Tips for a swing bowler

[Langeveldt]

Hi there

Well its the off season, and I want to develop my inswing.. Im a fairly straight up and down fast bowler who relies on height and bounce and I want to get some new tricks..

I've never been able to swing a cricket ball off straight, inswing is something I want to practice because our slow low pitches rarely allow edges to carry, so I think a good outswinger will be wasted..

Action is obviously important, but mine is very chest on, is this a major problem?

Basically would like some thoughts from anyone here who practices the art of swing bowling..

 

[Armadillo]

Well I'm no expert on inswing bowling but I know that its vital that you have a side on action. Also you should hold the ball with the shiny side facing inwards and seam pointing towards leg slip. The side of the thumb should be on the seam. As I said, no expert.

 

[luckyeddie]

Your first lesson is the very same as my bowling coach told me almost 40 years ago.

Get an old cricket ball, paint one side black and the other side white. Now go and bowl with it. When you can deliver the ball in such a way that the seam stays upright without scrambling, come back for lesson two.

That sounds really flippant, but believe you me, it took me a full year before I could convince him that I was ready for the next step. If you can't hold a good seam position, you can't swing the ball with any consistency.

Edit:

The idea of having a two-coloured ball isn't new, although the year before last was the first time I'd seen it for over 25 years. Incidentally, it's also a superb idea for budding spin bowlers too - you should be able to rotate the ball both around and across the seam in order to vary the amount a ball will react off the surface.

 

[danish]

Lesson 1.5:

Don't give up after a few hours, PERSEVERE!

 

[Neil Pickup]

Well I'm no expert on inswing bowling but I know that its vital that you have a side on action. Also you should hold the ball with the shiny side facing inwards and seam pointing towards leg slip. The side of the thumb should be on the seam. As I said, no expert.

Completely and utterly wrong. Side on action gives you outswing, chest on gives you inswing. Bowling inswing with a side on action is nothing more than a shortcut to back pain.

Getting the seam straight and angling it in towards the batsman are the key start points... but it's difficult to say more without a front-on video.

 

[Langeveldt]

Thanks for the responses

Is there a technique behind bowling a ball with a straight seam consistantly? Wrist position? I've been able to seam deliverys occasionally, but not consistantly..

 

[danish]

Thanks for the responses

Is there a technique behind bowling a ball with a straight seam consistantly? Wrist position? I've been able to seam deliverys occasionally, but not consistantly..

Make sure everything is in a straight line i.e. body position, arm, head

 

[Neil Pickup]

Thanks for the responses

Is there a technique behind bowling a ball with a straight seam consistantly? Wrist position? I've been able to seam deliverys occasionally, but not consistantly..

It's in the wrist. It's got to start ****ed and flick, which creats backward rotation on the ball, therefore keeping the seam vertical as it moves through the air.

 

[Armadillo]

Completely and utterly wrong. Side on action gives you outswing, chest on gives you inswing. Bowling inswing with a side on action is nothing more than a shortcut to back pain.

Getting the seam straight and angling it in towards the batsman are the key start points... but it's difficult to say more without a front-on video.

So its not completely wrong only the part about which part of your body should be facing the batsman.

 

[Neil Pickup]

So its not completely wrong only the part about which part of your body should be facing the batsman.

Tell that to a ten year old and he'll be unable to bowl by the time he's your age. Action dictates swing, not shine. Besides, the shiny side should be on the off-side of the ball, which your initial point is either a) wrong or b) ambiguous about.

 

[Autobahn]

I would give some tips but then again i've haven't bowled since i was 14-15 (i'm 20 now) and that was junior stuff

"Action dictates swing, not shine."

Surely conditions play a part, i've seen bowlers on TV trying to swing it all-day and not get an inch of movement.

 

[Prince EWS]

Action is obviously important, but mine is very chest on, is this a major problem?

It actually helps for inswing.

Surely conditions play a part, i've seen bowlers on TV trying to swing it all-day and not get an inch of movement.

Correct, but the main factor is action. You can have overcast conditions and a brand new ball, and still not swing it an iota if your action is wrong. Even with an old ball in dry conditions, the odd one will swing if you have the right action and get the wrist and seam positions correct.

 

[Jono]

Just tamper with the ball when nobody is looking.

*runs*

 

[luckyeddie]

I would give some tips but then again i've haven't bowled since i was 14-15 (i'm 20 now) and that was junior stuff

"Action dictates swing, not shine."

Surely conditions play a part, i've seen bowlers on TV trying to swing it all-day and not get an inch of movement.

Conditions (both atmospheric and ball), speed, relative humidity (oh yes, that's part of condition isn't it?) polo mints if you're English, fruit sweets if you're Indian, bottle tops if you're Pak.....(voice trails into distance)

 

[Matteh]

i bowl very chest on and my stock ball has always been an outswinger...
what dictates which way i swing the ball is to do with my wrist....if i **** it then i can bowl an inswinger....if i keep it loose then i can bowl an out swinger....

but that's just me...

 

[Joao_Quinto]

I am very proud to be able to bowl both almost at will (conditions permitting). I find that as long as your wrist is correct and the seam is upright the way the ball swings is largely dictated by your action and the shine (if any) on the ball.

You would never see anybody in a decent grade trying this but I just adjust my action so that it is slightly more front on (I call it the 'Simon Jones') and the ball will actually stop swinging away and tail in. Shiny side should be held on the opposite side to that you wish it to swing.

But like others have said, you can forget the whole lot unless the seam is upright.

 

[chooka_nick]

Basically would like some thoughts from anyone here who practices the art of swing bowling..

Okay, coz you asked nicely.

Your first lesson is the very same as my bowling coach told me almost 40 years ago.

Get an old cricket ball, paint one side black and the other side white. Now go and bowl with it. When you can deliver the ball in such a way that the seam stays upright without scrambling, come back for lesson two.

That sounds really flippant, but believe you me, it took me a full year before I could convince him that I was ready for the next step. If you can't hold a good seam position, you can't swing the ball with any consistency.

Edit:

The idea of having a two-coloured ball isn't new, although the year before last was the first time I'd seen it for over 25 years. Incidentally, it's also a superb idea for budding spin bowlers too - you should be able to rotate the ball both around and across the seam in order to vary the amount a ball will react off the surface.

Well, that's as close to what I was going to tell you without using my words. A great idea which I still practice regularily.

Completely and utterly wrong...

Not completely! He had the right idea about the 'shiny' side. Paul Rieffel (bad spelling) used to tell anyone who would listen that you hold the rough side of the ball towards where you want to swing it. It helps (it catches the wind if you bowl it right). I'd love to demonstrate how to bowl it but I really cant. Good luck bro!

 

[Kweek]

Just tamper with the ball when nobody is looking.

*runs*

s*rrey fan ?

 

[Armadillo]

Tell that to a ten year old and he'll be unable to bowl by the time he's your age..

Probably why I can't bowl!

 

[open365]

I can only swing it if conditions are right,and they rarely are.

But when i try to swing it,the biggest advice i can give is this:

1)Your trying to swing the ball so concentrate on swinging the ball;i'm not really sure if it helps,but when i'm tyring to swing it,at the start of my run up i imagine Mathhew Hoggard destroying the South Africans last January.

2)This might seem strange,but when i swing the ball,i'm bowling a lot slower than i normally do.

3)For outswing,i try to get my arm coming in a full rotation and get it to follow the path where i want the ball to go though i'm not sure about inswing.

4)The release point of the ball is crucial,IMO getting your wrist behind the ball isn't that important,getting backwards rotaion on the ball is key.

5)My opionion for inswing is that the best bowlers of it have the ball positioned at a different angle.This is best explained if you have a cricket ball,pick it up with the seam perfectly vertical then rotate your hand slightly as if you were off spinning sort of,so the seam is still facing you but the ball is 10 degrees of a vertical axis.