Cricket is a beautiful game.
Thinking of the game can give pleasure to many ardent lovers of the game, like
me, and playing the game can even give orgasms if you are madly in love with
it...
Cricket has got multiple disciplines and pace
bowling is a discipline which i practice. I was quiet ignorant of the
basics of pace bowling when i started off as i did not have any proper
coaching. In nets, i also saw few of my friends not so strong with the
basics. I thought i should write about the basics which can help me and my
friends.
Basics-
I would like to start with gripping the ball
followed by run-up, leap, delivery, and follow through. Importantly i like to
cover the right ways to do it to be free from injuries.
Ball
Grip -
The first and important point to be learned by a
fast bowler. Variation in grip and seam position
have a major influence on the outcome of a delivery.
With the seam vertical, the ball is held in the fingers, resting on the third finger and thumb(left side or over the seam, whichever is comfortable) , with the middle and index fingers either side of the seam.
Have the above grip, make sure that there is atleast
two finger space between the ball an palm and bowl with normal action to your
friend standing 15 feet apart and make sure the seam comes out straight during
delivery. straighter the seam position more the chances of swing.
Inswing - The
inswinger moves in the air from the
off side of a right handed batsman to the leg side.
Angle the seam towards leg slip
or, but keeping it vertical with the shiny side of the ball should be to the
left of the bowler.
The ball will swing early if
the seam is angled too much towards the legs slip, will swing late if the seam
is vertical. The later the ball swings into the batsman, the more effective it
will be.
Outswing -
The ball swings from the off
stump of a right handed batsman towards the slip fielders.
The ball will swing early if
the seam is angled too much towards the slips, will swing late if the seam is
vertical.The later the ball swings away from the batsman, the more effective it
will be.
Reverse Swing – Once the ball becomes older and more worn,
it will begin to move in the opposite direction to where it would usually swing
with no great change in the bowling grip, All this tends to happen very late on
in the delivery, making it difficult for the batsman to pick up the changes in
the air.
It is all that we have in the basics of grip position –
apart from this we have variations like cross seamers, off cutters and leg
cutters.
Run- up to the crease - One of the important aspect
of the fast bowling.
How long - mark a place, run few paces as you normally
do and bowl when you feel comfortable(when you gather enough momentum), Measure the distance and make it your run up
distance. Don’t be predetermined with some feets. It varies for every
individual, try
to stay Smooth, Balanced, Economical, Rhythmical, Consistent, and relaxed.
Few key points
- As you set off from the top of your run-up, start by using small steps before changing to larger strides
- Keep your arms close to your body and your head steady - keep your eyes fixed on the target - the batsman
- Run in a straight line as if you run in a railway track.
- Keep the alignment straight to the offside of the batsmen and when you bowl to left handers change just the alignment by changing the run up direction and not your action.
- Don’t run in too fast or too slow, optimum speed to gather enough momentum.
- Side on bowlers have slower approach than the front on bowlers. Don’t get confused.
The Bound or the leap
The
bound is a jump that allows the bowler to transition from the run-up to the back foot contact position. For a chest on bowler not much transition is
needed. So, many chest on bowlers have a low, short bound. In contrast, side on bowlers need to rotate their
bodies through ninety degrees and so tend to have a longer, higher bound. A
high bound can lead to the knee on the back foot collapsing and so lose
momentum. It is very important to keep your non bowling arm high during this
action.
The
alignment – Very important to keep one away from injuries.
Side on: the back
foot is parallel to the bowling crease causing the hips to be side on. The non
bowling arm is positioned in front of head so causing the shoulders to align
with the hips. A classic example of a side on bowler is Dennis Lillee.
Chest on: the back
foot points straight down the track towards the target, aligning the hips
parallel to the bowling crease. The non bowling arm is positioned to the side
of the head. This aligns the shoulders and chest parallel with the bowling
crease and hips. Malcolm Marshall is an example of a chest
on bowler.
Mid-way: the back
foot is in between the side on and chest on position. A fine example of a
mid-way bowler is Allan Donald.
An
action that fails to align hips and shoulders at back foot contact is termed a mixed action and can result in
lower back pain and long term ill effects.
Delivery
After
the front foot contact, the use of non bowling hand comes to picture and it is
used to generate pace. Pull the non bowling hand down hard in front which in
turn pulls your upper body down and hence the bowling arms comes down faster
increasing the pace of the ball. It is crucial for the bowling arm to be stiff,
not bent and the wrist rather looser, to ensure smooth release of the ball.
keep the bowling arm rotating close to your ear and avoid it from falling away.
Follow through
As you follow through, fold
your bowling arm into your body and swing your hips around to finish, Your momentum will
take you towards the batsman but make sure you don't run down the middle of the
pitch. Make sure you
complete the delivery with a full follow through.
Above all, the basics of bowling is to
bowl in good lines and at right lengths. Line on the 3rd,4th
and 5th stumps and length between full and good length, of course you can bowl
short if you have the pace of steyn.
Apart from this, there are numerous sites
with good material and seniors with golden experience to teach you more…
To
know the basics is one thing and the application of them is another. It is not
so easy as it looks, It requires hours and hours of practice. Take a ball, go the field, and bowl heart out.
Incase if you benefit, leave a comment, it will give me one more orgasm…
