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I want to speed up my bowling

kevinpietersen

School Boy/Girl Captain
I want to know different ways in speeding up my bowling. Is it all about muscle in your arm or is it something else?
Thanks
 

Tom M

School Boy/Girl Cricketer
If you're a side-on bowler, this will help

Bowling is all about transferring energy. If you really want to bowl quick, I suggest you practice running in quick, keeping your momentum going when your back foot lands by bending the knee and then keep your front leg straight when it lands.

Don't bound too high. It will cause a loss of energy.

I don't want to give too much away here because I have to make a living.

Good Luck,

Tom
 

mat

School Boy/Girl Cricketer
You don't necisarily(sp?) have to have a quick run-up to achieve more pace, look at Mitchell Johnson - his run-up is 'slow' compared to the likes of Siddle but he produces a decent pace. Pace can be developed from many different parts of the body, ideally from all of them working together. These include your hip rotation, shoulder rotations and a majority of the pace begins in your opposite side. As Tom M mentioned side-on can help, although you may be front-on or semi-open. This can't be established over the computer unless you can m,anage to post a video of yourself bowling. I recomend you browse this forum as i have seen amny similar forum to this one with more spwecific information or even google it as there is a lot of information on the internet trying to help your cricket.

Good Luck,

Mat
 

Tom M

School Boy/Girl Cricketer
No, you don't necessarily have to run in really really fast, but I would not recommend generating pace using muscle. I'm not saying it's impossible, but if you really really want to bowl quick you've got to be a bit smarter than that.

Here's some examples: when you do a power clean, you generate momentum using the powerful muscles of the back and then you just effeciently convert that energy to get the bar to shoulder lever. You don't try to 'lift' the bar using your biceps becuase they're not strong enough, good technique allows you to keep the bar travelling at the same velocity: i.e momentum is conserved as energy is passed from the floor to your arms.

Muscles are weak, you will never be quick if you try to 'bowl' the ball. Jeff Thompson (almost) had it right.
 

Faisal1985

International Vice-Captain
If you're a side-on bowler, this will help

Bowling is all about transferring energy. If you really want to bowl quick, I suggest you practice running in quick, keeping your momentum going when your back foot lands by bending the knee and then keep your front leg straight when it lands.

Don't bound too high. It will cause a loss of energy.

I don't want to give too much away here because I have to make a living.

Good Luck,

Tom
Fell twice because the right foot slipped right underneath and landed on the right knee......any suggestions on that..........i am slightly over weight too.......i am sure that contributes to the problem.....
 

Tom M

School Boy/Girl Cricketer
Faisal if you went over on your heel I would suggest doing 'Farmer's Walks'. Pick up two heavy dumbbells and walk until you cannot walk anymore. Repeat three times after cricket training. I think they're an excellent excersise.
 

Faisal1985

International Vice-Captain
Faisal if you went over on your heel I would suggest doing 'Farmer's Walks'. Pick up two heavy dumbbells and walk until you cannot walk anymore. Repeat three times after cricket training. I think they're an excellent excersise.
I will do the walk regardless of how i fell, but i am just concerned, that is it due to me being 5-10 lbs over weight? Or is it just the matter of balancing myself?

I run in from 10-15 paces, have a slight jump not too big, but i generate force by bending my back and from my legs.... Right arm fast medium....high arm action, picture Abdul Razzaq with a delivery stride similar to Akrams...not too big of a jump. As soon as i drop my right bowling arm down to the waste to shoot the ball in, my right toe or foot slips backwards (or lets say it slips towards the opposite direction of which i am running)..... not the left leg but the right leg which is behind....... i have tried different shoes, but the problem seems to persist. But the farmers walk might help.
 

Tom M

School Boy/Girl Cricketer
I will do the walk regardless of how i fell, but i am just concerned, that is it due to me being 5-10 lbs over weight? Or is it just the matter of balancing myself?

I run in from 10-15 paces, have a slight jump not too big, but i generate force by bending my back and from my legs.... Right arm fast medium....high arm action, picture Abdul Razzaq with a delivery stride similar to Akrams...not too big of a jump. As soon as i drop my right bowling arm down to the waste to shoot the ball in, my right toe or foot slips backwards (or lets say it slips towards the opposite direction of which i am running)..... not the left leg but the right leg which is behind....... i have tried different shoes, but the problem seems to persist. But the farmers walk might help.
I doubt it's to do with your weight.

My advice would be to video yourself bowling to see what causes it. It's quite a unique problem to have! Do you wear spikes when you bowl?
 

Faisal1985

International Vice-Captain
I doubt it's to do with your weight.

My advice would be to video yourself bowling to see what causes it. It's quite a unique problem to have! Do you wear spikes when you bowl?
We play on matting or artificial turf, so no not the real spikes but the rubber ones which don't damage the artificial pitches, it could very well be the shoes in my case.......
 

mat

School Boy/Girl Cricketer
So basically all I need to do is have a fast run up then a strong arm to bring it over quickly.
No. From what i gather Tom M is trying to put across, he encourages a run up that will produce momentum into the ball, but you need to have balance at the crease. Run in at a comfortable speede for yourself, don't just lumber in. Sprinting isn't correct. Supposedly, the likes of Lee, Thompson kind-0f pace is ideal.

And the "strong arm to bring it over quickly", is pretty much completely incorrect. Obviously somekind of strength is a bonus, but as he has mentioned in a number of posts, the ball is only 150g. Also, you use more than your arm to just throw the ball quickly, but it is probaly pointless attempting to elaborate.

Mat
 

Tom M

School Boy/Girl Cricketer
No. From what i gather Tom M is trying to put across, he encourages a run up that will produce momentum into the ball, but you need to have balance at the crease. Run in at a comfortable speede for yourself, don't just lumber in. Sprinting isn't correct. Supposedly, the likes of Lee, Thompson kind-0f pace is ideal.

And the "strong arm to bring it over quickly", is pretty much completely incorrect. Obviously somekind of strength is a bonus, but as he has mentioned in a number of posts, the ball is only 150g. Also, you use more than your arm to just throw the ball quickly, but it is probaly pointless attempting to elaborate.

Mat
Good job Mat, hopefully if all goes well all will be made crystal clear soon. I appologise that I can't outline my methods now, but I hope everyone understands that I've done a decent amount of work in getting to this stage and so would ideally like to be able to make half a living from my work.

Remember guys, strength will only get you so far: in the 1980's American javelin throwers were producing 70m throws compared to the European's 80m+. The difference was technique- no amount of extra strength work would have helped the Americans catch up. Cricket is no different.
 

Manee

Cricketer Of The Year
I'm not sure that strength work would not have helped. Atul Sharma (I bet people are not happy I brought him up, but anyway...) trained with an American javelin coach for his cricket strength/power/etc and although the usefulness of such training cannot be verified, it seemed clear that the training was highly advanced compared to what javelin was doing in the 1980s and what cricket is doing now, going by the interview in Spin.
 

micoach

School Boy/Girl Cricketer
The right sort of training can certainly help with arm speed. Although power is nothing without technique.
 

micoach

School Boy/Girl Cricketer
If you want it another way here is how I explain it in my series on fast bowling here: The 10 immutable Laws of fast bowling (part 1) | Cricket coaching, fitness and tips

"What separates great fast bowlers from the crowd? Movement. Watching top bowlers like Brett Lee or Michael Holding approach the crease and power through their actions in a smooth, rhythmical way is a critical aspect of top speed. Great movement starts long before the run up and action itself, and no amount of coaching can change that if you have not built your movement skills up first. Physical therapist Gray Cook demonstrates this by talking about a pyramid of performance:

* Skill. This is the peak of the pyramid: The bowling action itself (which we talk about in the next few Laws). If you are lacking the basics of the fast bowling action you need to work with a coach to develop them. Or at the very least, buy and study the coaching videos in Ian Pont's "How to bowl faster" course on PitchVision Academy (it's cheaper than a coach).

* Athleticism/Power. Sitting below skill on the pyramid is your general power and athleticism. This is your ability to generate force in a non specific way such as how fast you can run or how high you can jump. Without a decent level of strength you will tire more quickly. You will not have as much capacity in your muscles to produce maximum speed either.

* Mobility/Stability. The base of the pyramid is your ability to perform simple movements with both mobility (able to move through the entire range of the movement) and stability (control the body during movement). If you cannot move freely you cannot bowl as fast as your potential allows. You also have a greater injury risk as your other parts of your body try to compensate for the flaws in your action."
Hopefully that is helpful.
 

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