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Chinaman: Advice, Tips, etc.

WalkingWicket

State 12th Man
Hey all,

I've been bowling Left Arm (Unorthodox) Wrist Spin, or more colloquially 'Chinaman', for a few years now, and don't seem to be getting very far. I'm capable of hitting out of two of three things most balls: 1) Turn, 2) Line, 3) Length (i.e. I can get a ball on the right length and to turn, but it's pitched a yard outside leg stump.). I constantly tinker with my action*, it varies from ball to ball, and I know this is bad, but if I feel that something could improve my bowling I do. In the nets it tends to be decent - I've often given a good impression in the nets but when I get out onto the wicket I'm reluctant to bowl and end up tossing up an exciting selection of wides, no balls, beamers, pea-rollers and general filth. This year was somewhat of a breakthrough year: I got a handful of decent returns for club and school, but I found myself playing in more of a restrictive role than a wicket-taking one, as I focused more on line and length than giving it a rip.

I know how uncommon the style is in real life, but does anyone on here have experience/knowledge and would be willing to impart some advice/tips?
 

wellAlbidarned

International Coach
I've struggled with similar problems. When trying to build a consistent bowling action it's going to be difficult and won't happen overnight. The key is to practise with a plan is to focus on one thing at a time. Don't go to the nets with ridiculous expectations of yourself or you'll just fall short and get annoyed at yourself. That's something I've been guilty of.

Instead you should go to the nets and say "OK, today I'm going to focus on my back leg motion and nothing else." Do this for the two or three most important parts of the bowling action (say, back leg drive, head position, front arm for me since I'm trying to improve my pace) practicing only one component at each practise. Stick to it and you'll find yourself improving steadily.
 

wellAlbidarned

International Coach
As for game performance - maybe a containing role is what's needed in your team, and that's okay. If you focus on improving your revs in the nets improvements will show in games too even if you're not directly trying to rip it. Muscle memory is a powerful thing.
 

vic_orthdox

Global Moderator
You're bowling a very attacking form of spin, so you can afford to give yourself a lot of protection with your field. Don't be afraid to use plenty of guys back on the fence, because your good balls will get wickets and dots themselves.

We play against a guy who bowls them and gives them a good rip, and he ends up bowling with four guys out in two day cricket, backs himself to spin the ball as hard as he can, and he goes at four an over, takes three wickets with good balls and one with a stinker caught on the fence each time we seem to play him.
 

cnerd123

likes this
I've struggled with similar problems. When trying to build a consistent bowling action it's going to be difficult and won't happen overnight. The key is to practise with a plan is to focus on one thing at a time. Don't go to the nets with ridiculous expectations of yourself or you'll just fall short and get annoyed at yourself. That's something I've been guilty of.

Instead you should go to the nets and say "OK, today I'm going to focus on my back leg motion and nothing else." Do this for the two or three most important parts of the bowling action (say, back leg drive, head position, front arm for me since I'm trying to improve my pace) practicing only one component at each practise. Stick to it and you'll find yourself improving steadily.
This is very interesting.

After about a year off, I got back to bowling last night. Even back in school/uni I could never maintain a constant runup, and I felt so lost trying to bowl in the nets. Didn't know how to start, and my delivery stride is fine but I can't seem to gather momentum well and follow through, let alone control the ball as well as I want.

I figured the best way to approach this was to use a method I was taught as a kid. Start at the bowling crease, and then run in as if you are going to bowl but run out to the outfield, and just do what feels comfortable an natural. The whole walk, run-up, and delivery. See where your final stride lands, and mark that out as the start of your runup. From there you just turn around, and bowl ball after ball until the action is ingrained into your memory. As long as every delivery you bowl feels 'right' and the ball is coming out the way you want it to, then keep going. Was going to do this but then it rained.

Your method sounds pretty interesting tho. Has it actually helped you? How do you know what to fix? Does a coach tell you, or do you film your own action and watch it to see what goes wrong?
 

vic_orthdox

Global Moderator
From a technical POV, can't be arsed writing much now but just make sure that it's your whole body bowling the ball (front arm at start, a couple of steps towards your target in follow through) rather than worrying about your bowling arm/wrist.
 

wellAlbidarned

International Coach
This is very interesting.

After about a year off, I got back to bowling last night. Even back in school/uni I could never maintain a constant runup, and I felt so lost trying to bowl in the nets. Didn't know how to start, and my delivery stride is fine but I can't seem to gather momentum well and follow through, let alone control the ball as well as I want.

I figured the best way to approach this was to use a method I was taught as a kid. Start at the bowling crease, and then run in as if you are going to bowl but run out to the outfield, and just do what feels comfortable an natural. The whole walk, run-up, and delivery. See where your final stride lands, and mark that out as the start of your runup. From there you just turn around, and bowl ball after ball until the action is ingrained into your memory. As long as every delivery you bowl feels 'right' and the ball is coming out the way you want it to, then keep going. Was going to do this but then it rained.

Your method sounds pretty interesting tho. Has it actually helped you? How do you know what to fix? Does a coach tell you, or do you film your own action and watch it to see what goes wrong?
When you're unsure of your action it's important to understand exactly what it is that makes it feel right or wrong so you can reproduce it until it becomes muscle memory. My main problem has always been having the head falling away through the delivery stride, causing me to drag the ball down leg. If I try to fix too many parts of my action at once I just end up slipping back into bad habits so it's easier to keep the focus on one part at a time.

I'm far from a great bowler but I've seen substantial improvement compared to where I was. I got the method from reading Ian Ponts book. I know he's been a bit thrown in the dirt by the Atul Sharma chronicles but it's a quality book with plenty of excellent points. Like what Vic said, the bowling action is 95% in the rest of the body, the bowling arm should basically bowl itself if everything else clicks together properly.
 

cnerd123

likes this
So do you have someone watching and coaching you when you bowl, or do you try to figure out what's going wrong yourself?
 

WalkingWicket

State 12th Man
My main problem has always been having the head falling away through the delivery stride, causing me to drag the ball down leg. If I try to fix too many parts of my action at once I just end up slipping back into bad habits so it's easier to keep the focus on one part at a time.
I had almost the identical problem - my head would fall and subsequently my whole action would fall to pieces: too loose, etc. I've also had a problem where my front foot crosses my body which means I'm having to almost pivot round it to bowl.
 

wellAlbidarned

International Coach
So do you have someone watching and coaching you when you bowl, or do you try to figure out what's going wrong yourself?
I often go down to the nets by myself to either tinker or drill stuff in. I honestly find that the majority of people don't know **** and give terrible advice with regards to bowling technique. It's really easy to feel when something works and when it doesn't, that's the best way imo. I also video myself sometimes.
 

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