There is not much that is more satisfying for a seam bowler than steaming in, beating the batsman for pace and seeing the stumps cartwheeling back.
If anyone knows how to tease that extra pace out of you it's Ian Pont: Cricket guru, Head of the Woodworm Fast Bowling Academy and fast bowling coach to Essex CCC and the Netherlands World Cup squad.
Ian's theories are outlined in his excellent book: The Fast Bowlers Bible. While I highly recommend you pick up a copy, Ian has agreed to impart a few of his fast bowling secrets for nothing.
Fast Bowling Hints and Tips
- While you need a certain amount of natural ability to be able to bowl at 90mph, everyone can improve on their natural bowling speed no matter how fast they are.
- Imagine you are bowling in a railway track. This will help you run-up straight, keep your weight moving in a straight line in your action and follow-through straight. If it doesnt go at the batsman, then change it!
- Your non-bowling arm is far more important than your bowling arm. Use it properly by driving it out and down so it passes your side. When you do this properly, it will accelerate your bowling shoulder and help increase speed. Some have argued that this can stop genuine swing happening, so take care if you rely on traditional swing.
- Keep your elbows and arms pumping in as you run up and load up into your action. Nothing throws your momentum and straight lines off like unnecessary side-to-side movements. Keeping your action tighthelps you to control the release of the ball.
- Start your run up leading with your arm. This drives force down your body and into the ground for greater speed. Drive your arms fast in short a short pumping action which will force you forward faster.
- Make sure you fully rotate your shoulders on completion of action. If you have a name on your back imagine you are going to show it to the batsman when you finish. This will help you think about how much of a shoulder turn youre aiming for
- Try to drive your chest through the crease just before you let the ball go. The sensation is that of being pulled forward by the batsman with a big rope attached to your chest. This gets you as far in front of the ballas possible and increases arm pull and speed of the arm
- At the point of delivery, your hips and nose will be facing the batsman. If your bowling hip is lazy it will lag behind thus dropping your speed. If your nose isnt facing the batsman, your head is probably falling away. The hips are the powerhouse of your body. Get them in the right position
- Try not to throw your non-bowling arm too high as it gets you off balance and affects your timing. Remember, youre trying to go forwards, not up and down
- Your bowling arm starts to bowl from the downswing, which is close to your bowling side hip. Getting your bowling hand into this position quickly from your load-up helps you improve your speed and timing.
If these ideas have tickled your interested, head over to the Mavericks Cricket website and pick up a copy of The Fast Bowlers Bible. If you mention harrowdrive.com Ian will even sign your copy.
© Copyright miSport Holdings Ltd 2008
Two things come to mind reading this. The first is an exercise you may like to try out, the basic kettlebell swing (you could also use a heavy dumbbell for this). It'll increase both hip drive and endurance.
The other is the slightly unorthodox - though effective, he was once clocked at 99.7mph - bowling style of Jeff Thompson. I guess I'm showing my age now :)
It's funny, When I was discussing this with Ian Pont he mentioned Jeff Thompson as a great example of a fast bowler who used less run up and more arm action to generate speed. A great bowler, but of course not a patch on FS Trueman ;)
Ah, yes. A bit before my time though :)
Me too, but quality is quality.
Hi, the blog is very informative and useful for all..
Thanks Toon, maybe not all but all cricket fans for sure ;)
i am a left arm medium pacer aged 15 from india.
i play for eastern province and almana. i have a problem that i feel i am loosing pace. Please tell me what to do.
Saif, have you tried any of the tips in the post?
oh yes i did. and my pace did increase when i bowled yesterday but i was very much off target.
i also changed my bowling style but still i dont get how to make the ball to come back in to the right handed batsman. Please help me with this.
I'm glad I could help. I'm no expert on swing but you can see the basics here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBa1OxNYI-Y
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sportacademy/hi/sa/cricket/skills/newsid_3230000/3230563.stm
[...] Saif needs assistance with his swing bowling and accuracy. He left a comment here asking for help: “My pace did increase when I bowled yesterday but I was very much off [...]
hey Saif and all the other fast bowlers.
Dont Make Fast Bowling Complicated. Keep it simple.
Follow these keys.
1. Run up nice and smooth. This means running up in a controlled manner not too fast, not too slow. Your run up should be the most beautiful thing in the world. It is a nice rhythmical dance.
2. Once you get your runup rite just extend your bowling arm and zip the ball through.
Somthing I do to work on my bowling is just mark down the crease with my boots, mark my run up and just keep bowling without a ball for an hour every day. this is a great way to get your rhythm and keep it.
Sid
Great tip Sid. Where do you play?
hey this is very useful mate....i have till now clocked 131 km/hr....at the best...this sure will increase it atleast by a bit ..thnks a lot for these tips,..
Let me know how you get on saurab
If can bowl a tennis ball at
120kmh how fast would it be with a
cricket ball? Please help, I need
to know!
That would be an interesting bit of maths for someone to do. Sadly my GCSE standard is not up to it.
lol! thanks David! But a cricket ball
would be faster than a tennis ball,right?
No idea, but I would suspect not as a cricket ball is heavier.
Maybe you are losing pace because. You are concerned by your accuracy and think if you bowl to fast you will lose control, you are stiff and need to flex your muscles or your action has is slowly changing to a slower one
hi..
i m totally confused by ur tips to increase pace. could u plz make it simple
Buy the Fast Bowler's Bible ankur and everything will become clear.
David i am a medium pace bowler from india i can bowl some balls accurately with much fast aftersometime i completely lose my stability and lose my pace and line by bowling beamers suggest the best action for me i will definitely follow it if u suggest i am 5feet5inches and 55 kg in weight i usually follow irfan pathan's action please suggest me proper bowling action also i want to ask if only fast releasing action is sufficient to bowl fast also tell me the max. speed a 15 year old boy can bowl please answer me immediately
Have you tried the tips in the post Sudheer?
i will try out your tips but my question is where should the ball i mean in which angle i have to release it so as not to get fulltoss
the best suggestion I can give without seeing you bowl is this: Don't focus on angles or technique, focus on the target. Where do you look when you bowl? You need to be fixing your eyes on the exact spot you want the ball to pitch from the beginning of your run up until you have followed through. DO this and you accuracy will improve.
thanks david i wan to ask u does runup influences the speed of the ball does more runup gives extra fast and accuracy please reply me
I am a pace bowler- well i use to be, over the recient years i have developed this silly skip step just as i am going through my bowling action. this is a result of play Indoor Cricket in the off season. the problem with this is that all the speed that i have generated from my run up is lost, and it is doing damage to my right knee, any suggestions to fix this problem?. i have been searching far and wide to find someone to help me.
Tony, You might want to consider rebuilding your run up. Find an empty field, mark the start point, close your eyes, run up and pretend to bowl. Mark the end point.
Do this a few times and you will find your natural run up. You can then put that back to the nets.
Remember run up only contributes a small percentage of pace though.
Hi David, Thanks for the advice, i trained on thursday night with my outdoor team, my runup was all over the shop. ended up heading out to the field and did what you told me. its hard to tell but i think i may have stopped that skip step. i do remember when i was young looking at a South African bowler named Richard Snell, he pretty much had the same technique, massive skip step.
anyway when i tested my self i now have a 13 step run up. what would you consider to be a comfertable run up length?
and secondly now that i have the runup down pat how do i get my speed back again taht i have lost over the years? i have developed the ability to swing and minuplate the ball really well over the years, just need to get that bite back like i had in the past when i opened.
Only you can tell me what is a comfortabl length Tony, so if you like 13, go with 13! As for pace, age will play a part but I don't know how old you are. Buy the fast Bowlers Bible as that will help you identify the areas you need to improve.
I am a medium pace bowler. With a short run up, I have got decent pace and trouble the batsmen. My friends tell me that with a good run up, I can increase my pace. With the current style, I will have to use my arm a lot and it's difficult to bounce the ball. Will a decent run up increase my pace and the ability to bounce?
I tried practising a long run up. But as I approach the bowling crease I some what lose rhythm (I tend to think too much on the crease). Can you guys help me to get a good run up?
It sounds like the run up you have works well for you. Run up only really gives 10-15% of your overall speed anyway so even if you increase it successfully there is not much to gain. There is also much to lose if you can't get your rhythm.
Thanks David for your observations. I am working hard on finding a good run up pattern. Of late, I have been running with 25 strides. Finding good rhythm occassionally. But, would like to master it. Anyhelp and guidance in this regard is highly appreciated.