There are a lot of aspects involved in bowling the perfect fast delivery. The idea of fast bowling entirely depends on how you start your run-up to how you execute the perfect follow through. It’s time to move from on-drive and off-drive drills in batting to bowling with pace. Let’s go!

The art of fast bowling is not something you can learn in a single practise session. It takes effort and hard work to become a great fast bowler because more than the pace, your physical fitness is extremely important.

To start with, it’s ideal to listen to your coach when it comes to how to time your run-up and how to perfect the best technique. The pace will come with time. As you develop as a fast bowler, your fitness is everything. Focus on your strength and overall conditioning if you want to become like the greats. However, it’s crucial that you choose your path. Aspiring to become a fast and a spin bowler at the same time might deteriorate your progress as a cricketer. Another tip to become a fast bowler is that more than your shoulders, focus on strengthening your core, quads and legs.

Next comes the seam, which emphasises on how you grip the ball. Place your index finger and your middle finger across the seam with your thumb under the ball for a firm grip. However, ensure the seam faces the batter.

To practise your run-up, from the bowling crease to your mark, run as fast as possible. This gives you an understanding of measuring an ideal run-up. There are bowlers who take a brisk walk to measure their run-up and there are some who take steps to measure the ideal run-up. At the end of the day, it’s all about your convenience. The most important thing is how you build your run-up. Don’t make the mistake of sprinting to the bowling crease as it can negatively affect your balance right before the release of the ball. For the right momentum, before you reach the crease, start your run-up slow and build up to around 80% of your running capacity.

As for the action, you can either choose to bowl using a side-arm or the front-arm technique. However, using the side-arm technique generates maximum impact as it helps in swinging the ball both ways. Moving on, it’s important where you land your front foot right before the release of the ball. We have seen bowlers who land their front foot a little wider than the stumps, while others complete their run-up close to the stumps and the bowling crease.

For the ideal action, plant your back foot parallel to the stumps while your front foot is in line with your back foot. As a fast bowler, ensure your front foot is pointed towards the direction of the off stump.

Again, based on your height, you can measure your strides. For an ideal run-up, taking long strides is definitely not ideal as it affects your balance right before you release the ball. This will eventually result in poor technique and compromise your pace.

With respect to your back foot, make sure the position is parallel to the stumps and diagonal in direction, ideally towards the mid-wicket region. Finally, complete your follow through by gradually sliding your left foot behind your right foot as a right-handed fast bowler.

This blog was definitely a fun one. For the next post, we learn some of the important bowling-focused drills.