As a former competitive fast bowler and someone who has worked with numerous fast bowlers across the globe as a performance coach, I still see young fast bowlers getting hurt more often than not.
Of course, fast bowling is not a regular day job — not everyone produces ground reaction forces nine times their body weight repeatedly — and, therefore, injuries can and do happen.
However, a systematic approach to physical preparation could help minimise most of the non-contact injuries such as hamstring strains, lower back strains and shoulder injuries that are often reported by fast bowlers.
It is also important to understand that an approach adopted by one fast bowler may not be suitable for another because of individual variances in bowling style, body type, movement competency, work capacity and recovery. Furthermore, replicating the bowling style of a bowler you look up to will not help, as individual styles are developed organically based on one’s body structure and movement perception.
But there are some important principles that every fast bowler can benefit from in minimising their chances of injuries and enhancing their performance on the field.
Here are 10 principles that could help.
1 Work on relative strength, not absolute. Get strong to play, to do the task in a sustained manner. Strength training serves as a means to an end, it is not an end in itself. You will not be judged by how much weight you lift in the gym. Work on single-leg and upper-body pulling strength (split squats, single-leg deadlifts, suspension rows, face pulls) and power (hops, bounds, medicine ball throws). Remember you are putting up to nine times your body weight on one leg when you are bowling, so you better prepare your legs one at a time.
2 Do not excessively stretch the lower segment of the spine into rotation as it has limited freedom of movement. Trust me, it is already doing a lot when you are bowling. Work on providing stability there, not an excessive range of motion. Lower-back injuries are not always because of lack of range of motion, but something that moves too much relatively.
3 A general pilates and yoga group class can be as disastrous as a copy-pasted powerlifting workout for a bowler with lower back pain. One has to fit exercises based on their movement competencies and requirements. Yoga and pilates will not fix the pain, finding the cause of the pain will.
4 It does not matter if you can run a marathon; it matters that you can bowl the entire day, when playing the long format, that is. The strength rule applies here as well. Be fit to bowl, not the other way round. Long-distance runners have their share of overuse injuries and fast bowlers have their own. Do not add more overuse injuries. Instead, work on reducing some of them.
5 If you are a side-arm fast bowler, make sure your hip rotators and trunk stabilisers provide adequate mobility and stability, respectively. Otherwise, the lower segment of the spine will move excessively into a rotation.
6 If you are a front-on bowler, make sure your scapulae (shoulder blades) have the adequate upward rotation when you flex your shoulders overhead.
7 Use proximal muscles, such as those of the legs and upper back, when throwing from the outfield instead of relying excessively on your shoulders.
8 Build bowling work capacity. Start with small numbers. For instance, bowl five overs, pay attention to every detail — run-up, release angle, landing, reactive ability during ball release and head position. You might be able to bowl faster by just paying a little attention.
9 Build progressive multi-planar movement skills. Do not perform exercises completely in the sagittal plane (flexion- and extension-based work, like gym-based leg-extension and leg-curl machines) because you do not bowl in one. Rotational and multidirectional skills are prerequisites for bowling efficiently for long periods.
10 Before you start using heavy cricket balls to increase your pace, make sure your basics with a standard cricket ball are right. Try to maximise with minimal resources first, otherwise advanced techniques will not work in the future.
Along with the 10 points mentioned above, it is also important to take care of recovery. Basic recovery strategies that are scientifically supported are:
(a) Getting good quality sleep for seven to nine hours a day.
(b) Consuming adequate protein (for muscle synthesis) and carbohydrates (to help replace muscle glycogen) after training.
(c) Keeping well-hydrated through electrolytes, particularly during hot and humid conditions.
(d) Incorporating regular slow relaxed nasal breathing techniques to activate the parasympathetic nervous system (to reduce the threat receptors from excessive activation of the sympathetic nervous system, aka ‘flight or fight’ triggers, during games and training.
Other recovery methods that can be used are compression garments and ice baths. But we still don’t have enough scientific support for the use of these recovery methods.
The last and probably a very important aspect of bowling fast is not trying too hard to bowl fast. Fast bowling is all about the momentum. Try and build the momentum gradually and enjoy the ride.
Kaushik Talukdar is a strength and conditioning expert and a PhD candidate in Auckland, New Zealand. He’s also the author of Sports Fit: Bridging the Gap Between Research and Practice. What would you like to ask Kaushik? Write to him at kaushik.talukdar21@gmail.com
