Cricket Bowling Tips: Fast Bowling: Control, Pace , Line and Length.

by Akshay
(India)

Hi, I am an 18 year old fast bowler and I have killer pace like Dale Steyn, but I don’t have control over my line and length.

I also don’t have stamina so can you help me!

Hi Akshay,

To work on your line and length it is important that you split your practice sessions so that you can work on both your control and your speed and bring the two together so that they compliment each other.

1. Net practice: when you bowl in the nets its important for you to run in and bowl quick, if you have real pace you need to learn to work with your pace and bowl strategically at different batters. 2 x per week for 5-6 over spell.

Technical Practice: Once or twice a week depending on your practice workload, fit in a technical session.

This will be 5-6 overs of target bowling, where you put a target down on a length, five full walking paces down the wicket on off stump.

Once you are warmed up, the goal is as many hits on your target in your 30-36 balls.

This will train your brain and body to focus on your stock length and learn to hit it repeatedly without the distraction of having a batter to focus on.

Keep a log of this so that you can monitor your improvement, make observations and set new goals.

Building your stamina: your body is still growing so its important not to overload it , you will improve your stamina by bowling in the nets and doing one technical session a week.

If you net once or twice a week in-season and bowl in club games this will be enough.

For off season training it will be worth joining a
gym, you can begin with Greg King’s conditioning
program so that you can start the process of getting stronger.

For running you can begin with 3km timed runs during the off season and build that up to 5km timed runs. Do this twice a week to get a cardio base as you move into pre-season nets.

Best wishes Coach.

Comments for Cricket Bowling Tips: Fast Bowling: Control, Pace , Line and Length.
Jan 20, 2015 Your Tips are awesome NEW
by: Tarpan Patel Hello hi i am 13 years old praticing bowling since i was 10. Well i have 140 kph pace and good line and length but i need some consistency. Can you help me?
Jan 02, 2015 Fast Bowling NEW
by: Atba Khan I am 14 years old and am a medium pacer , sir , I have problems of bowling inconsistent line and length and sometimes I bowl very fast but sometimes my pace is not what I want it to be.Please ,sir, can you help me I would be very grateful. Thank You.
Dec 21, 2014 How to Improve Control of Line and Length
by: Anand Hi im anand im from kerala ima right arm fast bowler ican bowl upto 130-145 but ican get correct length please help me

Hi Anand and all you young fast bowlers out there who want to improve your bowling.

Please check out this page so you can find all my fast bowling tips.

Cricket Bowling Tips/Fast Bowling

Best Wishes Coach
Dec 21, 2014 i want bowling speed
by: Bunty Halwai Hii sir i m bunty halwai l m live from mumbai i m 20 year old my bowling pace 120-25 but i want 140-45 bowling speed please sir i need your help tell me sir

Hi Bunty, there are two simple ways to bowl faster … get stronger and have an efficient action.

To get stronger, go to the cricket fitness tips page and read Greg Kings tips and begin your strength work.

Efficient action: check your action? Ask your coach to check your action to see if there are areas that you can improve to make sure the energy from your run up is being delivered in your bowling action and into the delivery.

regards Coach
Dec 18, 2014 jerk problem
by: Saurabh Singh Baghel Hi my name is Saurabh Singh Baghel from Aligarh(India) i can bowl above 145 kmph.
my bowling action is similar to my favorate Shoaib Akhter but one problem that i face is jerk in my elbow …..plz tell me what to do…

Hi Saurab, if you have a jerk in your elbow you may be throwing the ball so we will need to work on that so that you don’t get no balled. i want you to work on being as side on as possible in your action, this will allow you to keep your arm in a vertical position when you release the ball.

Mirror Practice: Practice slowly bowling in front of a mirror so you can consciously control your action and arm position. If you don’t have a mirror that is long enough at home, find a window where there is a reflection you can use. You ‘obviously’ don’t let go of the ball. Keep your head still, when the head falls to the offiside in your action, the bowling arm gets a jerk in it , so focus on staying side on and head still and upright.

regards Coach
Oct 28, 2014 Avoiding full toss
by: Abhinav My action is like Mohammed Shami i bowl at 130 – 145
but i am not happy with my length and i bowl couple of full toss but now i practiced and praticed and now i could bowl perfect line and length

See Above
Sep 28, 2014 my line and length
by: faris hi my name is faris i am 12 years old and my action is like shoaib akhter i have killer pace but not good line and length can you help me please and i also want to know how to swing

See above
Sep 18, 2014 Young Pakistan Fast Bowler
by: Sajid Khan Masood I’m Sajid Khan Masood From Karachi Pakistan I’m 16 Year Old & My Style Is Same as Dale Steyn My Line & Length Is Superb My Speed Is Awesome Too Which Can Reach To 128 Kmph & I Get a fastest bowling in age 16 award from pakistan test player younis khan ! For more detail you can contact me here > https://www.facebook.com/Sajidkhanmasood00

Hi Sajid, congrats on your award, Younis is one of my favourite cricketers.

Keep up the good work!

Best wishes Coach
Aug 12, 2014 sohail
by: Sohail my name is sohail my action is like brett lee iam 15 years old i have also played schools tournament my pace is good according to me but idon’t get good lengtth and good line

See above
Aug 07, 2014 Herschelle257@gmail.com
by: harshal soni Hi my name is harshal soni,i am a right arm fast bowler,my actions are like jimmy anderson,i can swing the bowl both ways,but the problem is that i am not able to maintain line and length,plz help

See above
Aug 05, 2014 how can i be a perfect fast bowler
by: bibek ghimire HI,MY NAME IS BIBEK GHIMIRE FROM NEPAL.I’M A BIG FAN OF CRICKET.MY DREAM IS TO BE A BOWLER LIKE B.KUMAR AND SHAKTI(NEPAL) .I JUST WANT TO IMPROVE ON MY LINE PACE AND LENGTH.PLZ HELP ME TO IMPROVE THOESE PROBLEMS.

See above
Jul 23, 2014 well tips
by: saurav sharma hi my name is saurav and i can bowl up 140 km bec my hands are much storger than othere and friends this tips and working for me and now i can bowl up to 140km with prefet line

Well Done Saurav, keep working smart and hard on your game
May 21, 2014 sourin deb
by: Anonymous Hi i am Sourin Deb from kolkata i am a left-arm-fast bowler my action is almost like Dirk Nannes i can bowl near 133km/hr but i dont have good line and length.now i am working more in pace then line and length.

See above
May 11, 2014 fast bowling
by: SIAM Hi my name is siam and i am from india srinagar kashmir i am a fast medium pace bowler i bowl around 129 140 kph on 19 – 20 yards i want to be more fast.My natural action is like dale steyn.My age is 17.I also have problem with my line and length Can u please help me SIRSee above
Apr 17, 2014 shoaib akhtar
by: Muhammad ali Hy. I want to bowll like shoaib akhtar action but I can not get shoaib akhtar totally. And I can not controle my line and line and length. Please tell me about my this pronlem please please please
Apr 13, 2014 fast bowling
by: Siddhant hi I am siddhant i am a fast bowler my speed i near 130 to 145 but i am unhappy with my line and length i want to improve it how can i improve it please! tellme fast
Apr 09, 2014 acurracy with swing both side
by: mohit sharma hii my self mohit sharma i am 16 years old , i m a medium paser my bowling speed is105-110 there are too many swing in my bowl but no accuracy in my bowling
Mar 28, 2014 have pace but not control
by: dani hello sir I m daniyal from Pakistan my pace is too good but my line and length is not in control and have less stamina so what to do for improvement..
Feb 15, 2014 2 fast but no control
by: Prashant sir i can bowl quick,around 135-145 but i hav no control over my line and length sir please give some healthy tips so that i can enjoy my bowling….perfectly.
Jan 16, 2014 improving line and length
by: Rahul hi i am rahul i am 15 yrs old and i have pace i can bowl around 130 to 145kmph but i do not have control over line and lenght how can i gain control over my line and length
Nov 25, 2013 Fast Bowling: Controlling my line and length
by: Gursidak Bindra Hi, I am Gursidak, I am a good fast bowler, I am 12 years old but my line and length is not good on big pitches please help me to find out the solution.

Hi Gursidak, when you are 12 you should be playing on a shortened pitch, so that the field and wicket matches your current physical abilities. I would suggest practicing your bowling on a pitch 20 yards long, ask your coach or an adult to mark this out for you.

As you will see in my cricket tips pages, I advocate practicing target bowling so that you can hit your line and length repeatedly.

Put a target down on the line of off stump, four walking paces from the batters crease and practice bowling at this target repeatedly.

This will train your line and length, be patient as you develop your game, your physical abilities will develop as you grow and get stronger.

Best wishes Coach
Jun 13, 2013 Fast bowling – generating pace
by: raymond Hi i am raymond i am 13 years old i am a bowler i have very good line and length but no pace how could i generate pace..

Hi Raymond, each cricketer has their own capacity to bowl quick, sometimes you want to bowl quick but you just arent gifted with raw pace, then you must develop other skills, like excellent control, swing and the ability to seam the ball.

It is also important for you to run in with the goal of bowling quick. Sometimes a young bowler is too slow in their approach to the stumps, set the aim to bowl quick and run in aggressively to attach the batter. Dale Steyn is a great example of this. Aim to be balanced and in control when you run in, bowl as fast as you can so long as you can control where the ball goes, this your current limit.

Work with this and develop good control and skills to go with your pace.

best wishes Coach
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Richard Pybus

About Richard Pybus

I'm Richard Pybus, I've coached Pakistan, Bangladesh, Middlesex, Titans and the Cape Cobras in South Africa and the goal of this site is to help you to play winning cricket.

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