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Cricket Bowling

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ALEX SNEHA
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28 views6 pages

Cricket Bowling

Uploaded by

ALEX SNEHA
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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CRICKET BOWLING – PACE

PHASES OF CRICKET BOWLING


1. Run-up
2. Pre-delivery stride
3. Mid bound
4. Back foot contact
5. Front foot contact
6. Ball Release
7. Follow through

 RUN-UP

The run-up phase begins when the athlete gets into motion and starts accelerating to
gain velocity and momentum, in order for the ball to gain velocity and ends just
before the pre-delivery stride.

 PRE-DELIVERY STRIDE

The pre-delivery stride is the last stride of the run-up. It is a preparatory stride for the
delivery stride. The pre-delivery stride ends when the player leaps into the air to enter
the mid-bound phase just before the delivery stride.
 MID BOUND

This phase begins when the bowler leaps into the air at the end of the pre-delivery
stride and ends with the back-foot contact. For a right-handed bowler, the mid bound
ends when the right foot, which would be the back-foot comes in contact with the
ground. The mid bound phase helps in conserving the momentum that the bowler has
gained in his run-up.

 BACK FOOT CONTACT

The back foot contacts the ground first after the mid bound. Usually, the bowlers tend
to lean backward on the back foot. All the side on bowlers would have the backward
lean but all the front on bowlers may not have it. The back-foot contact marks the
beginning of the delivery stride.
 FRONT FOOT CONTACT

The front foot contact is more important as compared to the back foot contact, as it
would determine the direction as well as the velocity of the ball. The front knee acts a
pivot point over which the upper body is rotated. The leg extension during the front
foot contact also determines the speed of the ball and to determine if the player is hip-
dominant or knee dominant. A good front foot contact is important for the momentum
of the body to be transferred to the ball. The impact absorbed by the front foot is
almost 9 times the body weight.
The arms are usually flexed at the beginning of the delivery stride to conserve the
angular momentum.

 BALL RELEASE

The position of the bowling arm when the front foot is grounded predicts how fast the
ball will be. The bowling arm makes an angle with the upper trunk. Usually the
bowling arm is delayed to increase the speed of the ball.
The non-bowling arm goes in the opposite direction of the bowling arm to counteract
the movement of the bowling arm and to maintain the trunk in position.

 FOLLOW-THROUGH

The follow through plays an important role in the injury prevention. The follow
through phase occurs once the ball release occurs. The bowling arm goes across the
body instead of stopping abruptly. The bowler continues his forward momentum in
the direction of the ball in the first stride and then deviates out of the pitch with the
further strides. Follow through is important for absorbing the high amount of forces
that pass through the upper body and the lower body.

PERFORMANCE OUTCOMES

The aim of the performance parameters is to have a better performance. In pace bowling, a
better performance would be determined by the velocity of the ball. So, higher the linear
velocity of the ball, better the performance.

1) Run up

 Velocity
The higher the velocity of the bowler, higher would be the linear velocity of the ball.
This is because the momentum gained by the bowler in the run-up is conserved and
eventually transferred to the ball via the kinetic chain.

 Foot contact
The foot contact is usually forefoot contact, to gain a higher speed by reducing the
braking force. Rear foot contact would increase the braking force, in turn, reducing
the speed of the bowler.
 Ground contact time
The ground contact time should be lesser, to reduce the braking force, which in tuen
will lead to a higher velocity.

 Stride length
The stride length should be long, to have a higher velocity. But the stride length
should not cross the maximum optimal length.

2) Pre-delivery stride and Mid bound

 Stride length
The stride length should be longer but optimal.

 Hop max height


The height of the hop should be smaller to reduce the vertical displacement of the
COG and increase the horizontal displacement, to not break the forward momentum
of the body.

 Hop angle
The hop angle should be 45 degrees or lesser to ensure that the horizontal
displacement is higher than the vertical displacement.

3) Back foot contact

 Type of contact
1. Front on
A higher velocity can be achieved in front on bowling as compared to side on
bowling but front on bowlers are more prone to back injuries due to locking of the
hip and trunk rotation occurring over the locked hip.

2. Side on
Side on bowlers may have reduced velocity because of the trunk lean and
transference of weight on the back leg but they are lesser prone to back injuries.
4) Front foot contact

 Knee angle
When the front knee is extended, a GRF 9 times the body weight would be transferred
through the kinetic chain, and a higher ball velocity would be achieved but there are
higher chance of injuries with an extended knee.

 Arm- Bent to extension


Initially, the arm is bent to reduce the moment of inertia and increase the angular
velocity. At the point of release, the arm should be completely extended to produce a
higher torque and higher linear velocity. This is based on the principle of conservation
of angular momentum.

 Delayed onset of circumduction


The more delayed the circumduction of the arm is, lesser the time for the ball to be
released, and therefore the action would be faster, which would lead to an increased
angular velocity of the arm and therefore, an increased linear velocity of the ball.

 Thoracic flexion till release


The higher the thoracic flexion, higher is the velocity of the ball. This is because the
higher trunk flexion and later release of the ball, leads to a formation of an angle
between the trunk and the arm. This angle causes a pre-stretch, which helps in a
higher force generation.

5) Release

 Projection height
The ball is released at highest point of the circumduction to increase the velocity.

 Projection angle
The projection angle usually is negative.
 Release velocity
The release velocity should be maximum.

 Wrist flexion to extension just before release?

INJURY RISK OUTCOMES


The most common injury in pace bowlers is an injury to the pars interarticularis in the lumbar
spine due to repetitive lumbar flexion, rotation and hyperextension.

The injury can be bilateral or unilateral. Most of the unilateral injuries occur to the
contralateral side of the bowling arm which probably due to the lumbar flexion on that side
while bowling.

The outcomes that need to be considered for injury risk in pace bowling include:

 Trunk lateral flexion, rotation and hyperextension.


 Ball release height changing with knee flexion. If the knee is extended, then the ball
release height would be higher and there are higher chances of injury as compared to
when the knee is flexed.
 GRF at the front foot contact- The GRF is almost 9 times the body weight which can
lead to injuries.
 Type of action- Mixed action is the most injury prone action as compared to side on
and front on.
 Over-striding in the run up can also be a cause of injury.

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