BOWLING

The Ideal Run Up : A smooth rhythmic approach towards the stumps gaining momentum all the time. A 20 step run up is advisable and around 6 to 7 steps for a spinner. Ideal position to start the run up is shown here . Start on the left foot with weight forward and eyes focussed on the target. As you get into the last jump, transform your open chested approach into a side on action.

ITS SIMPLE!
The run up of all bowlers vary, but remember one thing RHYTHM’ is the goal. A good rhyhmic run-up increases a fast bowlers pace & slow bowlers ability to spin the ball. Well balanced & good approach to the stumps helps the bowlers to gain consistency in line & length for long periods without getting tired. Balance and rhythm- 2 important things to concentrate on.

Delivery Stride And Basic Action : A Good action is where you are looking over your front shoulder, head steady, eyes focussed on the spot where the ball is to be delivered.Finish with the front arm,s elbow in the ribs and the bowling arm on the front thigh.

One should not change his natural action. The orthodox side on action is always advantageous but bring changing bowlers natural action could extreme results. Either bring vast improvements or just ruin the career. It could also bring in serious injuries due to unnatural body movements. Fine tuning is only,what is needed. One tip, always complete your bowling action for best results.

Wrist Action : Wrist behind the ball at all times, as so strongly recommended by Kapil Dev in his tips. Impart as much back spin as possible to keep seam steady after the ball is released. This will get the ball to really move around. Note in pic. how the ball is held not too deep in the palm and not too loose as well.

The most important & integral part of bowling while bowling. The wrist should be as steady as possible. According to Imran Khan, the legendary fast bowler, its gods gift to a bowler. Many great bowlers have achieved brilliance & mastery over bowling because of strong & stable wrist action. Concentrate on keeping that wrist strong on the ball whether you are a spinner or a fast bowler.Remember tired wrists mean tired deliveries.

Pace Bowling : If you are struggling to find a regular rhythm, try this exercise: to into an empty field with no obstacles nearby and from a marked point, do a full run-up with your eyes closed. Imagine you are an old steam engine looking to build momentum. Walk two or thre paces, start to jog and gradually build up to about three quarter speed, thinking of the sound and action of a steam train as you are running. I have used this method many many times, and it still works wonders in bringing out smoothness.'''' (1955)

''''Befire you bowl your first ball, you must be mentally as well as physically set up. Making batsmen play is all important.
If you bowl it at or just o utside off stump, there is a genuine chance that he''''ll nick it, given that he''''s so keen to feel bat on ball.''''
The outswinger delivered at pace is one of the most powerful deliveries. It swerves in the air from middle to off, begging for catches for the wicketkeeper or the slips.

Hold the ball well out of the palmwith the seam running vertically. At the point of delivery, the seam points towards first slip.
The wrist is cocked and whipped through, with a powerful follow-up. The arm finishes well outside the body in the direction of mid-off.

IN-SWING
The grip will vary according to the type of bowler, but the broad principle is that the ball should be held in the fingers and not in the hand. There is no hard and fast rule about bowling frips and it is up to the bowler to find out what suits him best, but most swing bowlers will point the seam of the ball in the direction that they want it to swing to.

Inswinger : (A delivery moves in the air from the offside to legside ) Hold the ball with the vertical seam pointing towards fine leg. The action could get slightly open chested and the front foot toe pointing towards 1st slip.
Accuracy is the most important aspect of the inswinger otherwise results into "easy meat" for the batsman. Mixing up with the outswinger, this delivery becomes very effective to get L.B.Ws. Only bear one thing in mind finish that bowling arm on the back leg.

 

Outswinger: ( A delivery that moves from leg to off in the air) Hold the ball with vertical seam pointing towards third man . Late out swing is more dangerous.

 Side on action and the front foot toe pointing towards square leg to yield better results. To guide the direction of the ball use of fine front arm is recommended. The bowling arm should finish on the left thigh.

Just make sure the 2 fingers along the seam remain there till the end. The fingers should follow the seam till the last minute.

 

Seam Bowling : When the conditions are not suitable for swing bowling especially in the subcontinent or when the ball is little older bowler one can rely on the movement off the wicket. All great fast bowlers have the mastery over swinging balls to seam further after pitching. The most important aspect here again is accuracy, variation in pace, use of the crease and shrewd knowledge to pick up batsman’s weakness

Off Cutters : (A delivery which cuts back after pitching from off to leg) Offcutters can be bowled with different grips holding the ball firmly like an offspinner or holding the seam horizontally with out swingers grip.

Off cutters is an ideal delivery with old balls on slow dead track & can also be used as a surprise delivery on a good track to deceive the batsman. Try varying the pace for better results and also make use of the crease while always trying to pitch the ball just outside the off stump.


 

Leg Cutters : (A delivery which cuts from leg to off & goes away from the batsman). Leg cutter can be bowled with either leg spinners grip or holding the seam horizontally ( i. e. cross seam ) with inswinger grip.

Ideal delivery on a dry or turning tracks where bowlers gets little bite from the pitch. Leg cutters with variation in pace can be devastating. Only concentrate on pitching the ball on the middle and leg stump to encourage the batsman to play against the direction of the ball for best results.
 

 

Yorkers : (Fuller length delivery bowled at high speed pitching apround the batting crease) . Hold the ball with vertical seam pointing straight towards stumps aiming at batsman’s feet. Try and release the ball at highest point of action.
Requires a great shoulder action. Mastery in swinging yorkers is very result oriented. This is achieved with lots of practice.The importance of mastery in Yorkers has increased in modern times due to the introduction of one day cricket. According to Wasim Akram , Yorkers takes his energy away of 6 normal deliveries. Aim at the bails of the stumps thats what he recommended. Strong body and wrists actions are essentiel to get this delivery effective. It needs to be quick in the air to be devastating. Watch the Batsman closely in stance especially his position in the popping crease for you to adjust your length.

Bouncer : (Lethal weapon of a fast bowler pitching short and rising chest high)Bouncer can be bowled with a action of an out swinger or an inswinger. It could be tried with cross seam too. Bouncer should be aimed at the head of the batsman. Ball passing well over the head is a complete waste of energy. Effort of 3 normal deliveries taken away. Try and hit the pitch as hard as possible.Which means you release the ball later than a normal delivery with the aim of not being too short.

Reverse Swing : Pakistans gift to modern day cricket. The story goes that Sarfaraz Nawaz, the pakistani stalwart discovered the art and reluctantly passed it on. Today it is one of crickets important feature. Mastery of this art can have prodigious effects on the game. Waqar Younis and Akram have achieved miraculous wins with reverse swing.

Shown here are the 2 grips to get the 2 movements with the old ball when it starts reverse swinging ie. swinging in the direction of the shiny side ( note the work done on the ball to keep one side glossy and the other retaining its natural roughness).
It is common to see a more pronounced swing with reverse swing than normal swing. Very important to have a good, basic bowling action,because you need to be quick in the air for best results you need a great body effort. Wrist again firm behind the ball . pushing at the ball to achieve that speed in the air. Crucial here is the direction in which the ball is released because the ball has a big late movement. In case of the incoming delivery .Keep that ball wide outside the off stump so when the swing finishes it should be hitting the stumps. Length must be very full. Waqar Younis is a master of this particular delivery. Of course, needs hard work and skill. But when you have it you have a trump card up your sleeve !

Off Spinner : (A delivery bowled by a slow bowler from Off to the leg side for a right side hand batsman). Placing the ball the first and second finger with wide gap between them with other two fingers our under the ball ( refer to the diagram ).

The first finger is the main spinning finger to the extent of getting a cut on it after bowling 20/25 overs in a day. The idea is to give the ball a big rip with strong fingers. A common sight is a bowler just rolling the ball through. Although you are not bowling fast remember bowling spin ie quality spin needs a great body effort and keeping that bowling arm high at the point of delivery is always an asset.



 

Leg Spinner : (delivery bowled by a slow spin bowler from leg stump to offstump).Place the ball across the seam with three first three fingers and thumb. Bring the wrist down heavily at the time of delivery.

Involves A lot of wrist action compared to the offspinners. Leg spinners bring a lot of excitement to the game. Its a very challenging art. Requires mastery and yes, also a big heart to be dominating.. High level of accuracy with variations like googly flipper & top spin is a match winning proposition. Unlike offspinners, Leg spinners can turn the ball on any surface. Again use that wrist and fingers strongly to get spin on the ball. Try getting that bowling arm down quickly and close to the body to get a great loop. A spinners weapon !



 

Googly : A legspinner released from the back of the hand to spin the other way is googly. The grip is similar to that of aleg spin only released differently .

Keep that wrist supple and make sure you finish the bowling arm towards your back thigh like you would with an inswinger. Most effective if pitched on driving length outside the off stump. Getting the righthander to drive against the spin.

Things To Remember For A Bowler :
1. Physical & mental toughness.
2. Concentration - tend to loose concentration when tired.
3. Use of the crease.
4. To maintain the ball (Secret of Pakistan''''s success).
5. Positive approach.
6. Change of under garments regularly, shirt, socks etc. to achieve that extra.
7. Not to get disheartened when a catch is dropped.
8. Good footwear to avoid injuries.
9. A light jog & some stretching is essential after a tiring day’s play to avoid stiffness in the body next day.
 

Wrist Spin Bowling : (Spin Techniques)
From the beginnig of cricket, bowling has since being the most skillful and difficult of cricket skills to acquire. It is a technique by which a person (bowler) runs up to the wickets and throws the ball to the batsman, with a full arm, trying to hit the wicket to get the batsman out. There are many types of bowlers, from fast to slow, spin to swing. Spinners are slow bowlers who manage to get the ball to change direction when hitting the ground. Swingers are those bowlers who manage to get the ball to move away or towards a batsman. Good bowlers can be terribly confusing because of the way they have perfected their bowling.

The Leg Spinner
The grip is two fingers up and two down, with the split between the second and third fingers, which are spread across the seam.
The thumb rests on the ball and does not do anything. Shane says his grip is a little unusual because his first two fingers are closer than most leg-spinners.

The delivery - The spin on the ball is roughly 30 degrees so that the ball both spins sideways and dips with the overspin.
Closest variation is the top-spinner, where the seam points to the wicketkeeper and the ball over-spins straight down the pitch.

The Flipper
The grip - The fingers are brought further forward on the ball and the thumb plays a part. Shane says his grip is not too tight as this can stop the ball fizzing out of his hand.

The delivery - The trick is to not bowl it too fast. When he stays relaxed and squeezes the ball out through fingers and thumb (an instant after the centre picture), the underspin makes the ball slice through the air more quickly.

The Zooter
The grip - The ball is held much further back in the palm of the hand, which holds the ball back as you let it go.

The delivery - The ball is pushed out the front of the hand, from the palm, and either floats or skids through the air, maybe swinging in a little. The seam is straight up and down and the zooter does not spin. And a couple of illustrations of:

Leg Spin: ( The Grip )
 
The grip is two fingers up and two down, with the split between the second and third fingers, which are spread across the seam.
The thumb rests on the ball and does not do anything. Shane says his grip is a little unusual because his first
two fingers are closer than most leg-spinners