Friday morning and it's sunny. Everywhere is sodden and the grass is heavy with dew because of the clear skies over night and little wind. Because of the impending party I'm on DIY duties again so have had to stick around home clearing stuff up and preparing for the party. In between walking from the garage which is right outside my house though I've managed to throw a few balls - all deliveries not requiring any input from my thumb and I'm very encouraged by what's been happening. I'm now getting the leg break to turn from almost the full length of a cricket pitch albeit only slightly - but it is turning and that's what matters, so today I've hardly tried bowling wrong Uns concentrating instead of ressurecting the leg break and bit by bit it's coming back to me. It's exactly as Peter Philpott says (In my case) you have to concentrate and it basically the rotation of the wrist in order that the ball leaves the hand rotating in the right direction. I've notices too that it seems because I am bowling with no input what so ever the fingers are doing more and the spin seems to be more affective?
Whilst outside I could hear the groundsman over at the football pitch (100 yards away) mowing the pitch which is good news as it'll mean that'll be slightly better to practice on and I may even designate a wicket and get my little Qualcast panther rotary hand mower out and cut the grass to help with the practice and my kids and I can have a knock about over there as well? It was interesting that there was a feature on the news this morning that there's been an increase in sales in Qualcast panthers and manual mowers and people are moving back to "Proper" lawn mowers to cut their lawns. I never liked hover-mowers ever - noisy, electric, wasteful and no physical effort on your part no wonder we're a country of over-weights! So it'll be good to hear the clatter of rotary blades against the backdrop of Blackbirds and Thrushes singing in the years to come instead the din of a hover-mower and besides the cut is so much better!
What with the promise of a practice Friday nights now and a full day of cricket on Sunday it's looking increasingly unlikely that I'm going to be able to get involved with the blokes over at Gloucester Park. Working late Tuesday and Monday with scouts with the boys on Wednesday that only leaves Thursday and during the day on Saturday and I reckon that will be pushing the limits at home, so it's increasingly looking as though that plan is going to the wall a bit? I'll just see what happens, with a bit of luck I'll be going over there during Saturday morning and I'll see if there's any evidence of them having been playing over there.
18.00hrs
What a day! You may have read this morning that I was having some success with my leg break outside my house and this afternoon eveming I've been out there a few times on and off and it's coming along nicely. It seems to be partly down to the bad thumb and the fact that it's playing no part in the action and maybe because I'm being forced to bowl balls other than the flipper - with no flipper I've just had loads of time to simply concentrate on bowling leg breaks. That coupled with all the early stage advice from Peter Philpotts book about keep trying to flick the wrist and drag the fingers over the seam to get the rip going and the whole arm movement etc - it's all working! The other key thing is the concentration factor. It's coming down to the fact that it is that circular action as you flick the wrist - like opening a door handle, but in order that it comes together I have to concentrate and pre-visualise and go through the required movement in my head before I execute the action. Today as it's come together I'm now ripping the ball so viciously with the fingers as they drag across the ball it makes a flick noise - which has never happened before! The net result is I'm getting the ball to turn and sometimes it's a big turn! So I'm getting there.
Also it just feels like I'm so much more confident after last Sundays game what with the consistency of line and length I was able to bowl. Now I'm looking at different ways of bowling the ball and just now I was bowling a two fingered release which is basically a back to front upside down straight ball - it's accurate and it's faster and has top spin.....
Hold the ball in you hand with your palm face up - with your arm extended in front of you. Hold the ball like would if you were a seam bowler with either finger each side of the seam. As you're standing there like that - that's the position the ball is in as it's released - so it comes out of your hand with top spin on it - the action from the point of the wind up requires as your arm comes over in order that the ball is released as described your arm has to twist/rotate in pretty much the same way as the Wrong Un does. Throwing this just a couple of times just now it seems to be very straight and accurate but then possibly accelerating and jumping up once it hits the deck? There's potential for further weirdness if you hold the ball across the seam - and as this could be used as a seam ball it may then drift?
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