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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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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