What is fast bowling mostly about?

[TheJediBrah]

im in two minds on what you need to have/do to get quick. adam milne was a very skinny and not notably tall (6 footish, th to comment?) 17 year old bowling 150kph in that old champions league thing and in some random t20s against pakistan, but then im pretty sure it has been said by aussies that ryan harris hit the gym pretty hard to go from medium pace to genuine pace.

so idk

I don't know about this. If anything he seemed to have lost weight and just gotten a lot fitter.

 

[Daemon]

In my experience it has very little to do with muscle building, and brute strength. I've seen many more cases of bowlers actually getting slower and struggling to bowl with as much pace after gaining upper-body muscle. Unless they're starting out as exceptionally thin and weak of course, in which case gaining muscle will obviously help.

Lower body definitely more important because the power comes from your hips.

 

[Starfighter]

In my experience it has very little to do with muscle building, and brute strength. I've seen many more cases of bowlers actually getting slower and struggling to bowl with as much pace after gaining upper-body muscle. Unless they're starting out as exceptionally thin and weak of course, in which case gaining muscle will obviously help.

Bulking up can reduce your flexibility, which is definitely the least appreciated of the traits needed for fast bowling.

 

[Red]

Bulking up can reduce your flexibility, which is definitely the least appreciated of the traits needed for fast bowling.

I had a mate who got seriously into body building after playing cricket until his early 20s. Got quite big thru the shoulders and arms and upper back and found he couldn't bowl properly after a few years of big weights.

 

[cnerd123]

Someone ask Cecil Wright this question

 

[Burgey]

I had a mate who got seriously into body building after playing cricket until his early 20s. Got quite big thru the shoulders and arms and upper back and found he couldn't bowl properly after a few years of big weights.

Plainly untrue

 

[Daemon]

Pity Tremlett wrecked himself before he got into bodybuilding else we'd have found out

There's still Sreesanth though I suppose

 

[TheJediBrah]

Pity Tremlett wrecked himself before he got into bodybuilding else we'd have found out

There's still Sreesanth though I suppose

It's definitely the case. You never see bulky (muscular) fast bowlers. Or cricketers in general I guess

 

[Red]

Plainly untrue

 

[cnerd123]

Aww

It's okay, I can be your friend!

 

[trundler]

Aww

It's okay, I can be your friend!

Now that's what I call hitting rock bottom

 

[MrPrez]

I believe it's more about how rhythmic your bowling action is, whether that action comes to you naturally or not? Chris Tremlett and Andre Nel were pretty strong but both had hard time touching 85 mph, it's because their bowling actions did not have fluid like flow. Most believe that Irfan Pathan lost pace because he changed his natural chest on action and tried to be more side on to avoid injuries.

I'd disagree that this is exclusively what it's about. It can be the reason for speed, but is certainly not a prerequisite.

Look at Mitchell Johnson for example.I'd hardly call that a rhythmic action, yet he could truly crank it up.

It definitely varies according to bowler. Sometimes a really good rhythm can do it, other times brute force through the shoulders (see slingers), and other times still its about the speed of the bowler's 'explosion' through the crease - getting everything to happen quickly so that the momentum of the action converts into speed (admittedly, this is often coupled with rhythm - see Dale Steyn as an example).

I personally think that run-ups are tremendously overrated when it comes to generating pace. Even if you charge in, it makes no difference if the action doesn't happy quickly and smoothly - pace is generated through the action, not the run-up. A run-up really just gives the bowler momentum to execute their action more efficiently - but if the action isn't good, the run-up means almost nothing.

 

[Arachnodouche]

It's how compactly the bowler holds himself together just before the point of delivery. The fastest bowlers I have seen pivot, for lack of a better word, before releasing the ball. It calls for a lot of explosive power (not strength, hence all analogies to traditional bodybuilding/powerlifting/slow grinding gym work seem misplaced) through the hips and core in general, much like a javelin thrower or a shot putter.

 

[Kirkut]

I'd disagree that this is exclusively what it's about. It can be the reason for speed, but is certainly not a prerequisite.

Look at Mitchell Johnson for example.I'd hardly call that a rhythmic action, yet he could truly crank it up.

It definitely varies according to bowler. Sometimes a really good rhythm can do it, other times brute force through the shoulders (see slingers), and other times still its about the speed of the bowler's 'explosion' through the crease - getting everything to happen quickly so that the momentum of the action converts into speed (admittedly, this is often coupled with rhythm - see Dale Steyn as an example).

I personally think that run-ups are tremendously overrated when it comes to generating pace. Even if you charge in, it makes no difference if the action doesn't happy quickly and smoothly - pace is generated through the action, not the run-up. A run-up really just gives the bowler momentum to execute their action more efficiently - but if the action isn't good, the run-up means almost nothing.

I immediately thought of Shoaib Akhtar when I read this. He built upper body strength through weight training because he felt he wasn't fast enough in 1999, the weight training helped him breach 100 mph later but also brought with it plenty of injuries.

As you've said, it's all about how explosive your bowling action is. Shoaib Akhtar burdened his knees with a long run up and bulky upper body, which is why he could never really sustain himself even though he generated express pace.

 

[Red]

Aww

It's okay, I can be your friend!

Thankyou *****

Now that's what I call hitting rock bottom

Please don't dis my friend

 

[Test_Fan_Only]

Its all about taking wickets nothing more, nothing less.

This is 100% true. Taking wickets is the goal and it does not matter what speed you bowl or what skills are brought as long as wickets are taken.

 

[TheJediBrah]

This is 100% true. Taking wickets is the goal and it does not matter what speed you bowl or what skills are brought as long as wickets are taken.

Of course it's true but it's also irrelevant to the topic.

 

[Test_Fan_Only]

Of course it's true but it's also irrelevant to the topic.

Sorry I will just shut up, go curl up in a corner and die

 

[TheJediBrah]

Sorry I will just shut up, go curl up in a corner and die

or don't do that please

 

[Test_Fan_Only]

or don't do that please

I was being sarcastic. Of course I am not going to do that. I wrote that one post before I read the whole thread and understood what it was about.