Fast bowling? - first think before taking up the task

by A.C. de Silva

CRICKET: Want to be a fast bowler. Many young cricketers in their teens and some others not yet, have this in their minds as fast bowling gives the youngsters the added thrills in the game of cricket. However, before a budding fast bowler can even think about mastering techniques and developing skills, he's got to consider one vital question: Can he bowl fast? Some bowlers think they are quick when in fact they are not more than medium pace.

It is potential to be a fast bowler that should be considered foremost. The basic thing to be considered is: has the bowler the basic physique and ability for the task? Fast bowler's physiques, varies from bowler to bowler. There were the smallish men (for example - Lindwall, Larwood, Trueman) and the tall ones - Holding, Hall, Willis) and the ones in between (like Snow, Thomson or Roberts). The speed comes from different areas for different bowlers - a man like Lillee or Willis will get it from a long fast run-up, while a muscular bowler like Thomson gets it from the chest and shoulders.

But irrespective of physique, the potential fast bowler should be well co-ordinated and athletic. He must be able to move smoothly; it does not matter, if for the moment, his action if awkward, but if he can run or turn easily and swiftly, he has got the basics right.

According to former England fast bowler Bob Willis, the place to judge a bowler is out in the middle, not in the nets, where one cannot get a true picture of him. Normally there isn't room for a proper fast bowler's run-up there, and if they are indoors he would be somewhat silly to go flat-out because the concrete floor puts a great strain on ankles and legs. When someone with potential is bowling in the middle, it is best to wander round the ground and view the bowler from all angles. From behind his arm one will be bale to see if the bowler can use the crease to vary the angle, and from side-on one will be able to tell if the bowler's arm movement is swift enough, if that final explosiveness is there. From side-on one will be able to tell if the bowler is following through properly or just stopping at the crease when letting the ball go.

Stamina - the key

The promising young fast bowler must also be lucky - lucky with injuries, lucky with his school or club and lucky with his coach who tries to shape him. Willis says that he was noticed because he was uncomplicated, confident and bowled fast. His head wasn't crammed with theories, he just made the ball fizz through the air.

A fast bowler should be an athlete, he has to be trained well and his coach must be someone like a physiotherapist as well as a psychologist. He must try to assess whether the young fast bowler will grow any more.

Willis says that in his case he shot up from 5ft 6 inches at 14 years to 6' 4 inches at sixteen. He was thin as a matchstic, but he was luckily that no one stopped him from trying to bowl fast.

Willis says that most coaches don't realise how much stamina is needed to manage the huge leap from school or club cricket to county second eleven standard. A club cricketer playing just weekends has to change from bowling about two hours on a Saturday or Sunday to perhaps four hours a day with a county - and - and it's even more demanding for a 16-year-old lad still at school. Most of the coaches just aren't up to dealing with fast bowlers - one good reason being that the majority of them were allrounders and batsmen in their time, not fast men.

Willis says that he is aware that some kids make it difficult for a coach trying to guide them on something specialized as fast bowling. He thinks there isn't the dedication among 15-year-olds that there was even when he was at school. Too many young cricketers aren't fit enough for a start - quite a contrast to the time he has spent coaching in the good old days in South Africa where he found the boys well-disciplined and eager to listen. But a good coach earns respect by being approachable yet still authoritative. How many times has one heard a coach tell a young quickie, "Slow down, your's bowling far too fast," then give him a short lecture on the value of line and length and then discourage him from trying to build up his pace again?

Old is Gold

Fast bowling is such a delicately poised are that one can lose something vital from it at any time. That's when the bowler must rely on his own memory of watching others and also seek advice from people one respects. In fitness matters the bowler can receive many good tips from anyone, but when it comes to the art of fast bowling the only people the player should listen should be those with first-hand experience of top-class cricket.

A coach, mentor or guide must always be approachable, and the cricketer will be able to sort out various problems.