(steps to success) ralph dellor-cricket-human kinetics (2009) (1)

7/24/2019 (Steps to Success) Ralph Dellor-Cricket-Human Kinetics (2009) (1)

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CricketSTEPS TO SUCCESS

Ralph Dellor

HUMAN KINETICS


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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Dellor, Ralph, 1948-

Cricket / Ralph Dellor.

p. cm. -- (Steps to success sports series)

ISBN-13: 978-0-7360-7873-3 (soft cover)

ISBN-10: 0-7360-7873-8 (soft cover)

1. Cricket. I. Title.GV917.D64 2010

796.358--dc22

2009037253

ISBN-10: 0-7360-7873-8 (print)

ISBN-13: 978-0-7360-7873-3 (print)

Copyright 2010 by Human Kinetics, Inc.

All rights reserved. Except for use in a review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in any form or by any electronic,

mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying, and recording, and in any

information storage and retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

The Web addresses cited in this text were current as of December 2009, unless otherwise noted.

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This book is dedicated to Stephen Lamb, co-director ofSportsline Media Limited, who has contributed enormously

to the compilation of this book. Also to Les Lenham, who firstgot me involved in coaching and who is still a major

influence on my coaching.

And it is dedicated to my son, Tim Dellor, to whom

I obviously conveyed any coaching ability I might have because heis now adding considerably to my knowledge of cricket. However,his impressive coaching credentials have not prevented him from

being vulnerable to the ball swinging away outsideoff-stump, especially when bowled by his father.


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iv

Climbing the Steps to Cricket Success vi

The Sport of Cricket viii

Step 1 Basic Bowling 1

Step 2 Fast Bowling 17

Step 3 Spin Bowling 31

Step 4 Basic Batting 49

Contents


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v

Step 5 Defensive Batting 61

Step 6 Attacking Batting 75

Step 7 Fielding 111

Step 8 Wicket-Keeping 137

Step 9 Team Roles 149

Glossary 159

About the Author 163


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vi

Climbing the Stepsto Cricket Success

For beginning and intermediate players, as wellas their teachers and coaches, using the informa-tion and practising the skills outlined in Cricket:Steps to Successcan help build a foundation or

add to what players have already accomplishedin the sport.

The steps to success are logically arranged todeal with each discipline in cricket. By followingthe steps, you should improve in all aspects ofthe game and be more likely to find your niche.That is the great thing about cricket: it accommo-dates people of all shapes and sizes, and it has aplace for everyone. Not all players are skilled inall disciplines. This means that unlike in someother sports, you do not have to master one stepbefore moving on to the next. For example, youdo not have to excel at defensive batting (step5) before moving on to attacking batting (step6); however, unless you can defend your wicket,you will not be around long enough to play thoseattacking strokes. Similarly, if you are going tospecialise in spin bowling (step 3), you will notwant to spend much time on fast bowling (step2). But regardless of your interest, you will wantto have spent time on basic bowling (step 1),which is the foundation for all styles of bowling.

The explanations and accompanying photo-

graphs not only provide clear instructions forexecuting every technique that forms the basisof the game, but they also offer options. You willnot be forced to comply with a standard wayof playing; rather, you will have the freedom tofind what suits you. Experiment to find a stylethat fits your playing level, your body and yourattitude.

Intermediate players already know the basicsof the game and the skills required for playing

it. Cricket: Steps to Successoffers more thoroughexplanations of the necessary techniques thando basic instruction books. Refine and polishyour skills with game-specific drills as you move

towards playing at an advanced level. Gain moreinsight into what strokes are appropriate to beplayed for specific deliveries, which balls youmight want to bowl and why, and how you needto think through a match, whether you are abatsman, bowler or wicket-keeper.

If you are a teacher or coach, Cricket: Steps toSuccessprovides an easy-to-follow instructionalpackage. If you already have an establishedteaching system, you can select information,drills, activities and methods of grading thatfit your programme. The background sectionincludes a brief history of cricket, informationabout the type of equipment required, warm-up and cool-down guidelines, ways to avoidinjuries and Web-based cricket resources. Thebook also includes skills, strategies, self-paceddrills and methods of evaluating students, plusan extensive cricket glossary. In short, this bookis designed for coaches, parents working withtheir children and players themselves. If you area player, using this book is like having a coachwith you at all times. When you have a problem,

you can delve into the book to solve it. One ofthe great things about cricket is that the playerwho is honest with himself and admits errors willmake more progress and improve. It is importantto learn what is wrong and work to eradicate theproblem. There is nothing wrong with failing,providing you learn from that failure.

Cricket coaches, even those who were suc-cessful players, do not automatically acquire acomplete understanding of the mechanics of


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vii

Climbing the Steps to Cricket Success

the game, which is why great players do notalways make great, or even adequate, coaches.As a coach, you add pieces of information toyour personal database step by step and yearby year. Cricket: Steps to Successcan acceleratethat learning process.

Cricket: Steps to Successprovides a systematicapproach to playing and teaching cricket. Followthis sequence as you work your way througheach step:

1. Read the explanation of what is coveredin the step, why the step is important, andhow to execute or perform the step.

2. Follow the photos and illustrations.

3. Review the missteps, which note commonerrors and their corrections.

4. Perform the drills. Drills help improveskills through repetition and purposefulpractice. Read the directions and recordyour score. Drills appear near the skillinstructions so you can refer to the in-structions easily if you have trouble withthe drill.

As coaches and cricketers, you can help your-selves considerably if you keep one thought atthe forefront of your mind: cricket is really asimple game. It might not appear so when you

first encounter it, but it is the players themselves(often aided and abetted by their coaches!) whomake it complicated. Remember, the best play-ers are those who do the simple things betterthan anybody else. Watch the great players andsee how they go about their game. Compare thestrokes they play and their bowling actions withthe examples that appear in this book to see justhow close you are to them. Of course, the bestplayers perform well consistently; because they

apply the basics, they can attain the necessaryconsistency to perform well at the top level.

Throughout this book, I refer to the male sex.This is merely for ease of writing and is in no wayintended to ignore females. Womens cricket isgrowing rapidly, and the standard of play is im-proving dramatically. Cricket is most definitelya sport for both sexes, and what girls might lackin terms of physical strength, they compensatefor by having excellent techniques. I also referto the right-handed player as the norm, againfor stylistic purposes. Unless left-handed playersare specifically mentioned, the same techniqueapplies, but in a mirror image.

Make Cricket: Steps to Successwork for you.Learn the game from scratch as a beginner,sharpen your skills as an intermediate player,

teach the game using a systematic approach orcoach with a more comprehensive understand-ing of the game. Even if you are an advancedplayer, you will find drills that challenge yourskills and strategy tips that might give you anedge over opponents.

The reward for completing the steps to suc-cess is whatever you want it to be. For some,playing cricket is just plain fun. For those of youwho enjoy competition, a world of league cricketis out there, waiting to test your skills at whateverlevel you attain. Enjoy this step-by-step journey

to developing cricket skills, building confidenceand experiencing progress. Whether you aremale or female, right- or left-handed, go out andenjoy your cricket. Cricket: Steps to Success isready to take you several steps closer to becom-ing the best player you can be. The objective,whether you are starting out as a cricketer orare already experienced, is to make you a moresuccessful player. The more successful you are,the more you will enjoy the game. Have fun!


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viii

The Sport of Cricket

White balls, black sightscreens, coloured cloth-ing, TV referrals, fourth umpires, blaring musicwhat on earth would W.G. Grace have made ofit all? Undoubtedly, the game developed greatlyin the days of crickets grand old man (not leastdue to his influence), but it is hard to imagine aperiod of more rapid evolution than the past 30years. The advent of the Indian Premier Leagueas the games modern financial powerhousecontrasts starkly with crickets humble originsin England centuries ago.

So how did it all begin? Ancient referencesabound to bat and ball games in England andEurope, and it has even been suggested thatChina was crickets cradle. But it is more widelyacknowledged that the modern game originatedin England and was played by shepherds, whosesheep would have kept the grass short enough

to permit the procedure of rolling the ball alongthe ground. A shepherds crook might well havebeen the prototype bat, given the curved shapeof the earliest known specimens. A ball couldhave been made of matted wool, held togetherby wax. And what better target for the bowlerthan a wicket gate from a sheeps pen?

Gradually, the ball developed a broadly uni-form shape. Stuffing became the means of form-ing the centre, with a covering of leather stitchedaround it. Regulations followed concerning ballweight and then size. Meanwhile, the stick was

honed into a club, initially with a distinctivecurve at the bottom, designed to deal with un-derarm deliveries bowled along the ground. Overtime, a shoulder to the bat emerged, followed bythe splice that made it look much as it does now.

The wardrobe accounts of Edward I in 1300contain one of the earliest references to cricket.

It concerns payment to the chaplain of theKings son for monies paid out himself or bythe hands of others, for the said Prince playingat creag and other sports at Westminster on10th March. A more precise reference occursin 1598, when a witness at a court case ondisputed land mentions that he and diverse ofhis fellows did runne and play there at creckettand other plaies.

Much evidence follows of cricket incurringthe wrath of the Church. In Sussex, a case wasbrought against six men for playing cricket in-stead of attending Sunday evensong, and twochurchwardens were admonished for joiningthem. In 1629 a curate, Henry Cuffin, was cas-tigated for playing at crickets on the Sabbathin a very unseemly fashion with boys and othervery mean and base persons.

The growing importance of wagers on match-es was highlighted in a court case in 1646 overthe non-payment of a cricket-related bet, and bythe end of the century there was a press reportof an 11-a-side match in Sussex played for fiftyguineas apiece. By the 1700s, private clubswere flourishing, and cricket, by then acknowl-edged as a conventional sport, represented acomparatively new opportunity for gambling.

Evidence of a recognised form of the gameexisted in 1706, and although the Laws werenot formulated until nearly 40 years later, the

earlier document shows how the various localversions of cricket had come together in an ac-cepted form. The ball was made of leather andbowled at one of two batsmen who defended awicket comprising two stumps with a single bailacross the top; there were also fielders, umpiresand scorers.


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A significant part in crickets developmentwas played by the village of Hambledon inHampshire, which boasted a team including somany of the leading players of the era between1772 and 1781 that they won more than halfof 51 matches played against All England. Thevillages legendary ground at BroadhalfpennyDown survives still, as does the Bat and BallInn just across the road. In 1775, at the ArtilleryGround in London, the last Hambledon bats-man made the 14 runs required to beat Kent,despite being bowled on no less than threeoccasions when the ball went between the twostumps without removing the bail. A third stumpwas added the following year to eradicate thisabsurdity.

Hambledon eventually left Broadhalfpenny

Down for nearby Windmill Down, but such wastheir status that many of their matches wereplayed in London. As Hambledons influencedeclined towards the end of the century, Londonclubs grew in importance. One such club wasMarylebone, which was set up at a new groundopened by Thomas Lord, where Dorset Squareis now situated. Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC)was established in 1787, the year the venueopened.

Lord was twice obliged to move his ground,first half a mile northwards, where he replanted

the turf at North Bank. The MCC went with him,as it did when the new Regents Canal was dugthrough the second ground in 1814. Lord pickedup his turf again and took over a horticulturalnursery in St. Johns Wood. Thus was LordsCricket Ground established, where the MCC ex-ists today. By 1788 the club was authoritativeenough to declare an overhaul of the Laws, ofwhich it is still the guardian.

In 1828 the MCC was compelled to approveroundarm bowling, which developed from theprevious underarm technique in which the

bowlers hand was as high as his elbow. Barelyhad the new Law been introduced than it wasbroken: Players went further and bowled fromshoulder height, forcing the MCC to endorse suchbowling as legitimate in 1835. By 1864 overarmbowling was permitted, and the game was wellon its way to appearing broadly as it does today.

Crowds of people were now flocking to watchthe big matches, heralding crickets emergenceas a major spectator sport. Important matchesincluded Gentlemen versus Players (amateursagainst professionals), North versus South, Not-tingham versus Sheffield and various gamesinvolving the MCC. But before long, the Victorianpublic had tired of such fare, engaging insteadwith county cricket and, later still, with Testcricket. In both cases, the public was demon-strating a need for representative rather thancommercial forms of the game.

Test cricket is officially regarded as havingbegun in 1877 when Australia defeated Englandby 45 runs in Melbourne. The Ashes legend wasborn five years later, and in 1889 South Africabecame the third Test-playing nation. The West

Indies entered the international arena in 1928,just two years before New Zealand. In 1932India joined Test cricket, and 20 years later sodid the seventh Test nation, Pakistan. Sri Lanka

joined in 1982, followed by Zimbabwe in 1992and Bangladesh in 2000.

To the purist, Test cricket remains the ulti-mate form of the game. It is played over fivedays, allowing the fullest opportunity to displaytalent. It is a stage W.G. Grace bestrode in itsearly years, and where generations of cricket-ing legends have taken their bows, from Donald

Bradman, surely the greatest batsmen of themall, through Garfield Sobers, unchallenged in all-round versatility, to Shane Warne, a latter-dayspin wizard. It has also produced the gamesgreatest controversies, never more than in theBodyline Ashes series of 1932 to 1933, whenthe fast-bowling tactics of the England captainthreatened diplomatic relations between hiscountry and Australia.

There was no clear-cut commencement ofthe County Championship. County clubs existedfrom around 1825, and talk of a champion

county was initially no more than a braggingright when a team had an outstanding season.In 1864 Surrey were proclaimed championsafter winning six and drawing their other twomatches. Nine years later, a meeting in Londondrew up some rules for the foundation of anauthentic championship.


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Nine counties were involved beginning in1873. Derbyshire, Gloucestershire, Kent, Lan-cashire, Middlesex, Nottinghamshire, Surrey,Sussex and Yorkshire took part, using variousmeans for determining the champions. Essex,Hampshire, Leicestershire, Somerset and War-wickshire joined by 1895, the year that marks,for many, the commencement of the establishedchampionship. The number increased to 15 fouryears later when Worcestershire were included,followed by Northamptonshire in 1905. Glamor-gans admittance in 1921 increased the numberto 17, where it remained until 1992 when Dur-ham were accorded first-class status.

The birth of one-day internationals, like somuch in cricket, owed more than a little to theweather. When England were in Australia in

1970 to 1971, persistent rain forced the aban-donment of the third Test in Melbourne. Out ofcourtesy to the spectators, a limited-overs matchwas hastily arranged to take place on what wouldhave been the final day of the Test. It was 40overs a side and proved to be an instant hit, lead-ing to the short, one-day series and the birth ofthe World Cup less than five years later. Sincethat unscheduled encounter in 1971, more than2,500 one-day internationals have been playedacross the world.

Amongst innumerable one-day competitions,

the World Cup remains the most prestigious. Thefirst two tournaments were won by Clive LloydsWest Indies, who were favourites to take the thirdbut were upset by Kapil Devs India. England,who have yet to raise the trophy, were finalistsbut were beaten in 1987, when Australia won,and mauled in 1992 after Imran Khan famouslyurged his Pakistan team to emulate the actionof a cornered tiger. Australia were surprisinglybeaten by Sri Lanka four years later but havedominated all three tournaments since.

The venue for the first three World Cups

was England, where one-day cricket had beenpopular since the inauguration of the GilletteCup in 1963, a move that rescued the county

game from potentially terminal decline. Gil-lette matches were 65 overs a side in the firstyear, reduced to 60 the following season. Theyremained as such, under successive sponsors,until their reduction to the one-day internationalmeasure of 50 overs in 1999.

The year 1969 saw the start of the SundayLeague, the next domestic limited-overs contest.Simplicity was the cornerstone of its success: Itstarted at two oclock every Sunday and was 40overs a side, with bowlers allowed run-ups of nomore than 15 yards (13.7 m). This restrictionwas later lifted among other changes, whichincluded allowing the matches to start earlier,and it became a 50-over competition in 1993before falling back again to 40.

Englands third one-day tournament, the

Benson & Hedges Cup, was launched in 1972.It started on a league basis, with the countrypartitioned into qualifying leagues before theknockout phase, with 55 overs available be-tween 1972 and 1995. It then went to 50 oversand was eventually replaced in 2003 by a newcompetition designed to appeal to a differentsection of the public. The Twenty20 surfed awave of hard sell and hype, but whatever thequibblers thought, it has been spectacularly andcommercially successful.

As cricket put down roots across the world, of-

ten following the empire-building armed forces,England was the role model for other nations.

Just as the County Championship evolved, sodid domestic cricket elsewhere. The SheffieldShield was born in Australia, the Currie Cup inSouth Africa and the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy inPakistan. As in England, successive sponsorsgave their names to the different first-class orone-day tournaments. And however inconsistentEngland may be in playing one-day cricket, therecan be no doubting her continuing influence onits evolution. The Twenty20 format was soon ad-

opted internationally, with India winning WorldCup silverware in 2007 and Pakistan in 2009.


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xi


FIELD OF PLAY

When you consider the complexities of thestrategy that underlie a match, the oft-used ex-pression cricket is like a game of chess playedon grass makes perfect sense. But what about

the board and the piecesthe field of play andthe players?

A stylised ground is regarded as being oval inshape. In fact, the oldest ground on which Testcricket is played in England is known as the Oval,located in southeast London. However, not onlyis the playing surface of the Oval not oval, eventhough the perimeter wall of the ground is, fewother grounds conform to the assumed shape.Irregular sizes and shapes abound to give eachground a character of its own. In New Zealand,for example, most major grounds double asRugby Union venues, with that sport dominat-ing the structure of the stadia. At the home ofthe Kent County Cricket Club, the St. LawrenceGround in Canterbury, there used to be a historiclime tree growing within the boundary itself.When it was finally felled by a storm, what didthe authorities do? Did they take the opportunityto eradicate any trace of it? Of course not! Theymade the quintessentially English decision toplant another in its place.

The Laws of Cricket do not set a distance for

the boundary from the stumps, let alone definethe shape of the field. However, the nationalgoverning bodies and the International CricketCouncil lay down minimum sizes for certaincompetitions. That is one of the joys of cricket:It can accommodate players on the village greenas well as in a great arena. There are, however,strict regulations about the size of the pitch andthe wicket.

Those two termspitch and wickethavebecome interchangeable in recent times; to beslightly pedantic, the pitch refers to the strip of

carefully prepared grass between the two setsof stumps or the two wickets. So, although awicket is never referred to as a pitch, a pitch isoften called a wicket.

The Laws state that the pitch will be 22 yards(20.1 m) long and 10 feet (3 m) wide (figure 1,page xii). Although it might sound archaic torefer to imperial rather than metric measure-

ments (both are now mentioned in the Laws),consider the fact that the 22-yard measurementcame about in the 18th century because it wasthe length of a standard agricultural chain. Todelve further, a chain is a tenth of a furlongthat, in turn, is an eighth of a mile (.2 km). It isderived from furrow-long, or the length of afurrow characteristic of Anglo-Saxon farming.The game is deeply rooted in history.

At either end of the pitch, lines on the grounddenote the creases. The bowling crease indi-

cates where the stumps go and from where thebowler must deliver the ball. The popping creaseis the area within which the batsman must beto avoid being stumped or run-out. The wicketitself consists of three stumps with two bailsacross the top (figure 2, page xiii). At least oneof these bails must be dislodged for a batsmanto be bowled, run-out or stumped.

As for the fielders, they are positioned accord-ing to the state of the game, the type of bowlerand the strategy being employed by the captain.In general, there are three categories of fielders,

each with its own job to do. There are the closecatchersthe slips, gully, short legs and thosein the appropriately termed silly positionswhoare placed specifically to accept any chance ofa catch. Captains use fielders in these positionswhen they are on the attack and taking wicketsis of prime importance.

Then there are the single savers. Of course,they also try to stop the fours and will readilyaccept any catches coming their way if they can.However, their primary function is to preventthe batsmen from taking quick runs or to run

them out if they try. These fielders patrol thecovers on one side of the pitch, the square legand mid-wicket area on the other and the mid-on and mid-off.


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xii

Boundary

Wicket22 yards (20.1 metres)

Pitch

Wicket

Figure 1 The wicket and creases.


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xiii


Figure 2 Parts of the wicket.

Further out, on the boundary edge, are thedeep fielders. Their job is to stop the ball fromcrossing the boundary for four. If the ball isstruck straight to them, they should be able tocut the scoring potential of a stroke down to asingle run. But there is always the possibility ofa catch, especially when the batsman is trying tohit the ball over the boundary for six. With deepfielders in the right place and a slight misjudge-ment from the batsman, another wicket can fall.Whereas a bowler might prefer the satisfactionof seeing a catch off his bowling close to thewicket as a reward for his skill, he will never sayno to one that results from a batsmans mistake.Bad balls as well as good ones result in wickets,and there are no pictures in the scorebook toillustrate just how the wickets fell.

Recognised fielding positions have evolvedover the course of time, but there is no compul-

sion to have men posted in the usual positions.Often a game can be turned by some fine ad-justment to the field, which is why the captainmay be seen moving a fielder just a little oneway or the other.

The positions shown in figure 3 (page xiv) arethe most commonly used ones and are wherethe fielders normally stand if they are posted tocertain positions. These are only approximationsand can vary considerably. However, they are thepositions to which the ball is most likely to go forcertain types of bowlers, given the knowledgegained from experience. As bowling styles de-velop and batsmen employ different techniquesto counter them, so fielding positions go in andout of fashion.

Even the most unathletic fielder might have avaluable role to play for the team by becominga specialist close catcher. He might not be verymobile, but he may be adept at taking anythingin the air that comes within reach. On the otherhand, a superb athlete who is fast across theground and has a powerful throw is invaluablein the outfield. One of the joys of cricket is that

there is room for all types, shapes and sizes. Thehigher up in the game you go, the greater theneed for proficiency in all positions in the field,but there is still a place for everybody.

Bails

Stumps


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xiv

Silly

mid-on

Mid-on

Silly

mid-off

Silly

point

Square

leg

Mid-wicket

Gully

Backward

point

Point

Coverpoint

Extracover

Mid-off

Wicket-

keeper

Bowler

Slips

Sh

ort

legs

Third

man

Fineleg

Longleg

Deep

po

int

Dee

p

sq

uare

leg

D

eep

extra De

ep

mid

-wick

et

L

ong-off Long-o

n

Figure 3 Fielding positions.


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xv


PLAYING CRICKET

Cricket is a simple game, yet that is hard forsomeone to believe who first comes to it andtries to pare away the intricacies in order to getto the basics. There is a famous tea towel on

which those basics are made anything but clearto someone who knows nothing about the game.It reads as follows:

You have two sides, one out in the field andone in. Each man thats in the side thatsin goes out, and when hes out he comesin and the next man goes in until hes out.When they are all out, the side thats outcomes in and the side thats been in goesout and tries to get those coming in out.Sometimes you get men still in and not out.

When a man goes out to go in, the men whoare out try to get him out, and when he is outhe goes in and the next man in goes out andgoes in. There are two men called umpires whostay all out all the time and they decide whenthe men who are in are out. When both sideshave been in and all the men have been out,and both sides have been out twice after all themen have been in, including those who are notout, that is the end of the game!

Someone who knew nothing about the gamebefore reading that description not only wouldstill know nothing about the game but wouldprobably have given up any intention of find-ing out what makes this game the best there is.

Like most clever pieces of satirical writing,there is an element of truth in the tea towel text,albeit contorted into a grotesque travesty. Butif the contortions are ironed out, it should bepossible to gain an understanding of what thegame is all about.

There are, indeed, two sides of 11 players

each. A coin toss is used to determine which sidebats and which fields. Traditionally, the captainof the home side flicks the coin into the air, andthe visiting skipper calls heads or tails. The win-ner of the toss then makes a decision based onthe state of the pitch, weather conditions, thecomposition of the teams or simply intuitionwhether to bat or field first.

If the captain decides to bat first, two of hisside, the opening batsmen, go out to face thebowling. The opposing captain usually picks thefastest bowlers in his team to operate with the

new ball. Its hardness causes it to bounce more,and the prominent seam and shine will help itmove off a straight line as it travels through theair and when it is pitched. This means that theopening batsmen usually have the best tech-nique and are prepared to face the fast bowlingthat is likely to come their way.

The objective of the fielding side is to preventthe batsmen from scoring runs and to get themout. The five most common ways to dismiss abatsman are these:

1. Bowled.The batsman misses the ball, andit strikes the stumps (the wicket).

2. Leg before wicket (LBW).The batsmanmisses the ball, but the batsmans legprevents the ball from hitting the wicket.Some qualifications make this Law com-plex. For example, the ball cannot pitchoutside the line of the leg stump, and itmust not touch the bat. LBW decisionstend to be contentious.

3. Caught.The ball is caught by a member

of the fielding side after it hits the bat andbefore it touches the ground.

4. Run-out.When attempting to run, thebatsman does not have part of his per-son or bat grounded behind the poppingcrease (figure 4, page xvi) at the momentthe ball hits the stumps after being thrownby a fielder, or when someone, usuallythe wicket-keeper, takes the return andremoves the bails.

5. Stumped.The batsman misses the ball

and is out of his ground when the ballreaches the wicket-keeper, who removesthe bails.

A batsman also can be out if he handles theball, is timed out, hits the ball twice, hits thewicket or obstructs the field. These, however,are very rare occurrences.


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xvi


Bowling crease

Popping crease

Return creaseStumps

While the batsmen are trying to stop the bowl-ers from getting them out, they also must scoreruns. It is often fairly easy for the batsmen sim-ply to concentrate on staying in, but when theytry to score runs, they must take more risks. Thatis the great dilemma of the game. The bowlersknow this, too, and strive to prevent the bats-men from scoring runs. The bowlers know thatthe time will come when the batsmen have toincrease the risks they take in order to put runson the scoreboard.

Runs are scored when a batsman has hit

the ball far enough away from a fielder to beable to run to the other end of the pitch beforethe fielder can return the ball to either set ofstumps. For this reason, single runs are the mostcommon, but it is not unusual to run twos orthrees. If the ball is hit to the boundary alongthe ground, the batsman gets four runs withoutactually having to run. If the ball is hit over the

boundary without bouncing in the field of play,six runs are added to the score. However, add-ing a maximum number of runs requires hittingthe ball in the air, which increases the risk of theball being caught. Attempting to hit the ball thathard increases the risk of missing it completely.

In addition to the runs scored by the batsmen,there are extras. These are additional runs thataccrue largely through mistakes by the fieldingteam and their bowlers. If the bowler trans-gresses by overstepping the popping crease inthe act of bowling, for example, the umpire will

call, No-ball, and one run is added to the total.But the batsman can score runs off that deliveryas well, safe in the knowledge that the Laws ofCricket state that he cannot be out off a no-ballunless he is run-out. Similarly, a run is scoredif the umpire considers the ball was bowledbeyond the reach of the batsman. If a ball goespast the batsman, does not hit the wicket and is

Figure 4 The bowling crease, return creases, and popping crease.


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not stopped by the wicket-keeper, the batsmancan run; this is recorded as a bye. A leg bye isadded to the total when the batsmen completea run after the ball has hit the batsmans bodyas opposed to his bat.

It is this balance of risk that is at the veryheart of the game, for it affects the thinkingof the fielding captain as well as the batsmen.The fielding captain knows that he can positionfielders in such a way that they might well stopruns from being scored, but by being in thosepositions, they may not be ideally placed to takecatches and hasten the demise of the battingside. Furthermore, bowlers get tired. The captainhas to decide whether he can risk one more overfrom his opening bowler, who has perhaps takenthree wickets and is bowling well, or rest him in

the hope that he will come back into the attacklater, refreshed and ready to strike again.

These are the tactical conundrums that makecricket the game it is. The strategic battle thatunfolds is almost as important to the developingdrama of a match as the technical contest be-tween bat and ball. The higher up in the gameslevels you go, the more important the captainsrole is in achieving the desired outcome, as willbe seen in Step 9, where the roles of the captainand other members of the team are examined inmore detail. At lower levels, the captains influ-

ence is limited by the technique of the playersat his disposal; at the very top, where there is ahigh level of technical competence among play-ers, it is the inspired bowling change or subtlealteration in the position of a fielder that canmake the vital difference between winning andlosing. And winning is the object of the game:If you are not playing to win, do not bother tokeep score.

The scorers have a long and distinguishedplace in the game as the accountants of cricket.At one time they were known as the notchers,

literally cutting notches in a piece of wood asruns were scored. The task has developed, likethe game itself, so that now scorers in the topechelons of the game rely on computers withsophisticated software programmes. But theyare the bookkeepers, subservient to the twoumpires who are out in the middle making thevital decisions relating to the Laws.

Remember the tea towel: There are twomen called umpires who stay all out all the timeand they decide when the men who are in areout. In essence this is exactly what they do,adjudicating on appeals for wickets. The bats-man is hit on the pad, the bowler appeals witha raucous cry of Hows that? and the umpiredecides whether the ball meets all the criteriafor an LBW decision. If the umpire is happy thatit does, he raises his index finger to signify thatthe batsman is out. The umpires adjudicate on allmatters, from counting the six legitimate balls inan over to deciding if conditions are fit for play,generally ensuring that the Laws of Cricket areadhered to in all their minutiae. And the umpiresare out there for the whole game. Umpires neverwin the toss and sit in the comfort of the pavilion

watching their team-mates bat!So, when the bowlers have taken their wickets,

the batsmen have scored their runs, the umpireshave given their decisions and the scorers haverecorded the progress of the game, we reach aresult. Put simply, the side that scores the moreruns wins. However, this is cricket, and it is notalways as straightforward as that. In a limited-overs game, the rule generally holds. Side A batfor the full quota of 50 overs and score, say, 260for the loss of five wickets. Side B reach 240 foreight in 50 overs, and so side A win by 20 runs.

Or, if side B had scored 261 for eight in 49.5overs, side B would have won by two wickets.If the scores had finished level after both sideshad faced the same number of overs, then theresult would have been a tie, irrespective of thenumber of wickets lost.

In matches where time is allotted for thecompletion of the match, be it two innings aside or one, another result becomes possibleadrawand another means of achieving a resultenters the equation. This is called a declaration.If the captain of the side batting first considers

there are enough runs on the board and thatthe other side can be bowled out in the timeavailable, he will declare the innings closed.For example, side A reach 200 for five with twoand a half hours of playing time remaining. Thecaptain declares in the belief that side B can bebowled out in the time available before scoring201 runs. Side B are bowled out for 160, and


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side A win by 40 runs. Or side B score 201 forseven and win by three wickets. If side B finishon only 90 for nine, the match is drawn, as itis if side B score 200 for nine; if they score 200all out, it is a tie.

The shorter versions of the gameTwenty20or other limited-overs matches during which ateams innings are restricted in overs rather thantimecan generate instant excitement, but they

cannot match a two-innings game that gives theebb and flow of superiority time to unfold. Inthe shorter matches, it is the clock that dictatesthe pattern of play, rather than a figure on thescoreboard that indicates how long there is to go.There is nothing to equal the drama and tensionof a five-day Test match that reaches the lastavailable over with any of the four results stillpossible. That is cricket at its very best.

WARM-UP AND COOL-DOWN

Gone are the days when players fell out of thepub and went straight out onto the field to play.More thought is given to the game and how itis played, so it is not enough to just go out andface or bowl the first ball. That statement in itself

encapsulates one of the problems associatedwith preparing to play cricket. An all-day gamemight start at 11:00 a.m. The players might wellarrive at the ground ready to begin their pre-performance routines at 10:00 a.m. They all gothrough the team warm-up and then some field-ing practice before undertaking routines specificto their roles in the game. The opening bowler isfired up and ready to go, except that his captainwins the toss and decides to bat first. It might bemid-afternoon before that bowler is called intoaction, and by then he has been sitting aroundand has had lunch.

For each session of play, it is important toprepare properly, not only physically but men-tally. Cricket is a cerebral game, with so manyelements played in the mind. It is also a teamgame, so the first preparation activity should bea team warm-up.

Some doubt has been cast on the physicalvalue of a static warm-up routine. In fact, thedoctor in charge of a British Olympic team onceopined that human muscles and tendons have

evolved to react immediately. Early man wouldhave needed his body to be ready for action,without the benefit of a warm-up, if he had torun away from a wild animal. Be that as it may,most medical opinion is that the body will workmore efficiently and will be less prone to injuryif it is properly warmed up before serious sport-ing activity.

For a team to arrive at the venue and thengo through a warm-up routine as a unit is alsoa good way to prepare mentally. The team ethicis instilled, and all extraneous thoughts andconcerns brought along to the match can be

forgotten. This is the time to focus on enjoyingcricket and to get away from personal, schoolor professional problems.

Before doing any stretching exercises, bethey dynamic or static, make sure to raise eachplayers body temperature by doing some gentle

jogging that becomes a little more intense as itgoes on. As a team, go through some loosen-ing exercises and ensure that everyone getsinvolved. This does not mean just going throughthe exercises, but also allowing as many playersas possible to organise one aspect of the routineunder the overall control of the captain or coach.Even the most junior member can then be awareof his role and of the contribution he can maketo the teameven before play has started.

Once loose, do some fielding practice. Notonly does this add more intensity to the prepa-ration, but it also is more cricket orientatedthan stretching. Fielding practice can also beof value in this vital area of the game. A playermight not suddenly improve as a fielder, but hecan get used to the particular conditions at the

ground on the day and hopefully will be betterable to reach his individual level of ability forthat match.

Next, go through specialist preparation. De-pending on the facilities available, this mightinvolve batsmen having a session in the nets,bowlers doing the same thing and the wicket-keeper going through his practice routine. Net


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surfaces of dubious quality are of no benefit toanyone; in such circumstances, batsmen will bebetter served by taking some throw-downs onany decent surface, while bowlers hone their ac-tions on the outfield, providing there are reliablefootholds. Batsmen must be properly attuned toface the first ball, while bowlers must be at peaklevels from the outset. If a bowler takes threeovers to reach optimal performance, the gamecan be won or, more often, lost.

It is not enough simply to be ready for the firstball of the match. A player must be preparedfor the first ball of any session and stay readyfor action throughout that session. It is not easyfor a batsman to sit in the pavilion for hours,ready to go in at any moment. A good routineis to relax until you are the next but one to go

in. So, number six in the order puts his pads onwhen the second wicket falls. At the fall of thethird wicket, he gets completely ready, decid-ing whether to wear a sweater, cap, helmet orwhatever. From then on, he concentrates solelyon his task.

Similarly, a bowler should not get cold anddetached in the field when he is not actuallybowling. As a waiting bowler, watch individualbatsmen to get an idea of how you might getthem out if you were bowling to them. Gothrough some gentle loosening exercises in thefield at appropriate moments to prevent stiff-ening up. It is also important to take in fluidsat every opportunity. Dehydration is a majorfactor in falling performance as fatigue sets in.A suitable intake of energy drinks or even plainwater keeps tiredness at bay and maintainsconcentration levels.

Just as there was a group warm-up at the startof the match, so there should be a team cool-down at the end. After taking account of the levelof fatigue, go through some fairly gentle routines

that allow the build-up of acids in the body todissipate and ensure that you will not be stiff aday or two later when you might be required todo the same thing again.

EQUIPMENT

Cricket requires a fair amount of equipment.If you have any doubts about that, just look atthe number of equipment manufacturers andsuppliers specialising in the game. Of all theequipment used, the bat is undoubtedly thestar of the show. More time and money goesinto the choice of a bat than any other piece ofequipment. How much of that decision-makingprocess is informed? Among the reasons for notchoosing a particular bat are these:

The colours of the manufacturers logomatch the colours on the club sweater.

The national cricket hero of the moment

uses exactly the same bat. The bat is a bit big at the moment, but

theres room to grow into it.

It is the cheapest, or most expensive, batin the shop.

Lets deal with those points in order. Colourshave nothing to do with the quality of the bat.

The bat made for an international player will notbe the same as one you might buy off the shelf,and there is no guarantee that the bat wieldedby a top player was even made by the firmwhose logos appear all over it. You cannot playproperly if the bat you are using is too big or tooheavy. Finally, the price tag does not necessarilyindicate quality in either direction.

Instead of falling into these traps, go for a batthat is the right size and, more importantly, theright weight. If you can play imaginary strokeswith just your top hand holding the bat, it is prob-ably about right. The bat should pick up well. Itshould not feel heavy; rather, it almost flies up

when you lift it back. A straight grain down theblade is usually a good sign. In general, a nar-row grain is considered to be of higher qualitythan a wide one. Only then does price comeinto your decision, and only you know whatyou can afford.

Good footwear is vital for all cricketers, butit is especially important for fast bowlers. Their


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boots must grip well and support the feet, whichare exposed to great strains and pressures. Fastbowlers boots generally will be sturdier thanthose worn by batsmen, but it is important thatall boots fit well, are comfortable and offer someprotection against the ball to prevent injury.

In a hard-ball game, protective equipment isessential. Pads should be substantial enough toafford protection but also allow easy movementso that you can run. Using thigh pads for eachleg, arm guards and chest protectors is a mat-ter of individual preference. A box, or protec-tive cup, should not be considered an optionalextra. Gloves should not be too bulky but needto protect all parts of your hands and fingers.For youngsters, a helmet is obligatory, but adultbatsmen have a choice. More players at all levels

are wearing helmets at all times.Fielders who stand close to the batsman at

short leg or silly point may choose to wear hel-mets, light pads under their trousers and a box.Even wicket-keepers sometimes wear helmetswhen they are standing up to the wicket, andthey all wear pads and a box, along with theirgloves. In general, wicket-keeping pads arelighter and shorter than those worn by batsmenbecause they should not be used often to stopthe ball. A wicket-keepers gloves, however, arethe tools of his trade. They are as important to

him as a bat is to a batsman, and a top wicket-

keeper will have his gloves made to measurewith any special features that he requires. Ifyou purchase wicket-keeping gloves in the massmarket, make sure they fit as well as possibleand offer proper protection along with the in-ners. Wicket-keeping gloves must be worked inand made flexible before being used in a match.

When you take account of the basic clothingof socks, trousers, shirt, perhaps a long-sleevedand a sleeveless sweater, a tracksuit for warm-upand training wear, and then you add in playingequipment, it is no wonder that specialist cricketbags come equipped with wheels today. Other-wise, a player might strain something carryinghis bag between the car park and the pavilion.

One additional item of equipment is the ball.Usually, the home side provides the ball, but not

always. A full-size cricket ball weighs 5.5 ounces(0.2 kg); youngsters, whose fingers cannot gripsuch an object, use a smaller, 4.75-ounce (0.1kg) ball. Traditionally, the colour for a cricket ballis red, dating back to the days when shepherdsused red wax from a rams raddle to bind thewool together into a ball. Currently, white ballsare used in most limited-overs cricket matcheswhen coloured clothing is worn. The white ballsare meant to be easier to see, but they soonbecome dirty. Experiments have taken placeusing orange, yellow and even pink balls to test

their visibility.

RESOURCES

International Cricket Council:www.icc-cricket.com

Cricket Australia:www.cricket.com.au

Bangladesh Cricket Board:www.tigercricket.com

England and Wales Cricket Board:www.ecb.co.uk

Board of Control for Cricket in India:bcci.cricket.deepthi.com

New Zealand Cricket:www.nzcricket.org.nz

Pakistan Cricket Board:www.pcboard.com.pk

United Cricket Board of South Africa:www.cricket.co.za

Sri Lanka Cricket:www.srilankacricket.lk

West Indies Cricket Board:www.windiescricket.com

Zimbabwe Cricket:www.zimcricket.org


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STEP

1

Most cricket coaching books start with bat-ting, because that is the glamorous aspect ofthe game. Yet at the start of a match, whenthe umpire calls, Play, the bowler is the onewho gets proceedings under way by deliveringthe first ball. Until he does so, the game doesnot begin. Therefore, bowling is the logical first

step on your path to cricket success. Just as thebowler begins the game, Cricket: Steps to Successbegins by examining the bowlers craft from theoutset. Everything else follows from that point.

By reading about the history of the game,you will appreciate that bowling, like cricketitself, has developed over the years. The art ofpropelling a cricket ball towards a set of stumps22 yards (20.1 m) away has become a highly co-ordinated athletic pursuit. Whether a fast bowlergallops up to the wicket or a spinner takes justa few paces at a gentle trot, the principles are

the same: The bowler wants an action that willgive him consistency and, at the same time,prevent injury. Guidelines for avoiding injuryare discussed later in this chapter and in TheSport of Cricket. Consistency can be achievedonly if the action is simple. If it is, the action canbe repeated, and that repetition can produce

the consistency that allows the bowler to exertcontrol over the batsman.

Consistency should not be confused withpredictability. It might be argued that if thebowler does not know where the ball is going,what chance does the batsman have? Althoughthat is true, it is possible to make the batsmans

life difficult without trying to surprise him witha straight one. Bowlers should strive to controlthe ball and use the skills associated with theirbowling style to confuse the batsman. Theseskills include pace, swing and seam movementfor quicker bowlers, with turn and flight the mainweapons in the armoury of the spinners. The twomain groups of bowlers, fast bowlers and spin-ners, are considered in detail in steps 2 and 3.

Whatever the style, the principles of bowlingremain the same. Bowling is not necessarily anatural movement. If you listened to biomecha-

nists talking about co-ordinated muscle move-ments, you will soon come to the conclusion thatmuscle co-ordination is impossible to achieve.Similarly, if you listened to someone goingthrough the mechanics of breathing and triedto follow the instructions, you would probablyasphyxiate! It is important to encourage those

Basic Bowling


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Cricket: Steps to Success

Delivering the ball requires a variety of physi-cal movements, some of which could leave thebowler vulnerable to injury if he is not carefullymonitored. For example, safe actions are thosethat will not increase the risk of injury in whatis an explosive physical movement in the caseof a fast bowler. The main areas of concern arethe lower back, knees and ankles. Some injuriesare inevitable, but you can ensure that the riskis kept to a minimum by using the right equip-

ment, warming up thoroughly and ensuring thatthe action does not put excessive strain on anypart of your anatomy. For years, many fast bowl-ers reached a certain stage of their professionalcareers when they suffered stress fractures ofthe lower back. Some recovered with the helpof expert medical treatment, but others wereforced to leave the game.

To counter the problem, authorities intro-duced fast bowling directives that were designed

with natural ability to progress by polishing theiractions until they reach the required level ofconsistency; it is equally important to help thosewho are starting from scratch to learn how to

bowl. However good you might be already, it isnot a bad thing to revisit the basics occasionallyto ensure that you have not allowed bad habitsto detract from the efficiency of your actions.

DELIVERY

to prevent youngsters from being overbowledat a time when their skeletal structure was stillmaturing. Of course, if young bowlers developgood actions from the outset, such protectionshould not be necessary. At one time, all bowlerswere taught to be side-on when they deliveredthe ball (figure 1.1a). Then it became acceptableto be chest-on (figure 1.1b). It was said that thesewere the only two ways of bowling without caus-ing undue stress to the back. Later it was admit-

ted that there was a third acceptable way: 45degrees (figure 1.1c). In this case, the bowler isneither side-on nor chest-on, but somewhere inbetween. All this misses the point: Problems oc-cur when the feet, hips and shoulders are not inthe same plane. It is safe to be side-on, chest-onor at any of the 88 degrees in between, providingthe feet, hips and shoulders are aligned properly.If all three parts of the anatomy conform to thesame plane, the bowling action should be safe.


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Figure 1.1 Fast Delivery Styles

SIDE-ON

1. Back foot parallel to bowling crease

2. Hips and shoulders at right angles to bowl-

ing crease

3. Front shoulder and hip pointed at batsman

4. Head poised to lead down the pitch

CHEST-ON

1. Feet, hips and shoulders in same plane

(continued)

a

b


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45 DEGREES

1. Feet, hips and shoulders in same plane

either a mark on a wall or a partner. If you area right-arm bowler, your left shoulder shouldpoint directly at the target with the right shoulderpointing away from it. Bring the hand with theball in it up under your chin, and then lift yourfront arm so that it is pointing straight up, withparticular emphasis on the section between theshoulder and the elbow. Without lowering thisarm, look behind it by arching your back beforelifting your front leg, so that you are showing thesole of your foot to the batsman while keeping

your back foot parallel to the bowling crease(figure 1.2b).

Figure 1.1 (continued)

Although individual approaches differ, thisstep concentrates on what has always been con-sidered to be the classical, side-on action. This isnot an attempt to produce clones, all bowling inexactly the same manner; rather, it stresses theimportance of using a simple action that can berepeated ball after ball, over after over, in orderto attain the desired consistency.

Whether you are an experienced bowler start-ing out on a new season or a new bowler juststarting out, certain basics should be followed

to ensure that your action is in good order andthat you begin with good habits.

To deliver with a side-on action, stand side-ways to the target (figure 1.2a), which could be

c


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Figure 1.2 Stationary Side-On Delivery

INITIAL STANCE

1. Sideways to target

2. Left shoulder pointing at target (right-arm

bowler)

3. Back foot parallel to bowling crease

4. Hold ball in simple standard grip

5. Bring ball under chin

6. Lift front arm

7. Look at batsman from behind front arm

FRONT LEG LIFTED

1. Lift front leg

2. Show sole of foot to batsman

3. Keep back foot parallel to bowling crease

b

a

(continued)


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FRONT ARM CHOP

1. Front arm chops down

2. Front arm figuratively splits target in two

ARM PULLS THROUGH

1. Front arm pulls down and through close to

body and front leg

2. Bowling arm comes over as high as pos-

sible3. Ball is released to target


c

d


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Basic Bowling

FOLLOW-THROUGH

1. Bowlers momentum takes him down pitch

towards batsman

2. Bowler runs towards off side to prevent

damaging pitch

From this side-on position, you are ready tobowl. To do so, your front arm effectively chopsdown as if giving a karate chop to the target,

splitting it in two (figure 1.2c). It then travelsdown past your front leg and is pulled through tofinish high behind your head (figure 1.2d). At thesame time, your bowling arm follows an identi-cal path, going from under your chin down tothe side of your body and then sweeping over ashigh as possible. Your back leg powers throughto become the leading leg, propelling your headtowards the target (figure 1.2e).

This might appear as a disjointed set of move-ments, but even from a standing start, these

movements form the basis of sound action.Be careful not to let the heaviest part of yourbodyyour headfall away to the off side. Ifyou do, your leg will flail out in an attempt tomaintain balance instead of adding impetus tothe action. In the process, your bowling arm hasswept over 12 oclock high to release the ball atthe top of your action, ensuring that you extractany possible bounce from the pitch and, at thesame time, helping you bowl straight.

If your head falls away in the action, yourbrain tries to make an adjustment. It knows thetarget, the wicket, has not moved, so if your

head is moving towards the off side, the target isnow to the right. Compensation often results inthe ball being fired down the leg side. However,if everything moves in a straight line towardsthe target, it is likely you will bowl straight.When you are really proficient, you will be ableto nominate which stump you are going to hitmerely by getting everything moving towardsthat stump.

Be aware of different parts of your body atparticular stages of your action. It is a good idea

to warm up before a match by standing at thecrease and going through your action a few timeswithout releasing the ball, merely to ensure thatyour action is working as it should. It sometimeshelps to close your eyes while doing this so thatyou can concentrate on what various parts ofyour body are doing without being distracted bythe scenery. Then, go through the same routineoff half a dozen paces before going off your fullrun and releasing the ball as if for real.

e


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If you are in the process of modifying your ac-tion, you will put too much pressure on yourselfif you try to make adjustments in a competitivesituation. It is best not to make changes in amatch. If you usually have the upper hand on acertain batsman in the nets, you will not wantto lose that superiority while working on youraction, which is a work in progress. To improve,you will probably have to go backwards beforegoing forwards. If you are a fast bowler, dont bediscouraged if you lose pace while opening upthe opportunity to be even quicker in the future.

To counter these problems, its a good ideato put a mark on the back of the net at ap-proximately the height above the pitch that theball would be some 15 yards (13.7 m) along itstrajectory. Make the mark big enough to hit with

regularity, and then put the stumps from whichyou deliver the ball 15 yards from the back of

the net. In this way, you will not appear to loseany pace while you are making changes to youractionin fact, you will appear to be bowlingquicker than everand there will be no bats-man to take advantage of any waywardness thatmight be evident before the remodelling of youraction is complete.

Make improvements in your own time. Onceyou are comfortable, gradually move back to-wards the full 22 yards (20.1 m). At the sametime, adjust the mark at the back of the net until,from 22 yards away, you are aiming at a targeton the length you are trying to hit. Start witha large target that you can hit easily; graduallydecrease the size until it tests you but is not sosmall as to be demoralising. After you have mas-tered that target, you can think about bowling

at a batsman again and taking your modifiedaction into a match situation.

Misstep

The ball repeatedly goes down the off side.

Correction

Make sure you are set up correctly and your alignment is towards the target rather than too

far to the off side. Both these faults can be countered to help you bowl straight and direct

balls at the wicket.

Misstep

The ball repeatedly goes down the leg side.

Correction

Keep your head up and moving towards the target during the delivery, rather than falling away.

RUN-UP

You might have been surprised that we dealtwith the delivery before the run-up, but if youare prepared to attend to the detail described inthe previous section, the honing of the deliveryactually takes place before you start to run up tothe crease. Why do you need to run in to bowl

anyway, especially if you are a spinner?The answer to that question is that if you are

a spinner, you do not really need a run-up. Infact, possibly the greatest spinner in cricket his-tory, Australian leg-break bowler Shane Warne,walked just a couple of paces before jumpinginto his delivery stride. The key word is jump.If you want to get into the side-on position, you

need to get airborne to change from running orwalking straight to the wicket in order to turnyour body through 90 degrees.

The other reason for a run-up is to add mo-mentum to your action, especially if you are aquicker bowler. There is a danger that you may

run in too quickly, striving for that desirable extrapace. However, no proven formula says that thequicker you approach the wicket, the faster theball is bowled. In fact, if you are belting into thedelivery stride, there is every chance that youwill be off balance, will not get the full benefitof the action and will actually lose pace andcontrol. That is why bowlers such as Warne take


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Basic Bowling

such a measured approach to the stumps: thereis no danger they would not be in total controlof their action.

Research conducted at the New Zealand HighPerformance Centre at Lincoln University, justoutside Christchurch, when the Australian play-ers were on tour there found that the speed ofWarnes arm in the delivery was in fact quickerthan that of his pace-bowling colleague, GlennMcGrath. The difference was that Warne put allhis energy into spinning the ball, while McGrathconverted his energy into sending the ball downquickly. He would not have been able to do so ifhe had not been as balanced as Warne, despiterunning in quicker.

If you have confidence in your action, you willwant full benefit from its mechanics and will notwant to rush through it too quickly. When yourun up to the wicket (figure 1.3a), jump highenough to get side-on, ready to deliver (figure1.3b andc). As you land on your back foot, bringyour bowling hand and the ball up to your chinand point your front arm upwards (figure 1.3d).Look behind that front arm and raise your frontfoot. Does this position sound familiar? It should,because this is exactly how a good action from astanding position was described earlier. That iswhy it is important even for experienced bowlersto run through the basics every now and then tocheck that their action is in good order.

Figure 1.3 Run-Up

RUN-UP

1. Start slowly with short strides

2. Lean forward and gather pace with bal-

anced strides

3. Reach top pace as you reach delivery stride

(continued)

a


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JUMP

1. Jump into delivery stride

TURN

1. Turn 90 degrees in midair

2. Land in the coiled position

b

c


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Basic Bowling

LAND

1. Land on your back foot

2. Bring front arm upwards

3. Point front arm upwards

d

How far should a bowler run? Although thisis personal preference, some basic guidelinesare worth considering when you are trying toachieve the right run-up, one that gives youthe rhythm to bowl as effectively as possible.Spinners require shorter approaches than pacebowlers, but if a spinner wants to run 5, 7, even10 paces in order to achieve the rhythm thatallows him to arrive at the crease in a balancedposition, so be it.

Quicker bowlers may run as a minimum thesame distance as a spinners maximum. If yourdelivery is built around a strong action with useof your wrist to generate pace, why tire yourselfby running 30 yards (27.4 m) when a dozenpaces are adequate? On the other hand, if youhave the type of action that requires momentumthrough the crease, it can be more exhaustingtrying to bowl off 15 paces than off 25. It ispointless to run farther than required, but do

not be cajoled into shortening your run belowwhat you are comfortable with.

The important thing is to gather momentumgradually as you approach the wicket. You prob-ably will start with a couple of walking pacesbefore breaking into a trot and gathering paceuntil just before the delivery stride. Do not tryto increase pace through the delivery stride oryou will lose your balance. Bear another point inmind: you might come in at a slight angle, butonce you are within 4 or 5 yards (3.7 or 4.6 m)of the wicket, you should be running straighttowards the target, the stumps that are 22 yards(20.1 m) away. Any deviation means that yourrun is wasted, and you are building momentumin the wrong direction. Remember that yourhead is the vital part of your body, and the longeryou can keep it going towards the target, the lesslikely you are to stray from your direction andbowl a bad line.


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In the classical side-on delivery, the ball isdelivered from close to the stumps. What if youfind that such an action does not come natu-rally, and your feet, hips and shoulders are inone of the other 89-degree planes mentionedat the start of the step? You perhaps can affordto run in a little straighter and not jump as highbecause you do not need to get side-on. You canrun straight through and put all your momentuminto the delivery. However, the basic principleremains the same. From your approach to thewicket until natural momentum takes you awayto the off side of the pitch before you risk theumpires wrath by running onto the danger area,make sure your head is going towards the target.

If you manage that, your line should be goodenough to eliminate wides. However, you should

also do everything you can to avoid oversteppingand bowling a no-ball. Both wides and no-ballsare known as extras because both add a run tothe total without the batsman having to do any-thing to earn it. A ball is deemed to be a widewhen the bowler delivers too far away from thebatsman to allow him to reach it with his bat. Ano ball occurs when the bowler fails to have atleast some part of his front foot behind the pop-ping crease. In these cases, a run is added to thetotal, and the batsman has a free hit. Becauseyou know that the batsman can only be run-out

off a no-ball, why strive for that last fraction ofan inch that will make no perceptible differenceto the pace of the ball? Sacrifice the final inchor so to make sure you have part of your frontfoot behind the popping crease. You have yardsbehind the line in which to land your foot, whilea fraction of an inch over it results in a no ball.

Plenty of first-class bowlers have beenplagued with no-ball problems, and it seemsridiculous that they did not sort it out early intheir careers, or at least have a coach sort it outfor them. The process is simple. Start on thepopping crease and run backwards away fromthe pitch. Remember which foot you lead offwith and run until you feel comfortable that youhave reached optimum speed and are ready tobowl. Go through your action and note whereyour front foot lands or get a colleague to markit for you. Pace out from that point to the crease,remember the number of paces and with whichfoot you led off, add a few inches for safetyandyou have your run.

It is important not to look down as you ap-proach the stumpslook at the target. You get

some weird replies when you ask a bowler wherehe looks as he delivers the ball, if he is aware ofwhere he is looking at all. A darts player tendsto look at the treble twenty if that is where he isaiming on the board. Why should a bowler bedifferent? The only difference is that the manthrowing the darts is not bouncing his arrowsbefore they hit the board. A bowler can concen-trate either on where he is pitching the ball or onthe target itself, if he is confident that his lengthwill be right, but he must focus on what he isconcentrating on, rather than just looking in its

general direction. It is good to have a mark some-where along the run so that you know, as soonas you hit it with a particular foot, that you willbe right from there on in. You can concentrateon your action rather than worry about whereyour feet are going to land.

Misstep

The length of the delivery is not as you would want.

Correction

This usually occurs because you are looking at the wrong spot when delivering. If you arebowling too short, look farther up towards the wicket; if too full, bring your focus back to a

point on the pitch nearer you than the batsman.


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Basic Bowling

Concentration is vital for a bowler, but youmust focus that concentration only on whatyou can control. It is no good being distractedby peripheral thoughts. You might have just hada row with a friend, but you cannot resolve itas you run up to bowl. Put it out of your mind.Similarly, you cannot control whether the bats-man is right- or left-handed; you might not enjoybowling to a left-hander, but there is nothingyou can do about it. Put it out of your mind.You cannot control the direction of the wind, theslope of the ground, the little niggle in your rightknee, whether the captain will give you an extraslip or even the feel of the ball in your hand. Puteverything that you cannot control outside yoursphere of concentration. You can control thetype of delivery you are going to bowl, how you

are going to bowl it, where you are going to aimit and where you are going to pitch it. Those arethe things on which to concentrate.

This requires intense concentration, and youcannot be expected to maintain it at that levelthroughout the day or even through a session.Bowl the ball, see where it has gone, make amental note of what adjustment you need tomake to ensure the next one is right and thenrelax as you walk back to your mark. When youget there, use some sort of trigger mechanismto switch your concentration back on, such as

taking a deep breath or taking the grip on theball, and then start again.

Remember the old adage about not beingable to get the last ball back. It is no good get-ting upset with yourself if the last ball was notwhat you intended. Make the adjustment andget the next one right. Do not get upset with thebatsman if he has played and missed. To do soonly shows him that he got to you. Do not getupset with the umpire if he turns down an ap-peal that is blatantly out, for you hope to haveother appeals upheld.

When you are having a bad day, have confi-dence in yourself to pull it round. You might have0 for 45 off 12 overs, but a couple of maidenswill show that you are not bowling too badly.Then an overconfident batsman goes for a bigshot and gets out and, in the next over, the newman in the middle falls across his stumps and

is given out leg before wicket (LBW). Anotheris bowled, and suddenly 3 for 52 off 16 overslooks rather good. The fact is that if you gener-ally take a wicket every 7 overs, and you go 21overs without taking one, you are putting wicketsin the bank for future withdrawal. Adopt theattitude that you are owed 3 wickets from theprevious barren spell, not that you may nevertake a wicket again. Have that confidence andyou will avoid the fatal error of trying too hardto produce a magic ball every time you run upto the wicket. Have confidence but be realistic at

the same time, and the results will follow.


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Basic Bowling Drill 1. Stationary Bowling to a Target

Mark an area on a wall about 4 feet high and 2

feet (1.2 m high by .6 m) across. From about 15

yards (13.7 m), bowl at the target from a standing

position. Bowl six times.To Increase Difficulty

Reduce the size of the target until it is 28

inches high and 9 inches across (71.1 cm

high and 23 cm across).

To Decrease Difficulty

Increase the size of the target until you can

score 5 points every time.

Success Check

Stand side-on to the target.

Raise front arm upwards.

Look behind front arm.

Lift front foot towards target.

Bring front arm down, splitting target.

Swing bowling arm over by ear.

Drive back foot through towards target.

Move head towards target.

Score Your Success

5 or 6 balls on target = 5 points


1 or 2 balls on target = 1 point

Your Score ___

Basic Bowling Drill 2. Run-Up Bowling to a Target

Mark an area on a wall about 4 feet high and 2

feet across (1.2 m and .6 m). From about 18 yards

(16.5 m), bowl at the target from a full run-up.

Bowl six times.

To Increase Difficulty

Reduce the size of the target until it is 28

inches high and 9 inches (71.1 cm and 23

cm) across.

Increase the length of delivery to 22 yards

(20.1 m).

To Decrease Difficulty

Increase the size of the target until you can

score 5 points every time.

Move closer to the target before deliveringthe ball.

Success Check

Establish the length of your run.

Have a good rhythm, gradually gathering

pace as you near the wicket. Jump into the delivery position.

Bowl the ball and follow through towards

the target.

Score Your Success



1 or 2 balls on target = 1 point

Your Score ___


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Basic Bowling

Basic Bowling Drill 3. Technique Check

Mark out your run. Without the ball, run in and

execute your bowling motion while someone

watches you. Have your observer use the success

checks to evaluate your technique. Bowl six times.

Success Check

Establish the length of your run.

Develop good rhythm, gradually gathering

pace as you near the wicket.

Jump into the delivery position.

Bowl the ball and follow through towards

the target.

Score Your Success

Bowl 6 balls with sound technique = 5 points

Bowl 4 or 5 balls with sound technique = 3

points

Your Score ___

SUCCESS SUMMARY OF BASIC BOWLING

Remember that the key to successful bowling isa good action; a smooth, rhythmical approachto the wicket; and a jump into the action itself.Make sure you keep your shoulders and hips inthe same plane, use your non-bowling arm asa direction finder and follow right through withyour head always going towards the target. Youwant a simple action that can be repeated be-cause this will give you consistency. Concentrateand do not let your attention wander. And want

to bowl. You cannot take wickets unless you arebowling.

Before moving on to step 2, Fast Bowling, orstep 3, Spin Bowling, evaluate how you did onthe basic bowling drills in this step. Tally yourscores to determine how well you have masteredthe skill of basic bowling. If you scored at least 8points, you are ready to move on. If you did notscore at least 8 points, practice the drills againuntil you raise your scores before moving on.

Basic Bowling Drills

1. Stationary Bowling to a Target ___ out of 5

2. Run-Up Bowling to a Target ___ out of 5

3. Technique Check ___ out of 5

Total ___ out of 15

Once you have mastered basic bowling, youwill want to specialise in the style of bowling thatwill suit you best. You might want to be a fastbowler with the associated thrill of seeing thestumps flying. In step 2, Fast Bowling, you willlearn what is required to be a quick bowler whodemands respect from all batsmen because ofthe physical threat posed to them. Or you might

become a medium-pace bowler who relies oncontrol and movement to take wickets. On theother hand, the prospect of becoming a spinbowler might appeal to you, in which case moveon to step 3. There, you will learn all about flightand turn, and you will derive your satisfactionnot from brute force but from deception andfrom testing the batsmans patience.


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Whichever style you opt for now, you are notcompelled to bowl that way forever. You mighttry your hand at being a fast bowler, but if youfind it is not for you, have a go at spin bowlinginstead. You might want to move in the oppo-

site direction, so it would be a good idea to gothrough steps 2 and 3 to discover what suits youbest. Both styles require a good basic action, soif you have mastered step 1, you are in a goodposition to make rapid strides from here.


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STEP

2

Fast Bowling

Fast bowlers are the kings of cricket. Batsmenmight hog the glamour, and spinners mightbeguile with their craft, but the genuine quickierules the roost. A successful off-spinning all-rounder playing for Oxford University once re-marked, I so wish I was a fast bowler. Nobodywould bowl bouncers at me when I was batting

and everyone would treat me with respect. It iseasy to sympathise, for with their ability to breakwickets and bones, fast bowlers bend the kneeto no one in the game, at least when they bowlwell. But if they are wayward, a good batsmanwill simply pick off the bad balls and use thepace to help the ball speed to the boundary.

Because everything in the delivery movesquickly, it is absolutely vital that you get youraction right as a fast bowler. If you are slightlyout of synchronisation, pace will be lost. If youfail to apply the basics, any faults will be mag-

nified with spectacularly bad results and, quitepossibly, injury if the faulty action is allowed tocontinue. In addition to the possibility of injuryto the batsman, caused by the sheer pace of theball hitting him, there is a serious risk to you,the bowler.

You need to be fit if you are going to deliverthe ball at real speed. Bowling places greatstrains on the body, and the impact pressuresare immense. Look at a still photograph of a fast

bowler at the moment of delivery, and you willsee that he is straining every sinew (figure 2.1).Unless you are physically prepared and properlywarmed up, something is going to give, hencethe importance of a good action that will notincrease the strain on any part of your body.

Figure 2.1 A fast bowler puts a lot of strain on his body.


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Despite the effort that goes into bowlingquickly, the very best do not betray the strainbut seem to glide in to the wicket and deliverthe ball with silky smoothness. Their pace doesinvolve effort, but their actions are so fluentand their co-ordination is such that the ball fliesout of their hands and gives the batsman justa fraction of a second to respond. That is thethrilling spectacle of a great fast bowler at work.A contest with a top batsman contains all theelements that make cricket such a great game:skill from both batsman and bowler and the

bowlers athleticism and physical power pittedagainst the courage of the batsman.

As a young, aspiring fast bowler at school, Iwas playing in a match in front of my historymaster. Next day in class, he turned to me andsaid, Well, my boy, you look like a fast bowler,and youre probably stupid enough to be one!That is a common misconception. A fast bowlerwho does not think about his art is probablynot a very good fast bowler. Being successfulrequires thought about how to fully utilise thegreat gift of speed, and fast bowling is an art aswell as sheer physical effort.

Misstep

You fail to generate pace to reflect the effort being expended.

Correction

Ensure that you are using each element of your action.

The faster you are, the more margin for erroryou have with regard to line and length becausethe batsman has less time to take advantage ofa poor ball. But only the very fastest bowlerscan rely on pace to take wickets. Although it ispossible to increase your speed by improvingyour action and physical condition, a naturallyfast bowler has the correct physical makeup at

the outset. The majority of bowlers will fall intothe fast-medium category and so require otherweapons in their armoury if they are to succeed.Swing, seam, change of pace and variation oflength are additional means for taking wickets. Ifyou can master all these skills, you will improveyour bowling and your understanding that fastbowling is indeed an art.

SWINGStep 1 considered the classical, side-on action ofbowling. This action is perfect for encouragingthe ball to out-swing or away-swing, making theball deviate away from a right-handed batsman(figure 2.2). The bowler starts the balls journeyon a leg-stump line, but then tries to hit middleor off. If the ball swings to find the edge of thebat, it can result in a catch to the wicket-keeperor the slip cordon, the row of slips and gulley.

More annoyingly for the bowler, the ball canevade the catchers and fly down to the third-man boundary for four. It is one of the perpetualbugbears for the out-swing bowler.

Being side-on is just one of the prerequisitesfor bowling the away-swinger, but it does notguarantee success by itself. Some bowlers canbowl this ball while being chest-on. Still, a side-

on action gives you the best chance to make theball move away from the batsman through theair. Even more important is your wrist positionat the moment of release, which results fromhow you grip the ball.

Place the ball in your fingersnever in thepalm of your handwith the seam upright butturned slightly in the direction you want the ballto swing, in this case towards the slips. Your first

two fingers are on either side of the seam, whilethe bottom of the seam rests on the side of yourthumb (figure 2.3). This position is important: Ifyou change your grip and have the seam restingon the flat of your thumb, this will radically alteryour wrist position, making it virtually impos-sible to release the ball in the correct way.


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Bowler

(steps to success) ralph dellor-cricket-human kinetics (2009) (1)

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