In My Delivery Stride, My Head Falls Away
question (#6)
I am a front-on bowler, and during my delivery stride, my head falls towards the left, and my body doesn’t go towards the direction of the batsman, and I’m losing pace and control. How should I improve this?
ANSWER
Hey,
This is a common problem with bowlers.
You’re basically having an ‘alignment’ issue. There are several ways in which you can overcome this, but ultimately, you’ll have to find out what method works best for you.
1. Do some drill work in the nets. Set up some cones in a straight line from about 5 yards behind the crease to the end of your follow-through.
Aim to GO THROUGH that channel consistently. This drill can help encourage your body to travel in a straight direction towards the batsman. Do it as much as you can so your muscle memory starts to register the movement.
2. When you’re bowling in a match or at a batsman in the nets, you can’t set up cones in the middle of the pitch. So, you need to have a trigger or a process that will help you channel your energy towards the batsman.
When we spoke to Tom Barber, he mentioned that he likes to drive his left knee (he’s a left-hand bowler) towards the batsman. Can you see how a trigger such as, “drive knee towards batsman” can help him channel his energy towards the batsman in a straight line? This is why trigger movements for bowlers can be so useful.
Eventually, you should get to a stage where everything happens naturally, and you don’t even have to think about it, but that takes time so keep working hard and be patient.
All the best.
Team Pace Journal
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How To Shorten Delivery Stride?
question (#5)
How do you shorten the delivery stride?
ANSWER
Hey,
All fast bowlers should strive for an optimum delivery stride.
The length of your delivery stride will determine the path of acceleration your hips have in the crease.
The focal word here is ‘OPTIMUM’.
You don’t want to have a stride that’s so big that you struggle to drive out of the crease and you don’t want to have a stride that’s so short that you don’t give your body enough time to set itself for an explosive release.
The fact that you’re asking about shortening your stride would suggest to me that you’re currently over-striding. Over-striding is caused by a few things, such as:
1. Reaching for the crease – when you’re focusing on where your feet land instead of where you want to bowl, you can end up reaching for the crease with your lower half.
2. Trying to force your body through the crease – when you try and exert force in the crease, you can end up over-exerting your muscles which result in an over-stride position.
My advice would be to focus on rhythm, balance and co-ordination in the crease.
Try to be fluid and let your action unfold naturally. The only time you need to exert force is when your front foot lands. Everything before that front foot landing should be fluid and smooth!
All the best.
Team Pace Journal
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I Lose Accuracy When I Run In Faster
question (#4)
I am looking to improve my speed as a bowler so I would like to increase the speed in my run-up. However, when I run up to the wicket faster, I feel like I lose control of where I want to pitch the ball in contrast to when I run up slower. How do I solve this?
ANSWER
Hey,
If you’re losing control of accuracy when you run in faster, I’d say this is more of a ‘timing’ issue at the point of release.
If you are losing control of your body when running in faster – then that would be much harder to resolve.
It’s natural to have more control over everything when you run in slower. But being able to execute technique and skill at higher speeds is the next step and ultimate objective.
My advice would be to continue bowling with the faster run-up and ‘work out’ the ideal release position that would enable you to hit your desired length.
Bowling is about feeling and feeling comes from repetition – the more you do it, the more comfortable you’ll become with your technique. Be patient and stick with it.
All the best.
Team Pace Journal
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Priority For A Beginner?
question (#3)
In order to be the deadliest bowler, what should be the priority for a beginner?
ANSWER
Hey,
Good question.
By ‘deadliest’ I am not sure if you mean pace, swing, bounce and intimidation or skills.
However, the priority for any beginner (in my opinion) should be to play the game hard and enjoy it.
Your mindset and the way you approach your game will determine how you eventually play it.
Play hard and be competitive, but do not forget that it is just that, a GAME.
So, as a beginner, just enjoy the great game of cricket!
All the best.
Team Pace Journal
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Role of Legs in Fast Bowling?
question (#2)
What’s the role of strong legs while bowling?
ANSWER
Hey,
Fast bowling is a full-body activity that causes tremendous strain on the entire body.
The legs (as is the case in many sports) are the foundation of your body so I would say that a strong lower body is vital to a bowler.
Most professionals will tell you that, “a bowler doesn’t break down from the top, they break down from the bottom”.
I would also reiterate that you should focus on building a strong body overall, not just the lower body.
All the best.
Team Pace Journal
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Balance In Run-Up & Release
question (#1)
I have a problem keeping balance in my run-up and release. I often fall over to the side which leads to wide balls. This also results in mistiming in my release which takes away a lot of pace. How can I tackle this problem of my unbalanced action?
ANSWER
Hey,
If you’re having problems keeping balanced in your run-up, one of the reasons could be that you’re not running in ‘straight’.
That further convinces me because you’re falling over to the side at the point of release as well.
The run-up is an essential precursor to bowling; if you’re not running in straight and efficiently, how can you expect your body to unwind and deliver the ball straight?
From most of our conversations with bowlers on the ECB Pace Programme, they all stressed the importance of running ‘technique’ and ‘mechanics’ – I’d say that you should also look into this.
Work on your running technique and do sprint drills to become a better runner. Once your ability to run with proper technique and efficiency improves – I’d imagine that your movements in the crease should become significantly better.
Be patient though and don’t expect these changes to happen overnight.
Stay dedicated and work hard!
All the best!
Team Pace Journal
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