Several Fast Bowling Questions

[Neil Pickup]

When I bowl medium pace (generally only ever targeted at kids in nets when it's a reasonable approximation to what they'd face in game) there is almost no difference between pace & accuracy when I run up and when I don't. I never, ever run up beyond five paces: that is perfectly long enough to accelerate to enough of an extent to get momentum into the action.

[Manee]

Originally Posted by Neil Pickup

When I bowl medium pace (generally only ever targeted at kids in nets when it's a reasonable approximation to what they'd face in game) there is almost no difference between pace & accuracy when I run up and when I don't. I never, ever run up beyond five paces: that is perfectly long enough to accelerate to enough of an extent to get momentum into the action.

Ok; thanks for the help

[Nnanden]

Going to the nets in an hour. (Y)

As some people here might know, injuries mean I'm pretty crap now. Only Matteh, Cramps and Anna know how crap, but it's not great.

One thing I've been working on is not bending my left-leg on delivery. After killing my ankle I've been really tentative to brace my leg and I'm wondering if it has a significant impact. Is it kept straight purely for pace?

Interesting on what Goughy has been saying about pace first and accuracy later. I did it this way, but can't help but feel I wasted years of junior cricket trying to bowl quick.

My video camera is back in a week, hopefully then I can take some footage of my wonderful mediums. (H)

[vic_orthdox]

You might have wasted years of junior cricket, but it gave you the best chance of being a gun senior cricketer.

Generally, I think the leg is kept straight to keep you tall at the crease, so that you get a bit more bounce. But obviously if you keep it too straight and with no "give" in it, then it's probably pretty ordinary for your knee.

[Goughy]

The braced left leg is key to bowling your quickest. When it is braced you go over the leg with venom and the ball is fired at the batsman. It acts as a pivot that catapults the bowler through their action.

When the leg bends, it cushions the action and momentum and that pivot is lost. Its still possible to bowl quick but not as quick as possible

Its the one thing I hate about my action currently. I have a bend in my left leg that never used to be there. Number of surgeries, stress fractures and arthritis (sp?) in the ankle have meant it has been an unconscious (sp? sorry its too late 4:30am to check spelling ) evolution.

No doubt a bent front leg reduces speed.

A thing of beauty

[Son Of Coco]

Originally Posted by Matteh

Most of us suffer the same problem, be it left bowling to right or vice versa. In order to bowl to left handers (being a right hander myself) i step a side-step to the left and run in with that. That's only half the fix though as when i bowl with my normal straightness from that, it'll still go down leg. I find the most important thing in order to slant it across to the off side is the angle of the body when you get to the crease.
The angle i tend to use is basically shown in your paint diagram and all the side step to the left alteration does is give me more room in the crease in order to point the body that way.

I take a step to the left when bowling around the wicket to a left-hander (I'm right-handed), coming from slightly behind the umpire. I find it helps to keep me away from the centre of the pitch and also adjust my line slightly so I don't bowl down leg-side with the angle into the batsman. You're also hidden from view slightly for almost the whole of the approach, a bonus for the shy bowlers amongst us.

[Manee]

Originally Posted by Goughy

A thing of beauty

Indeed it is. I have decided to model my action somewhat on him because I feel that biomechanically, he does the most things right. The involves an ever so slightly angled run up against right handers to look to go in straight lines towards off stump (where I aim) but a front on action like Brett Lee. I have decided to go front on because I had a mixed action and was reading (and agreed with) an article in which Brett Lee suggests that it is much harder to change the base than the top half of the body. I also feel that my side on action means I completely overcomplicate things and lose the momentum in my run up, although the counter rotation does bring some pace.

It is hard to explain but I have been working on an alternate landing to bowl and was wondering whether it was the right thing to do, incidentally, this works better with a front on action:

Before, I just jumped, landed and bowled; all quite naturally. But now I have been practicing jumping, landing with the back leg down and the front leg high and then slamming the front leg down which in turn brings the back leg through. Is this the right way of going about it or is this just a new innovation of mine which doesn't achieve anything?

[Manee]

Originally Posted by vic_orthdox

You might have wasted years of junior cricket, but it gave you the best chance of being a gun senior cricketer.

Case and point in that 9 out of 10, 90mph bowlers have played international cricket even if somebody's accuracy is as bad as someone like Saj Mahmood or Mohammad Sami.

[Neil Pickup]

Originally Posted by Manee

Indeed it is. I have decided to model my action somewhat on him because I feel that biomechanically, he does the most things right. The involves an ever so slightly angled run up against right handers to look to go in straight lines towards off stump (where I aim) but a front on action like Brett Lee. I have decided to go front on because I had a mixed action and was reading (and agreed with) an article in which Brett Lee suggests that it is much harder to change the base than the top half of the body. I also feel that my side on action means I completely overcomplicate things and lose the momentum in my run up, although the counter rotation does bring some pace.

It is hard to explain but I have been working on an alternate landing to bowl and was wondering whether it was the right thing to do, incidentally, this works better with a front on action:

Before, I just jumped, landed and bowled; all quite naturally. But now I have been practicing jumping, landing with the back leg down and the front leg high and then slamming the front leg down which in turn brings the back leg through. Is this the right way of going about it or is this just a new innovation of mine which doesn't achieve anything?

That's biomechanically correct - if you ever teach small children to bowl off a standing start, you go from the coil (front arm and front leg high) and unwind out of that: the front half of the body slams down and the rest follows.

[Manee]

Originally Posted by Neil Pickup

That's biomechanically correct - if you ever teach small children to bowl off a standing start, you go from the coil (front arm and front leg high) and unwind out of that: the front half of the body slams down and the rest follows.

Thanks for the confirmation. May I inquire as to how good of a bowler you are, I was just wondering about the correlation between a good player and a good coach, which you clearly are.

[Neil Pickup]

Can't bat or bowl to any standard above Sunday friendlies where I can buy wickets with very slow spin and make a half-competent fist of the middle order. Good fielder based on speed/agility/quickness and half decent wicketkeeper. Correlation between playing and coaching negligible. They are entirely different skill sets - they overlap as both require a love of and an enthusiasm for the game: coaching needs an understanding of why things work - and sometimes naturally brilliant players cannot see the building blocks that fit together to make something work. Finding the same problem teaching maths"

[Matteh]

Originally Posted by Nnanden

Going to the nets in an hour. (Y)

As some people here might know, injuries mean I'm pretty crap now. Only Matteh, Cramps and Anna know how crap, but it's not great.

One thing I've been working on is not bending my left-leg on delivery. After killing my ankle I've been really tentative to brace my leg and I'm wondering if it has a significant impact. Is it kept straight purely for pace?

Interesting on what Goughy has been saying about pace first and accuracy later. I did it this way, but can't help but feel I wasted years of junior cricket trying to bowl quick.

My video camera is back in a week, hopefully then I can take some footage of my wonderful mediums. (H)

Have to say i don't think i've bowled as quick as i was that day in a match bar for the odd quicker ball. Would have to say that was down to the fact it was a kids size windball rather than full size.

[bond21]

I dont really agree with that bowl pace first then let accuracy come later theory.

I played rep cricket at a pretty high level when I was younger, and I tried to copy McGrath. I basically hit a good line and length and didn't bowl express, yet I opened for my district.

Now I am older in seniors, I have about the same accuracy and I am bowling quicker than most guys my age. I think if you have a half decent action, speed will come naturally with age, but accuracy won't. You have to work on accuracy, but most of your speed comes from age, technique etc.

[PhoenixFire]

Shall I change the title to the 'General Fast Bowling Thread' or something?

[Manee]

Originally Posted by vic_orthdox

The arm itself isn't really the important thing when talking about your front arm. It's the elbow, which you want to get across your body and pull your body through so that you are bowling to the off side of a right hander, rather than "placing" it there.

I have just now fully understood what you were saying and I cannot thank you enough. My elbow (when in the L position) points down the leg side and I feel that it may be why I can get most left handers I bowl to out in about an over but stuggle against right handers.

Thanks. You may have figured the root cause of my bowling problems.