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January 18, 2008

Looking for Swing

Posted by Conrad Chandler at in

	A graphical representation of swing bowling © ECB

If you are still reading this, you have come across this as you are a bowler and looking for little tips that can help you on the road to success. Now by being from the subcontinent … what happens with your type of bowling if you are a quick/pacer? Is the ball seaming away like at Headingley on a nice moist April morning? I doubt it very much. You will have the tough task of having to bowl on the dust-bowls of the subcontinent. So getting that action perfect is very key to your success.You are there to get a little of swing with that lovely new ball, then get it a little rough for the spinners, and then come on at the end [like the great Wasim Akram] and reverse-swing and boom that chunk of leather in your hand.

So - two points … you are trying to get that ball to swing, and trying to generate pace. There are various ways you can go about getting that pace. Visit your local gym and pump that iron till the cows come home; or you can work on getting your wrist behind the ball. This is by far the most effective way of generating both pace and swing, but most notably swing. Take a chance to have a look at Irfan Pathan, Dale Steyn, Brett Lee, and Simon Jones. Their wrist positions are second to none and it is something to be admired.

The wrist position I talk about is at the point of release. Remember and work on that, and you will be a better bowler for it. You will often hear commentators going on about a bowler not getting his wrist behind the ball, and this is a little saying that you should have in your mind.

Wrist position is the most important factor when trying to generate swing. You can have the classical side-on actions of one Sir Ian Botham and Kapil Dev or the front-on action of Andrew Flintoff … but it doesn’t count for anything if your wrist position isn’t good when you are looking for swing.

When Lee first came onto the scene he was busy being quick, but has since come to the fore with his wrist position, and now has both pace and swing. Steyn is a classic example of a modern bowler with a great wrist position. However, let’s get this clear with the notion of wrist position. Am I talking about when you are running into the crease with the ball in your hand? Am I talking about your wrist position after you have released the ball?

A great way to practice is to do little flicks against a wall if you are on your own, or to practice flicking a ball to a mate. Remember to fix your forearm and just work on flicking that ball using your wrist. Try and get a ball where one side is a different colour to the other, or one with a seam - that way you can concentrate on the seam coming out straight. Try and flick down the line of the seam.

See the diagrams for clues as to what I’m talking about, and see the results out in the middle when you have practised them

January 14, 2008

Bowling and the basics

Posted by Conrad Chandler at in

	© ECB

Whatever you bowl, you should be consistent in your action. By being consistent in your action, you will bring accuracy to your armoury which is by far the most effective weapon for any bowler as you can then exert pressure and force the batsman to make a mistake.

However, accuracy comes with practice and a solid technique. But is technique the be-all and end-all of everything? The basics are that as long as your front foot is facing towards the target after your back foot has touched down, and your hips and shoulders are in line, then you’ll be fine. Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga, with his low-arm slingy action, hasn’t got the greatest technique. However, his shoulders and front foot are near spot-on and he proves effective and continues to trouble the world’s top batsmen.

A model for all young fast bowlers to check out on the internet is Allan Donald - smooth, balanced, rhythmical and consistent - his hips and shoulders were perfectly in line, and his front foot was perfectly facing the target. If you look at England’s Andrew Flintoff, his hips and shoulders are perfectly in line, however his front foot is facing fine-leg and this has put excess weight and strain on his ankle.

If you can, get a qualified coach to observe and analyse your full action and then give you feedback.

If your action is fine and you have a technique that won’t cause you injury, but you keep on bowling down the leg side, you obviously need to practice! It could be a host of reasons why the ball is going like a spray-gun, but the most common reason is that you have no rhythm. Try putting a small plastic cone on your head and go through your action slowly several times.

The simplest method to create consistency is to remember that bowling is about line and length. If you run-in along the target that you want the ball to go, and you follow-through where you want the ball to go, then more often than not you’ll be accurate.

Just get those hips and shoulders in line, and you’ll be fine!