Cricket Coaching Bowling Tips / How do I stop bowling too full?

by Jason
(Australia)

The Robotic Mr. McGrath

Hi Coach.
in Saturday games, I am an opening bowler. I haven’t been taking many wickets as many of my balls have been too full. I’m always lured into a yorker or a full ball. If I try to bowl outside off stump the length is still too full. Is there any drill that can help this habit?

Hi Jason, you are spot on in saying you have developed a habit of bowling too full. Your body has learnt a movement, a skill which is not optimal for the goal that you want to achieve.

So we are going to teach the body a new habit, hitting a good length consistently, this will allow you to construct an over and hold pressure and build a game plan.

The Plan. You’ll need a notebook to record your goals and your results. Each session set your goals, write down the amount of balls bowled and your success rate at hitting your target. To begin with don’t be surprised if you don’t get many hits, I’ve done this with world class bowlers and they have started off having to work hard at it.

Go to the nets with a partner or coach so they can throw the ball back for you , you’ll not want any distractions so perhaps go down on the days you don’t net with the club.

1. At the nets, put a target the size of a piece of A4 paper down on a length, this can be a piece of carpet, a couple of sports cones, whatever works.

The optimal length is four long paces down the wicket from the batter’s crease on the line of off stump, your target in the game. This is the length which sucks the batter out of the crease and brings in all three dismissals, LBW, bowled and caught behind.

2. Warm Up Drill: warm up as normal, get a good sweat, then I want you to bowl some bouncers to get you through your action. This shortens your length and snaps you through your action, then we go back up to a good length.

3. Target Drill: Then, off your normal run up I want you to bowl 4-6 overs with a 3 minute recovery between overs to simulate the match situation and fitness.

4. At the top of your mark, each ball state your positive intention, the goal to yourself …’I am going to hit good length, hard !’

Strange as this seems, you are sending a message from your mind to your body of what you want it to do.

As you run in, we support this with you resting your focus on the target, it gives the brain direction of where to aim the delivery. Don’t stare at it, just rest your attention on it.

Bowl and follow through, as you walk back reflect, if it was a good ball, congratulate yourself … ‘well bowled, I am going to repeat that again.’

If you were off target, mentally make the correction, too wide, too short, too full etc, then set a new goal, positive intention to hit the target, coming back to the target line and length.

After a while this will automate your action so that you don’t have to think about length, it will just happen automatically.

This allows the brain to have a target every ball, it will begin to make little adjustments to hit the target.

Don’t focus on technique, let the target and your brain work it out for you, you’ll make the little adjustments by focusing on the target, without having to over think the technical side.

Look to do this a couple of times a week, you’ll find after two or three weeks your control and length will be much improved. Manage your workload, don’t do this when you are tired or before a long net session.

On match days, focus on running up and hitting length hard, bowl the ball into the wicket, trust your work, it will begin to pay off.

If you find you lose your length in a game, look at the base of off stump, it doesn’t move! Then you can work from there to get your length back.

Give yourself a days rest between hard bowling sessions.

Good Skills, 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.