Gatorade Pacers Blog tag:blogs.cricinfo.com,2008:/gatoradepacers//131 2008-04-15T12:22:41Z Movable Type 3.34 How to Hold the Cricket Ball tag:blogs.cricinfo.com,2008:/gatoradepacers//131.6139 2008-04-15T12:09:16Z 2008-04-15T12:22:41Z Well really I should have started the first article with this, and I guess this epitomises the fact that you should get this point sorted first and foremost before you step out onto that green canvas. Like a ship... Conrad Chandler



Well really I should have started the first article with this, and I guess this epitomises the fact that you should get this point sorted first and foremost before you step out onto that green canvas. Like a ship without a rudder, a car without a steering wheel, and a plane without a tail-fin, if you don’t hold the ball the right and comfortable way then you will be all at sea. International fast and medium-pace bowlers generally hold the ball the same way, whereas spinners can hold the ball in a number of ways [check out Sri Lanka’s new sensation Ajantha Mendis who holds the ball practically by his fingertips- this guy will bamboozle many on his way through international cricket.]. In the picture alongside this article you will see the key basic points about holding the ball the right way: noting that the seam should be vertical, the side of the thumb should be on the seam underneath the ball [basically get your thumb underneath the ball on the seam], and get your index and middle fingers on either side of the seam. This will help direction with the ball, help the ball hit the seam when it pitches, and crucially, help generate swing and movement. However, as with anything in cricket- the most important thing is that you are happy and comfortable with how the ball sits in your hand. Peace of mind will bring you relaxation and the ability to work on the basics of getting wickets. You must remember that the seam helps guide the ball in the direction that you want it to go. A key indicator of this is how the new-ball is respected in all forms and levels of cricket: it is hard yes and goes quicker through the air, but it also has a stiff and proud seam. By getting the seam right, it will also help you get your wrist behind the ball and therefore help get a consistent direction, pace, and movement on the ball. It’s not rocket-science, so get the basics right, practice them, and then shatter those stumps!]]> Setting up the batsman on a flat track tag:blogs.cricinfo.com,2008:/gatoradepacers//131.6048 2008-03-30T22:43:17Z 2008-04-15T12:18:04Z As a bowler, you are there to take as many wickets for as few runs as possible. Simple stuff indeed, but what do you do when the wicket is as a flat as a pancake and the batsman is going... Conrad Chandler Lord’s in 1984? It might not be the best idea to do an Andre Nel and snarl and grunt at the batsman; however it might tempt the batsman into losing his concentration. Do you continue your line and length and bore the batsman out? Well, that’s not going to work on a flat track, is it, as the batsman will know exactly where the next ball will be bowled. Could you be thinking of a slower ball perhaps? That indeed might be a good option as your Jonty Rhodes-type fielder might take up a sharp catch in the covers from a mistimed drive. However, the best option is a combination of the above. By bowling line and length, you are creating a comfort zone for the batsman as he is eating into your line and length on the flat track. The batsman is fast creating blinkers to himself, and perhaps becoming too comfortable with your bowling. Now this is when you can strike with a very different type of ball … either a slower ball, yorker, or probably the best - the bouncer. Essentially, you should think of lulling the batsman into a false sense of security by bowling line and length, and then putting in a change-ball ... meaning a ball that is different in either pace of length. The bouncer is probably the best option after the batsman has been, most likely, driving your line and length. His weight will be surging forward on each ball, and a short ball [aim for just around the heart to chin area] should do the trick and induce an error from our run-hungry friend. This is because the short ball should be played with the weight on the back foot, and things go haywire when it's played on the front foot. Hopefully that top edge will fly straight up in the air and down into the gloves of your keeper. The key to all bowling is to have a plan. Don't just run in and bowl. Where will you bowl? What line, what length? Are you looking to swing or seam the ball, and if so, which way? Yes, it sounds complicated and that is why sticking to line and length keeps things simple ... and can help you trick the batsman. So get working on that change-ball!]]> Hitting the straps from the word go tag:blogs.cricinfo.com,2008:/gatoradepacers//131.5953 2008-03-18T11:23:20Z 2008-04-15T12:18:04Z Conrad Chandler



There weren't any looseners on offer when Dennis Lillee was bowling © Getty Images
Test cricket is the pinnacle of all cricket, and everytime the fortunate talented few set onto that field they know the world and all is watching them. They have a duty to perform for their country and for the sport as a whole. We are shown majestic and tantalising tricks and moments, and also stuff that belongs to the village green. That is why we need to learn everything from them … Dennis Lillee used to say he wanted his first ball to be as fast as his last and boy was that guy prepared to win the second he stepped onto the field. Old D.K. never bowled any looseners. He knew it was Test cricket and the highest standard known to all, and everytime he had a point to prove. Every ball he was gunning for a wicket and he was not there as practice for the batsman. He had done his limbering-up well before stepping on to the pitch. The key word is preparation, and whether you are playing your 1st Test or your 92nd… that first ball that you send down should be as fast and as energetic as the last ball you send down. That first ball should make the batsman play and put him under pressure from ball one. That first ball should set the tone that you as the bowler mean business - be it Test cricket or village cricket, you are there to get that batsman out. So use every single ball and don’t waste any when loosening up. The best example of the wrong example is ‘that ball’ from Steve Harmison that went straight to his mate at second slip, Andrew Flintoff. The direction used was evidently not up to scratch and poor Harmison struggled to find his radar until late in the 2005 Ashes … by which point it was well over. Direction is not the only skill a fast bowler needs, pace being just as key too. England recently dropped Matthew Hoggard on their tour in New Zealand after the first Test as he was simply down on pace and therefore down on preparation. Some viewed it as a bit tough for the England veteran, but it certainly wasn’t tough for the New Zealand openers facing him as they proceeded to paste him and seal the match. There are therefore lessons to be learned from our idols. Yes they will show how to do it, but they will also show you how not to do it. So before you get onto the field, make sure you are warmed up and ready to go from ball one. After all, this is not practice or a tea-party … this is cricket and you win, lose or draw on preparation. You aren’t playing for yourself, but for your team-mates too. So don’t be selfish, be ready to turn the pressure on and up!]]> Pull the other one tag:blogs.cricinfo.com,2008:/gatoradepacers//131.5831 2008-03-03T09:36:38Z 2008-04-15T12:18:04Z Conrad Chandler



The non-bowling arm helps keep balance and generate pace © ECB
So if you’re a right-handed bowler, you are evidently going to be using your right arm to release and propel the ball… pretty obvious there. However, let’s not forget about your non-bowling arm. This arm is almost as vital as your bowling-arm and should not be forgotten about. Every bowler, whether you are the slowest of spinners or the quickest of launchers, will use the opposite arm (the non-bowling arm) through delivery. The non-bowling arm is used in the capacity of helping you rock-backwards/forwards and helping to pull you through the crease. I admit that sounds like Latin, but the point being that the non-bowling arm helps keep balance and generate pace. On the image by this article, you’ll observe that the arm holding the ball will start around the chest/belly area when at the start of delivery, however the non-bowling arm will lift up in front of the body (between your head and the target) and move down in a ‘chopping motion’. This will help rotate your bowling-arm and bring momentum to your delivery and, in turn, increase both stability and pace. Yes this is a pretty dull point to make, and it’s not very rock and roll: we aren’t talking about knocking stumps out and generating reverse-swing… but we are working on the basics of getting a consistent and easily-repeatable action so that you can become a Shoaib Akhtar or a Shaun Pollock. There are varieties of using your non-bowling arm to generate pace: meaning, you can either concentrate on getting your non-bowling arm nice and high so that you have maximum strength in your ‘chopping motion’; or you can, almost, point your non-bowling arm at the target and pull it back towards you (like you were rowing). However, the ‘pulling motion’ can make things a little complicated and has been used mainly by bowlers trying to avoid stress of the back (notably England’s Darren Gough, who in later years wanted to extend his career). Try and stick to the chopping motion and keep it simple, but above all, make sure you are comfortable with your action and, finally, keep practicing. ]]> Keep it Simple, Stupid! tag:blogs.cricinfo.com,2008:/gatoradepacers//131.5687 2008-02-16T12:46:17Z 2008-04-15T12:18:04Z Conrad Chandler



Shaun Pollock liked to keep it nice and straight © Cricinfo Ltd
And so the great Shaun Pollock has retired and left a gulf world-wide of class to be filled … South Africa have eased out his retirement and not made it so sudden by having brought in younger players through the Twenty20s and by the emergence of Dale Steyn. We can learn a lot from Shaun Pollock, or to be a little clever, we can learn very little from him; for the great man kept things very simple and concentrated on bowling on off stump or just outside. Heard of the corridor? Well Shaun Pollock was the key-keeper, the gate-keeper and Lord of all things to do with that little corridor outside off. Shaun Pollock wasn’t the quickest (although Michael Atherton will testify that he was more than sharp in his early days), he didn’t show great variation, didn’t try and york everyone every single ball, didn’t puff his chest out and bowl bouncers and snarl at the batsman, and didn’t try clever slower ones every other ball. Old Polly kept things simple. He bored, stifled, and strangled the batsman into making mistakes and making them have to score off the good length in that corridor of uncertainty (remember the one on off or just outside). As a batsman it is your job to score runs, and as a bowler it is your job to stop the batsman scoring runs. It’s not rocket-science … cricket is that simple! By bowling a good line and length, you are bowling to your field. Meaning that if you’ve set a normal seven [on the off side] and two [on the leg side] field and you are bowling outside off, then the batsman isn’t going to score too many, is he? And what are you doing to make that happen? Well, you are simply bowling outside off. It’s that simple! And that’s all old Polly did. So if you are bowling outside off, and if the batsman is hitting conventional shots, then the ball should be going to your field placings each time. Thus, our friend the batsman won’t be scoring too many runs and will be getting frustrated. The only option for the batsman to score runs is to take a chance and try and work the ball to the on side, and he will therefore be hitting across the line of the ball and thus creating chances to take a wicket. He could also be using his feet to turn your good-length ball into a half-volley. Again you are creating chances for a catch to slip/point or a mistimed catch to mid-off. The action you have taken is to simply bowl outside off, and by doing so you have created chances to take wickets. It didn’t hurt your brain, you didn’t have to snarl at the batsman, you didn’t have to try and bowl a different line and length each ball. All you did was keep it simple. And that is exactly what the great Shaun Pollock used to do … “My philosophy was very much 'keep it simple, stupid'."]]> Keeping your head still tag:blogs.cricinfo.com,2008:/gatoradepacers//131.5578 2008-02-01T13:42:03Z 2008-04-15T12:18:04Z Conrad Chandler



Keep that head still, mate © Getty Images
This article is about how to keep your head still and tips on going about it. If, like me, you have trouble keeping your eyes level [simple way of thinking about how to keep your head still] and you keep sending the ball down the leg side or to second ‘Steve Harmison’ slip … then read on and let these words of wisdom keep you in good stead. As a bowler, you want to have a consistent line and length so that your captain can set a field and build some pressure. You don’t want to be charging in, with the bowler at the other end having bowled a maiden and created some pressure with the run-rate going down, and sending the ball all over the place. Your head is the heaviest part of your body, so if you shake it all about in your action then your body will be shaking too, and you will have no control in anything you do. By keeping your head still/eyes level, I am talking about the run-up, gather, and release … basically the whole action. If you look at Glenn McGrath, you’ll see that he keeps very tall throughout his action and follows through the line that he wants the ball to go on, instead of falling away to the off side. A little trick to sort this little issue out, is to get a small plastic cone [like the small training cones that you’ll see cricketers and footballers training with] and balance it on your head. Now go through your action slowly while trying to keep that cone on your head right through to the release. Gradually build up until you feel that you have more stability and balance in your action, and then put that cone away to collect dust. Hopefully you should have a more consistent result in your line and length, and hopefully your captain will stop swearing at you. Just remember one thing, when you are running in … ‘eyes level’!]]> Looking for Swing tag:blogs.cricinfo.com,2008:/gatoradepacers//131.5488 2008-01-18T15:10:24Z 2008-04-15T12:18:04Z Conrad Chandler



A graphical representation of swing bowling © ECB
If you are reading this, and hopefully you are and are finding my little trinkets of information useful … you will undoubtedly be from the subcontinent: the greatest place for food, wildlife and of course … cricket! 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]]> Bowling and the basics tag:blogs.cricinfo.com,2008:/gatoradepacers//131.5458 2008-01-14T12:35:09Z 2008-04-15T12:18:04Z Conrad Chandler



© 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!]]>