bowling Questions

I know how you feel to a point as I had the same kind of progression, but trust me the pace does come back.

You're doing the right things by asking questions and wanting to learn, as well as putting the hard work in.

 

[FBI]

Re: Several Fast Bowling Questions

I have another question:

I have decided for a more front on action this season because I feel that my side on action complicates things too much and causes injuries too. What muscles are needed for a front on action; just for reference, the action I am looking to take things from is Brett Lee.

 

[mas cambios]

Re: Several Fast Bowling Questions

Its all pretty much the same muscle groups as far as I'm aware. The main muscles are the abdominals, as they are the ones which provide strength and stability. Having a strong trunk will also help to reduce stress on the back.

 

[FBI]

Re: Several Fast Bowling Questions

Here are some clips of me bowling, any help will be greatly appriciated.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TS84mir1hM]Mid on view[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAbFZaBJrOg]Behind umpire view[/ame]

 

[Virendersingh.berthwal]

Re: Several Fast Bowling Questions

Here are some clips of me bowling, any help will be greatly appreciated.

Mid on view

Behind umpire view

Manee
I saw Ur post.It was good; video shoot from the batsmen's end.Would be good for observing Ur bowling run-up and the release as well.
Secondly;could you check and observe about Ur head position at the time of release.Maybe the guys in our forum will add on to it

 

[bonkers_1987]

Re: Several Fast Bowling Questions

I agree. A view of your whole run up would be much better. I'd say you need to be a little more upright, you seem to be falling away to the right a little to much. Your follow through is good however again a little to much to the right. Also with your front arm, try and have it stronger and really coming down hard when you go through your action. I'd love to see a front on view of your action.

 

[Liz Ward]

Re: Several Fast Bowling Questions

Manee, the behind the umpire view was very telling. I think I have pinpointed the problem with your follow through, though still cannot see your feet. Next time you are videoed, please get the feet in and repost it. It would be great if you could post three consecutive bowls from the same angel, though I would prefer a front on view, minus the batsman. You need to correct this or your playing days will be, unfortunately, exceedingly short; you are putting your right hip, knee and ankle under too much unnecessary stress, particularly the knee. I know you are successful so it will be difficult to change but it will be worth it!

By the way, get a knee strap for your left knee. See the Knee Pain thread with Virender.

 

[FBI]

Re: Several Fast Bowling Questions

I know you are successful so it will be difficult to change but it will be worth it!

Lol, I'm not that successful at all. For example, the readings on the speed gun were only around 55mph :cry and I only play 4th XI adult cricket.

Next time I am videoed (videod?), I will take the advise of angles and conditions. This will hopefully be on Wednesday but perhaps when I next have some Oval nets with my family (they are quite cheap to book out).

Furthermore, thanks for the biomechanical advise Bonkers and Virendersingh.

Thanks for the help.

 

[FBI]

Re: Several Fast Bowling Questions

I had a bowl at the Oval nets and boy oh boy was I a wreck, but in the session, I noticed a lot of things that go wrong for me. The problem was that they all occured in the horrible two hour net session.

Problem 1: My hamstrings are very tight. Harrowdrive has noted that pre exercise stretching hinders explosive strength. How can I loosen them up then? It was literally stiff for the entire session which meant that I could barely jog in.

Problem 2: A bone in my arm was sore. This happens very occasionally. The bone is the one imbetween the forearm and arm and when the pain comes, the bone is much larger and higher in the arm. (Tried to make that reference as non risque as possible )

Problem 3: My toe. This is a problem where I bang my toe nail against my shoe which causes the toe nail to go blue and later fall off (quite tedious). The quick solution is to cut a hole in the shoe, but is there a biomechanical solution.

Not related to cricket, but my hair also became very loose. So, naturally, I did it up again. However, my finger nail got caught and half of it came out. Just about summed up the session.