Cricket Coaching Fast Bowling Tips / Mental Toughness: Problem regarding feet in bowling

by Mohosin
(India )

Morne Morkel: Overcoming distracting technical thoughts.

Respected Coach, I am a right arm fast bowler, but I am having trouble with my feet. I cannot adjust my feet when I am about to deliver the ball, it makes me lose my pace and many times the ball goes wide. Sir, please suggest what I can do to overcome this. My team is going to participate in a big tournament in three days and they have a lot of expectation of me. Thanking you in anticipation.

Dear Mohosin,
thanks for being so honest, often a player won’t discuss what is bothering him for fear of exposing a personal shortcoming and perceived weakness. The only way to play better cricket is to confont our challenges, whether they are technical, fitness or mental.

Quite often technical issues in our game are mental and vice versa.

Morne Morkel once had a similar challenge, he came back to the Titans from the South African side and he was over analysing his bowling action to the point where he couldn’t control where he was bowling the ball. He was completely distracted from the process of bowling the ball.

To sort it out, it was case of getting him to clear his mind by setting a goal for each ball and focus on bowling at his target zone, the top of off stump.

When you bowl, your performance comes from the subconscious mind.

As an example, think of walking, you don’t think about it, you know how to walk, so there is no conscious thought of how to do it, you learn’t how to do it when you were between 10 months and 3 years, no picking up one foot then the other, the right arm swings forward when the left leg moves back … you’d go mad analysing the movements. So you pay attention to where you are going, you have a goal, your destination !

Now with your bowling, you know how to bowl, so stop thinking of your feet, like Morne, set a goal for each ball. e.g. Hit the top of off stump, hard. Each ball, set a goal of what you want to make happen. Not what you don’t want to happen.

You can’t be thinking of your feet and your target at the same time, you’re confusing the subconscious mind by giving it two goals ! Your feet and where you want to bowl the ball. Use the conscious mind to set a goal for the subconscious to follow.

If you have issues with no balls or how your feet land, you need to sort this out after your game, not building up to it. Trust all your years of playing the game and doing well, in training, practice setting a new goal for each ball … and the goal is where you want the ball to go, not where your body parts are !

Best wishes and good skills for the game ! Regards coach

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.