why do i keep bowling so short?

Hi all,

i am a leg spin bowler who gets good spin and many variations.

But i have 1 big problem,i keep pitching the ball too short.

As everyone knows, all spinners get punished severly if the bowl too short,no matter how much spin they get.I tried taking

a side on action an releasing the ball a bit earlier but that didn't work either.[well it worked when i released the ball earlier but

i ended up bowling full toses]

Any tips?

thanks 

 

it could be your action, i had this problem, so dont stop trying to rip the ball, you always need to be able to spin it, but you need to make sure you get up on you front leg and have that leg straight, kumble is a good example of this

Your follow through is no good. Go and see a good coach, not just an average club coach who doesn't know what the heck he's talking about.

I bowl off spin and i find that just generally practice helps keep my bowling consistent. I have been to the nets 5 times in 4 days. I feel like i can bowl in my sleep now

I focus on when i release the ball carefully. Bowling too short is often caused by trying to hard and dragging it down or by a technical fault of simply holding the ball too long.

I often pull the ball short when attempting my doosra, which is a front on legspinner which i disguise. I suppose this is similar to your problems with leg spin. Try to release the ball nice and high and give it some air.

Edited by TCA123

Maybe if you take a longer run-up, to give your more energy when you release it.

make sure you have rhythm in the run up and get through the crease, i.e get high and over that front leg, having some momentum will help in the accuracy

I bowl medium pace Sled but whenever I find myself picthing the ball short if find if I concentrate on keeping my leading arm (left in my case because I am a right arm bowler) high it really helps me in keeping the ball pitched up.

Apart from all the other things said, try to keep yourself relaxed while bowling, not tensing your wrist body so much that you forget the other important pieces of the action like the leading arm, the run up, the pivot and follow through. Also, when you start going round arm more and more or when you start bowling short, you might want to remember to throw the ball up, like shane himself says in the cricket show video. Basically, this might lead you to keep your bowling arm a tad higher, and also bringing the leading arm into the equation a little more. If you are trying to rip it a lot or trying to bowl fat and rip it too much, you might end up bowling short. Mate, honestly, it will come down to practice, and correcting the things slowly and getting the stuff you are doing right into muscle memory. Keep at it.

Your trying too hard mate,Try bowling accurately first and then practice spinning with accuracy

Then what was the point in that post

One thing I would like to add is that it is possible to get very good turn starting with a not-so-tight/tense grip too. Without trying to rip it so much that you are squeezing the ball for dear life, you will get good turn - just look at the bbc/ninemsn videos of terry jenner/ warne. At 50, Jenner still turns the ball with a 2 step action. So, by replacing the extra effort that you put into turning it yards with good technique, you will do so much better. The thing is that turning the ball with good technique is more easily repeatable than the ripping all or nothing magic ball that you have control over.
I am not going to tell you that spin is not important at all, coz' that aint just true. Being able to spin, turn and zip it is the very reason why you are a leg-spinner, instead of a medium paced trundler. But the path to getting there is a step-by-step process, just like learning to cycle, or to swim or a host of other things. Surely you couldn't cycle without holding the handlebars on your 1st week on the ride!! Likewise, you may be able to turn the ball flat square once in 5 balls of trying to do so, but then it's not worth it with those kind of odds. The way to getting people relaxed at doing something is by repetition so that they have the confidence of having done it before. Hundreds of people bowl leg-spin (lesser than other disciplines, sure), so there's no reason why you can't either.


  We don't know what your problem is but you might want to be able to bowl a stock ball that keeps things tight which is bowled with a relaxed action with lesser turn, and slowly as you get more comfortable with the stock ball, you can put a little bit more rip into the stock ball. As far as practical advice goes, tape yourself if necessary and look at it. Play/bowl/practice with other leg-spinners, watch them and see what they do different, and chat with your wicket-keeper and other experienced bowlers once in a while - they might spot things like lack of rhythm, since some things are the same for all bowlers.Best of luck.

 
      

hello shane warne wanabe i bowl leg spin and a blistering googley but i have one problem my side hurts due to bowling on thing tht could helf u is if u kepp your bodie straigh and bowl don't lean forward

speaking as a quick, i have the same problem sometimes and its usually when i change my action very slightly, because im trying to bowl an inswinger (my stock ball is away) or to bowl quicker. Possibly the same might apply to spinners, i dont know because spinning's for pussies

EDIT Also, how old are you? Because it takes a long long time and a lot of experience to develop the art of wrist-spin. Its well documented that even the best wrist-spinners sometimes get slapped around (apart from you-know-who but hes an anomaly...) and that young ones have a very hard time while learning the trade. In fact, its thought that a large part of the reason English cricket doesnt produce leg-spinners is that captains dont give them the chances to develop as bowlers, by taking them off as soon as they get slapped around


Edited by Chin Music

Originally posted by Top Cat Your trying too hard mate,Try bowling accurately first and then practice spinning with accuracy

Top Cat makes a valid point above.

Without actually seeing how you bowl it's very difficult (impossible) to tell you where you're going wrong. There's been alot of good ideas posted in terms of what you might be doing wrong or what might be the cause, however rather than over analysing what 'might' be wrong with your technique you may be better focusing on achieving your goal of a better consistency - stopping bowling that short delivery.

Try this drill (this will work for any type of bowler who wants to improve bowling accuracy, in terms of line and length).

Simply mark out on the wicket with chalk/paint/cones/etc the area where you want to pitch the ball that represents a good line and length, so this will vary slight depending on what you're bowling.

Practice bowling it into this zone/area until you can pitch the ball into it consistently 6 balls in a row and then practice again. If you want to make it harder gradually reduce the size of the zone as you get better.

This is a great drill to help you focus on improving your consistency and accuracy, and it's really quick and easy to set up and use.