What I have learnt from Fast Bowling
When I was a kid, there were two things I was really good at. One was school, the second was cricket. In cricket specifically what I was very good at was fast bowling. I could play for hours on end under the scorching Karachi sun such was my love for the game. I am sure I am not alone in having this kind of love. The children who grew up in the 90s were particularly stung by the cricket bug.
Anyway, I digress from the main topic at hand. I have been bowling fast ever since I can remember. From the time I was six years old, I remember marking a long run up in my street and then bowling yorkers to my friends. This passion was further grown through my admission to CCP (Cricket Coaching Pakistan) a training camp for young cricketers at National Stadium Karachi. Spent another 4–5 years training there thrice a week. This lead to my first hardball match at the age of 11 in Aga Khan Gymkhana against peers who were in their late teens and early 20s. In my first over on this occasion I took a wicket of their opening batsmen. This surprised all of the players playing because they did not expect any thing at all from an 11 year old.
In my teens, cricket took somewhat of a back seat because of increasing commitments towards studying. However, once I got into university, at the Aga Khan University, I rekindled my love for the game and played as an opening fast bowler for our team which won two university level tournaments while I was there. When I went to the UK for my masters, I played for the Oxford Business School team and the village county team. Really enjoyed bowling in the English conditions. The ball would just naturally move around in all directions. It was a joy to bowl there as a seam bowler.
Finally, now that I am back and work at the Aga Khan University, I play for the faculty and staff team. Happy to share that my bowling over the years has just gotten better as I have understood the art of seam and swing bowling even more so. Add to it the fact that we understand fitness much better now, I think my pace is pretty much where it was at when I was 24. I would assume my pace would be in the mid 120s. Would love to get it tested with a speed gun.
Why go into this history of my bowling experience. For one, it’s a pleasurable trip down memory lane. Anytime you have the ball in your hand as a fast bowler. You feel like the world is moving around your plan, a powerful feeling to have. I still feel like that 11 year old bowling his first over with the hard ball when I do the same at 35 now. Secondly, it’s to establish the fact that I have spent extensive time learning and studying this skill.
There are a few things you learn when opening the bowling attack as a fast bowler. In this short piece, I will try to capture some of them.
№1 Focus is key
When you go to the top of your mark, having an idea of where you want to bowl on the pitch really helps. If you don’t know, where you want to pitch the ball, it can go anywhere, this literally puts the ball in the batsmen’s court and now you are no longer playing your game but giving the game to the batsmen. One thing I learnt over time is to focus really strongly on what you want the bowl to do as you head into your run up.
№2 Attack is the best form of defense
As a fast bowler, what I have lately seen is that a lot of bowlers are bowling defensively. They rely too much on change of pace and tricks. This I feel is a defensive approach because you are scared of the batsman. A good fast bowler will try to take the attack to the batsmen. When you bowl your first ball to the batsmen, the game has begun. It becomes a competition of who has the upper-hand in the game. An attacking mindset keeps you in the game. A defensive one pushes you out of it. With that mindset you are only contributing to the highlights reel for the batsman. Aim to get him out every ball. Think of how you can hit his stump. Think of whether a short ball will hurt him or get him to top edge it. Think of whether you can catch him leg before wicket. If you are thinking of getting a player caught in the outfield as a fast bowler, you have already lost your mindset. Now you are thinking like a spinner. No offense to my spinners, you and I are just different people.
№3 Fitness matters
If you feel like your stamina and your physical power is up to par. You will be bowling bazookas. If you feel like you are gassing out or your muscles have become weak, your deliveries would not have the zing needed. So while during the game the mental aptitude matters, but between games, working on your fitness is essential to make sure you can bowl well. If you want to continue bowling fast well into your 30s you must incorporate fitness into your routine. I personally mix up running, rowing and weight training to keep my stamina and muscles strong.
№4 You will get hit.
In the game of cricket, it is inevitable that at some point there will be a player who is having a dream run. They will be seeing the ball like a football and have confidence that is through the roof. They will take you to the cleaners. In this moment. You can try your tricks. But what matters even more so is how you respond every time you get hit out of the park. It has happened to me on more than one occasion. And on times when I have been proud of myself in such a situation is when I came back running to the pitch on the next delivery with the same zeal as I did on the previous one. The battle is still on if you can do that. Your team looks at you when you do so and they don't give up. You might still get hit again because remember the batsman is having a dream run yet how you respond to this onslaught makes a difference to your self esteem and the morale of the team. As a fast bowler, you must keep running in hard. It’s a bit like a boxer, every time you get hit, just try to get back up and give it your all. This has an allegory to life as well. I love the challenge of a batsman trying to hit me.
№5 Swinging the ball
Back in the day, when I started playing in the 90s and the early 2000s. Before youtube etc were there. Swinging the ball was like a magical ability that only the pros had. Today with youtube and the fantastic tutorials and videos available online, swinging the ball has become a science. If you understand the basic physics behind it and understand the release and the angles of the grip. It’s quite straightforward. But maybe it’s easy for me to say since I have been bowling for a long time but I don’t think its too difficult if you practice for a bit in the nets with a new ball.
Swinging the ball adds a lethal dimension to your fast bowling. If you can swing the ball both ways you are almost unplayable for most club level cricketers. Since I am a left arm pace bowler. My favorite way to get a dismissal is to pitch the ball full to a right hander, swing the ball back in, get the batsmen driving and go through the gate between bat and pad to hit middle stump. Have done it a few times and I don’t think there's a more beautiful or pleasurable site than that. Maybe, if I could teach my son to do the same then maybe I would enjoy that even more but nothing else comes close to it.
Finally, when all is said and done. Like any other sport. I enjoy the game. I love bowling aggressively at the batsmen and that person is not my friend while he is facing me but as soon as the gloves are off and we are back to normal life, I have respect and love for my opponents as well as my team. Having a sport in your life that you play on a regular basis even as you hit middle age, gives you an outlet to compete in a healthy manner rather than compete on stupid things like possessions, titles etc that most middle aged people compete on. I will write about why I believe it’s stupid to compete on these variables some other time
I am grateful to my father who introduced me to cricket at a young age and my mother who used to pick and drop my brother and I to and from cricket practice when we were kids. I hope to one day pass the same love on to my son when he is older. For now the game of throwing balls at each other will suffice.
