Fittest Fastest Strongest- Biomechanics of fast bowling decoded by Shayamal Vallabhjee

Watch Sports Scientist Shayamal Vallabhjee along with other cricket enthusiasts decode the bio mechanics of fast pace bowling and the importance of strength and conditioning in enhancing a bowler's performance.
Video Courtesy: Star Sports India

[@subtyrant]

Sports scientists and young fast bowlers should look closely at Jeff Thomson's bowling action. He was very fast. He never suffered an injury due to his bowling action. He had a slow, almost casual run up that didn't use a lot of energy. In a scientific study made in 1975 of 4 fast bowlers the measured run up speeds were: Dennis Lillee - 33.57km/h, Andy Roberts - 28.78km/h, Michael Holding - 28.10km/h, Jeff Thomson - 18.02km/h. So Thomson's run up was 10+km/h slower than all the others. His fastest delivery was measured at 160.45km/h. The next fastest was Roberts at 150.67km/h. Thomson was not particularly tall, although he was strongly built. He bowled that way because his dad did. The only awkward part of his action was the slightly cross-legged delivery stride. His arm action is that of a catapult, winding as far back as possible behind his back and releasing in a simple, linear arc. Biomechanically it looks very efficient and, once the delivery stride is mastered, very difficult to get wrong. So why hasn't he been copied? Bowlers like Tait and Malinga are considered to have slingy actions, but they are not the same.

[@adamdiggle5068]

subtyrant Thompson was rapid but only for a brief period, a couple of ashes tours, his action and body couldn't sustain it for much of his career. Back then the international workload of a bowler was far lower too. If you want to bowl fast and have a lengthy career he's probably not the best person to model yourself on.

[@subtyrant]

James, I completely disagree. Based on very limited speed measurements it's reasonable to assume he was a 160kph bowler from 73 (or earlier) to the end of 76 at which point he broke his collarbone due to a collision with another fielder. That put him out of action for a while and did affect his action. But it was an accident and unrelated to his body not being able to sustain that pace. Nevertheless, in 1979, having not played cricket all year due to WSC and contract issues, he was accurately measured at 147kph in a bowling competition and won that competition against the likes of Andy Roberts and Michael Holding. In his 40s as a bowling coach for Queensland members of the team suggested he should play for the side as he was considered faster than any of the bowlers he was coaching. There is a youtube video of Barry Richards facing him in a special match in 1993 and, aged 43, he still looks fast and dangerous. He had a short, slow (therefore energy conserving) run-up and never had an injury that was related to his bowling action, so I can't see the basis of your arguement that his action was incompatible with a long career or a heavy workload.

[@adamdiggle5068]

You're absolutely right about his pace, he may well have been the fastest bowler ever but he only ever delivered his express pace in patches, Thommo blames all of that in the collar bone injury and claims it was the only injury he ever suffered but he also claims he bowled at 180ks, Thommo can spin a yarn or two. He missed half a season in 1981 after suffering a hernia playing for Middlesex , while a back problem hampered him in 1977, he suffered injuries just like everyone else and they were related to his bowling action. It's worth noting that while he was quicker than his contempories in the 1979 competition, all of them apart from Croft (who was banned after the rebel tour to SA) and Andy Roberts, earned considerably more test caps than him despite all of them playing world series cricket, which he did not. They also all had superior bowling averages , economy rates and strike rates to him. His action delivered pace but not longevity, again in patches he was rapid but not consistently. A shorter run up does not necessarily conserve energy, in fact the momentum you lose from the shorter run means you have to use more brute force at the crease, your body has to work harder if you want to reach levels of express pace. Just look at Michael Holding, nice long run up, fluid, and consistently quick, suffered injuries too of course but played 60 tests to Thompson's 51, despite playing world series cricket. You don't really see players copying his action and for good reason, with the international workload as heavy as it is nowadays it's just not conducive to delivering pace and longevity.

[@subtyrant]

You're covering three things here, and possibly risking merging them. I think it's worth separating his action, his approach to training and fitness, and his pure intelligence as a bowler. I also completely agree there is lots of bullshit floating around about him being a 180k bowler. I absolutely do not subscribe to that. So taking the last two, I don't get the impression he put anything like the same sort of fitness training into his career as Dennis Lillee, for example. He was also pretty gung-ho about his body, tearing a shoulder muscle playing tennis over enthusiastically which put him out of the last two matches of the 74/5 Ashes series. I wasn't aware of his stomach hernia but having read about it now it looks as if he ignored it for a while, making his recovery period longer. On the third point I think that, although he was fast, he wasn't a particularly good bowler. He was sloppy. I saw him at Lords in 1975 bowling a lot of no balls. It was embarrassing. He was a good bloke and a great Aussie character. But did he utterly commit himself to his bowling career, or did he just bumble through it? The vast majority of fast bowling actions involve the bowling arm passing in front of the lower body during the cycle of release. Thomson wound his arm back behind his bum causing a tension along the muscles of the neck, shoulder and arm. It's such a simple, linear action. I am not an expert (and you sound as if you might be :) but I cannot see why, biomechanically, that action places more stress on the body, especially if it is more efficient. You have countered my point about his run up by saying he needed to work harder at the point of release. But surely all fast bowlers are pretty much using all the muscle power available to them at just about every release? If they didn't then you would see the odd significantly faster delivery. I suppose the fact that he's been a bowling coach on and off for the last 20 years, yet doesn't seem to have convinced any of his proteges to copy his action lends some weight to your arguement. But if a youngster were to copy the action, put the necessary practice in, benefit from modern fitness training and coaching, and perhaps combine a faster run up with that efficient catapult action, who knows? Anyway, thanks for the debate. There's so much rudeness on youtube it's a nice change to talk with someone who doesn't immediately call me a moron for not agreeing with them.

[@subtyrant]

I think that was more to do with his laid back attitude to training and development than his action.

[@ahsanarshad918]

1:29....left watching this video at that time bcz he said how sahami and Anderson generate those speeds

[@theresonlyone8881]

Shami is a fast bowler. What are you talking about.

[@tfahad2051]

Great content. Please ignore the jahils (ignorant people) that think they know better than you just because you did not mention any big names like Shoaib Akhter or Brett Lee. The morons in the comments section think they know more than you, even though you've trained bowlers like Dale Steyn.

[@jagdishchandra2580]

Greatest ever episode on Cricket.Great job.

[@houseofbashir]

Does playing tennis as side sport helps fast bowler?

[@sartajzaman3524]

can you explain, when fast bowler running fast delivered the ball different type of speed? Bowling grip is the main issue or other issue? Normal fast bowler delivered the ball around 70mph(112km/h) -100mph (160km/h ) slow ball also 45 mph (74km/h) -68mph(110km/h)

[@pradeepshankar5153]

Very informative on biomechanics.. Iam interested more

[@abcde576]

How fast should a pace bowler run in his run up?

[@didan3683]

1:27 he said how James anderson clocks high speeds best joke I heard all day 😂

[@belsayshootingground]

DiDan he’s bowled 90mph plenty of times 🤷‍♂️

[@patrickgracias5782]

Armourer Reloading Yeah, 12 years ago 😂😂

[@marjukhossen2653]

Please Sir I Want To Know How Much Wait Good For Medicine Ball

[@noorijatt393]

How Shoib Akhter deliver 💯 mph Pls explain thanks.

[@ThePrince_69]

steroids

[@ThePrince_69]

I am jealous that I don't take drugs, yes

[@harsh4531]

by throwing

[@gggfx4144]

Phenomenal power in the core and chest plus very hyper-extendable joints. Brett Lee got close through exceptional technique plus being very fit and strong. There is a good 40min video somewhere on KZbin of how Brett Lees coach worked with him to get him to peak and keep him bowling in the 90s even when he was beyond the age most fast bowlers retire at

[@hashimshafiq6242]

gggfx could you please give me the link?

[@amartyabatabyal6280]

sir I would like to know how to keep your upper body straight and steady while bowling fast

[@jinkazamathe1]

Sir, would like to know some exercises to heal ACL sprains!! plz make a video regarding ACL strengthening drills.

[@giuseppescuderi4868]

The video is very interesting

[@zaheerkan3980]

really good i like ur videos good helpy information

[@khalildomki5179]

Can i send you my bowling action? I'm a side-on fast bowler and i want to correct my bowling action. please reply

[@gaul849]

Also being at 120kg you obviously need to loose weight to generate any decent speed you have to run up from the boundary

[@krunalmachhi65]

after that video bowler should practice on their bowling action and their body to generate speed

[@SanjeevSingh-xh9vh]

I understand lots of think from this vedio

[@hematplays3253]

8:46 this is for you to bowl fast

[@petervad]

Very superficial video. I was hoping for some in-depth information and analysis - it was mostly just inane chatter. Disappointing. If you are going to make a video, make it with solid educational content.

[@Warlock786]

James anderson and shami are fast WoW

[@theresonlyone8881]

Shami is.

[@Warlock786]

@@theresonlyone8881 shut up

[@tabishahmed7836]

One word .... Shoiab Akhtar !..

[@ammarab4328]

I see that my jump is wrong

[@santspoudel9739]

Why the hell Mohammad shami is being highlighted too much in this video instead of someone like Brett Lee & Shoaib akthar??

[@sirslime1687]

Dude stop fuckin complaining

[@theresonlyone8881]

Shut up. Shami is a terrific bowler.

[@fearecho7736]

Like James but why not shoiab Akhtar

[@kiranmh8264]

hi sir, I am a left arm bowler from Bangalore, about 8 weeks ago I landed on an uneven ground while playing and fractured my right ankle near the tibia bone..now I am able to make movements with my right ankle but still I haven't started bowling yet..my concern is will my right leg able to bear the weight.. kindly help me sir

[@thehealinstitute6734]

Hi Kiran, hope our Senior Physiotherapist Akshata guided you in the best possible way. Please feel free to reach out to us should you have any other concerns.

[@roshankp5845]

M a fast bowler from India..my speed was around 130-35 but due to my back injury now m can't able to bowl

[@liju87philip]

7:47 What if the young kid bowled a splendid delivery and the batsman defended it? Do you think you are doing justice to the upcoming talent if you're busy with your newspaper?

[@crickcraze8706]

Fast Bowler !!!! You should Talk about Bret Lee and M Starc .. You would be Pissing even behind the stumps , if you could see them running and througing the ball at 95 + MPH to you...

[@rizan00khan]

Fast bowlers are not discussed in the video apart from waqar. Where are Lee, Thompson, Johnson, Akhtar , Tait??? In an interview Akhtar said that he never did any exercises for increasing his pace. He just bowled bricks and heavy rocks in the nets and people used to refer him as some crazy boy.

[@mylifeiscricket5846]

bro u had not have known about shoaib ahktar..he used to do heavy lifts..run around 10 kms...performed sprints with a tyre tied behind him...so please✋..dont say anything without having proper information...tnk u...

[@didan3683]

Steyn is also pretty fast

[@anwarbey5428]

James and shami hahahah

[@theresonlyone8881]

Shami is good. Chup

[@saroshshahid6269]

Came here to see how to bowl faster, this guy's playing volleyball with a football. No wonder india hasnt produced legendary bowlers

[@adityavekariya8693]

wich pakistani bowler has more wickets than kumble ? so shut the fuck up , even today bumrah and bhuvi and shami are better than all pakistani bowlers of this era all of wasim shoaib waqr era is gone pakistan is now not going to produce any legendaeg bowler and they have nevver produced evvn decent batsmen in your history

[@tylerdavidson2400]

Sarosh Shahid Bumrah is currently better than all Pakistani fast bowlers.

[@fierygamerpf2016]

​@@tylerdavidson2400you are too funny brother 😂

[@fierygamerpf2016]

And no its not football its a medicine and weighs 3kg or something

[@INAMKhan-ek9to]

Very big lol for m shami

[@sidvicious4947]

I did not know all this shit and i bowled 135 km/hr at the age of 16.

[@drmohammedali1768]

Shami and Anderson express bowler? Atleast mention Akhtar (even if he is Pakistani). Be professional my Hindu chum.

[@chanperth]

wht does being "HINDU" has to do with tht ???

[@theresonlyone8881]

Contradiction in your comment. Mohammed Shami is a muslim. This is good muslim representation.

[@NA-sd4vo]

hahaha typical Indian work....shami in the video but world gtreatest fast bowlers from Pakistan.waseem waqar shoaib amir imran junaid wahab husnain sami irfan and so many...not in this video .......i mean does it make sense to indlude shami......even my gate keeper is better bowler.

[@tylerdavidson2400]

Shami helped India win a series in Australia which none of your bowlers have done. And was bowling 90 mph even on the last day of test matches whereas your boys cant even bowl 140 kph in test cricket due to their poor fitness. Amir so bad in test cricket that he even retired at a prime age of 27.😂😂😂

[@theresonlyone8881]

Shami is the best.