Fitness counts to reach top in fast bowling

By A.C. de Silva

FLASHBACK... Bob Willis - the England pace bowler has said that he should not be the model a youngster should follow if the bowler concerned wants to beat a good batsman by sheer pace. Willis says that he is well aware of the limitations. Willis says that he was aware of the limitations when he was playing for England.

Willis says that his action usually put great strain on the groin, ankles, the sides and the shoulders. He says that he is open-chested when he delivers the ball. He has to rely on the shine or the seam for the outswinger.

He says for some reason he was able to bowl fast. Willis who is 6 feet 5 inches in height enables him to get extra bounce. He says that has come to appreciate the value of fitness. He says that he was lucky that he was able to get some good advice over the years as he got older and with some common sense and listening to some people he was able to adjust himself.

Fast bowling is important and a look at the Test match figures for nearly two decades. The decisive factor has almost always been fast bowling take - for example the South Africans (Procter and Peter Pollock against Australia in 1970), think of Snow for England against Australia around 1971, then Lillee and Thomson rattling through England and West Indies in successive years and what about the West Indies trio of Roberts, Holding and Daniel in England in 1976? It is the fast bowler who makes the decisive breakthrough in Tests, even more so when he has to contend with a typical easy-paced wicket. He's the man his skipper turns to when he's lost the toss and demands something special counteract the disadvantage of batting second.

All-out attack

There's no respite when a fast bowler's operating at full throttle. If he is quick enough he'll be desperately difficult to score from, and with the new ball he can always come up with the unplayable delivery. It is a war of attrition, and the mental strain on the Test batsman is immense.

Willis says that he is often asked about the effect a quickie has on the crowd: "yes", the crowd love to watch a genuine speedster really rips it in.

When you are watching the play side-on from the boundary, it will be possible to see the bowler pace out what seems an amazingly long run, he comes tearing in, there's dust everywhere, and all the time the wicket-keeper and slip are crouched. All the batsman has to defend himself is a bat with which he had to defend himself-the crowd loves the challenge thrown down by the genuine fast bowler.

A fast bowler has a great responsibility to his team within the framework of the modern game. And of the other qualities, the fast bowler has got to be determined, optimistic, have a good memory and a lot of guts. Bob Willis says that all the great fast bowlers in the game during his time had those qualities. But the bowlers concerned have to be really fast to get the wickets.

Vital propulsion

It's not a matter of sheer strength, looseness of limbs is more important, and the final rotation of the hips to give the vital propulsion which beings the bowling arm over fast.

If one takes his memory back to 1976 when West Indian Michael Holding took 14 wickets at the Oval against England. Now that was a great piece of bowling on a dead track. How did Holding get all those wickets? By sheer speed through the air-never mind all the talk about seam and cut and swing. Holding beat the bat by speed because his arm came over very quickly.

So one has got to be natural to bowl fast. One thing the young fast bowler needs is to be intelligent, farsighted advice that doesn't adhere strictly to the coaching text-books and encouragement. Too many youngsters are put off by harsh words that come from those who should be encouraging them.

Willis says that it is very difficult to coach fast bowlers. Fast bowlers really aren't manufactured, they are born. It doesn't matter how keen the bowler is, natural ability is vital.

No short 'cut'

The first thing is to encourage a young fast bowler to do is to run up in practice and bowl as fast as he can, if he's quick enough the coach can build on that. So, if the young bowler has got natural speed, the next thing - there's lot of hard work for a start - and more to follow. There is no short cut, the bowler has to hammer away for many hours at a spot to get that natural accuracy needed to survive in top-class cricket. The bowler concerned must develop his bowling muscles and the only way to develop them is in the nets, you can also do that in the gym. Bob Willis says that it took him a long time to get himself fit.

The fast bowler got to have that devel may care attitude, but though he doesn't want to see the batsman badly injured, but he will have to have the daring effect. It's a straightforward contest and the fittest and strongest has a good chance of coming out on top.