COACHING : Basic Bowling #2

Swing & seam bowling

 
In order for fast and medium pace bowlers to swing & seam the ball, they first must be holding the ball correctly. For the bowler’s stock ball the seam should be pointed straight down the wicket at the batsman. By ripping your fingers down the back of the ball, it will maximize the amount of movement achieved.

To bowl an outswinger the bowler should point the seam of the ball to first slip. The rough side of the ball should be facing the offside. At the point of delivery, it is important that the bowler follow through across his body with his bowling arm to achieve maximum movement.
To bowl an inswinger the bowler should point the seam towards fine leg. The rough side of the ball should be facing the onside. At the point of delivery the bowler should remember a high arm and following through on the inside of his body.

Bowling to a Plan
This is without doubt the most important part of effective bowling. If there is no plan, there is no direction with the bowling. If the plan is not adhered to, it becomes useless. I believe as part of moulding a competitive fielding unit, it is important that every player knows what is trying to be done and how to do it. All batsmen are most vulnerable at the start of their innings, so it is important to apply pressure from the first ball they face. I would suggest that a one-side of the wicket, offside attack with slips should be the norm for fast and medium pace bowlers. The straightest a ball should be pitched is in-line with the off stump.

Good `Zones’
A captain is only as effective as his bowlers, if together they know the plan the captain may set his field accordingly. The most effective channel to bowl is no straighter than off stump and no more than 8 inches outside off stump. Within this channel, the length may vary but in general you should be encouraging the batsman to drive the ball `on-the-up’. That means that the ball passes the batsman about knee roll height on the rise to the wicket keeper. You are trying to entice the batsman into an offside drive, hopefully resulting in a `nick’ to the waiting slips and wicket keeper. A second zone that is used especially in one-day matches is the Yorker or `block hole’ delivery. This is most effective when the batsmen are chasing quick runs. When bowled well it is very hard to hit this ball for a boundary.
 
Target channels, Good Zones and Yorker areas should be marked out at training, using chalk or tape. Using these visual aids will help bowler’s accuracy and reinforce the bowling plan. You can also try having a points scoring system at practice. Giving players 5 points for landing the ball in the target channel, 10 points for landing it in the good zone, 10 points for landing it in the Yorker area. Negative 5 points for any ball down the leg side or wide/no-ball. Consistency is the key here and along with attacking fielding the way to build pressure on batsmen.