Be a Good Fast Bowler

A major component in a cricket team's success is a skilled fast bowler. Following these structured steps below will assist you in becoming the best fast bowler you can possibly be.

Steps

Improving Your Strength and Conditioning

  1. Become strong. To generate a vast amount of pace, you must broaden your shoulders, and build muscle on your arms and legs. Use dumbbells for your arms, bench press to broaden your shoulders, and leg exercise to keep your legs strong.
  2. Improve your conditioning. Fast bowlers tend to bowl immense pace for many overs. This requires stamina. Be sure to run long distances so you can handle bowling a lot of overs, and get faster on your sprints, so you can maintain a quick run-up.
  3. Build speed. Before you focus on line and length, you must work on speed. You do not need to reach the fastest you can bowl, but gradually improve speed until you feel comfortable with the pace you bowl at.

Learning to Focus Accurately

  1. Focus on line. As you may realize, raw pace won't do the trick. Fast bowlers vary line and length to give batsman a hard time. Make sure the line you bowl is generally on middle stump to off stump, try not to bowl down the leg side, as most of those tend to either be hit or called for wide.
  2. Focus on length. A great fast bowler will pitch most of his deliveries good length, and will bowl the occasional yorker or bouncer to stump the batsman. Try not to bowl too short or too full, as those tend to be hit away for boundaries. However, do not always bowl good length, as the batsman may recognize where you pitch it and play attacking strokes according to where the ball will bounce.

Bowling Techniques

  1. Use swing and cut. Fast bowlers tend to swing or cut the ball many times when they bowl. Cut is used to surprise batsman after the ball bounces. A leg cutter may be used to get the batsman caught behind or caught at slip. An off cutter is generally used to either bowl the batsman or get him LBW. Although cut is very helpful to a bowler, how a bowler swings may sometimes define him as a fast bowler. Swing the ball in and out to stump batsman where the ball is going. I cannot get very detailed with inswing and out swing for that will require a completely new article.
  2. Make use of the jump and hand speed. As you learn and become better, you can make use of the wrist speed as a third technique. Know that the wrist plays a vital role in fast bowling. Many players use hand speed with regards of the jump.
  3. Use the 12 wrist momentum. During the run up, do not keep your wrist straight. Instead, keep your wrist facing right upwards. At the time of release, throw the ball with help of wrist; this will add the wrist speed to the existing speed, allowing you to generate a great pace.
  4. Study the batsman. Bowl certain deliveries to see how the batsman would react to them. Perhaps bowl one a little wide on off or leg to see how he would react to them. See if he'll hit short deliveries or duck. Observe how he faces swing or cut. Find out if he is defensive, attacking, or both. Know his role for the team, if they need to save a wicket, or just slog. Having knowledge of the batsman will ultimately help you to get him out.
  5. Be mentally strong. Part of being a bowler is keeping your cool, not matter if you have just taken a hat trick or if you've been hit for many boundaries. Don't listen to batsman taunts. Also, never let your emotions affect the way you bowl your next delivery, always keep the same face.

Appreciating the Game

  1. Enjoy the bowling occasion. Bowlers are at leisure when they bowl, they enjoy ripping one through middle stump or just realizing they bowled the perfect ball, even if it means not getting the batsman out. Bowlers love the feeling of pressure and joy if they succeed. Don't let the intensity of the game take up the pure joy it is to bowl.
  2. Be motivated and even when you are feeling tired keep going as that's how you build your stamina. Never give up, always remember that good fast bowlers persist for hours and hours just to get it right. Whenever you are bowling (at the nets in a game) always try to bowl as fast as you can - don't worry at first that you will be a bit inconsistent as that's normal. After a while you will start generating pace and be bowling in the right areas (i.e. outside the off stump).

Tips

  • Keep working out everyday so you can stay healthy, strong, and ready to bowl.
  • Keep the balls in line of the stump so that there is more chance for getting him dismissed.
  • Give a few deliveries to batsman so that you can know how the batsman is and get him dismissed by bowling in the place where he can`t play or is weak and plays a poor shot.
  • Always have some milk and eggs before you go out to bowl. The protein in it helps in increasing your efficiency so as to bowl for a longer period of time without running out of energy.
  • Rather than beating the new bowl, he must try to make the batsman to play drives through offside, so there is a chance to get edge or else caught behind. The new seamers have to keep their 90 percent of balls in a bit outside the off stump.
  • Do not bowl for long periods at a time or everyday as your shoulder, arm and back will get sore if you overwork. Have at least 1 day a week off and do not bowl for longer than an hour at a time. If you are a junior you should have at least 2 days a week off and not bowl for longer than 45 minutes at a time and learn how to swing the ball..
  • Move your wrist and keep your arm in line to get a better swing.
  • Don't nervous.. Because there's a saying that practice make a man.
  • Move your wrist with a better grip to release a cutter bowl.

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