Consistent and repeatable action - Wrist Spin Bowling Part 2

Added 12th September 2105

Gibbs Reflective Practice in Cricket

What Happened? - See here for previous post . Since the practice at Nutbrook I've played two games and used the new technique in both. In the first game - a league game on Saturday I went for 8-1-32-0 which was on par with everyone else and this is despite the fact that I was bowling with a wholly new approach. It wasn't perfect, but the main thing is with regards my run-up it was coherent and consistent. The Sunday game the next day for some reason was chaos (see previous post here). Since the Sunday debacle I've practiced as much as possible doing at least 3/4 of an hour - hour and half every night working with this new action.

Today, I've bowled 200 + balls and videoed the development over the last couple of days seeking guidance and observations from fellow wrist spinners on the big cricket spin forums.

How do I feel? - Good, there seems to be progress being made each day and the new run-up feels right for the job... Fit for purpose. I now stand at the top of my mark and I know what I'm going to do and how it's going to happen. I know I stand 11' from the bowling crease and I lead with my left foot. Never before have I had that as a set process, so this feels good.

What was good/bad? - Everything seems good, there were a few balls that were too full and a few legside wides, but this is a new action and that has to be expected surely?

Analysis - It now strikes me that I've been struggling for the last 8 years with this because I've been ignorant of the fact that you need a sound foundation on which to build the rest of your action. Someone once said you can't fire a canon ball off of a canoe. It now seems the basis of my bowling has always been a bit canoe-esque. Or to use a construction analogy I've been trying to build amazing houses on a sandy foundation.

I now feel like I've discovered a sound foundation on which to build my bowling and over the coming weeks if it continues to stay dry here in the UK I'll continue to groove this action. Then one by one I'll start to add the rest of the components and today I started to do that. having looked at a video of the bowling from yesterday...

I noticed that my leading arm wasn't doing a lot - others commented on the forums agreeing with me so today I worked with that. So today I was trying to reach forwards and upwards towards the stumps. Initially I was trying something different and it wasn't working at all, but once |I tried forwards and upwards it came together a bit better and seemed to be working.

Conclusion - there may some minor difference in the leading arm, it looks slightly stronger, but I think more work is required. 

 

Action Plan - Spend the next few sessions continuing to groove the 3 step and bound approach to the crease and continue working with the leading arm. Look again at the Beau Casson video where he talks about this. See here in the video he talks about the leading arm being long and strong. Having just watched the video I think I need to video my action from the side and look at that arm a lot closer. So the two key points at the moment are...

1. Continue with the 3 step and bound.
2. Work with the leading arm, get it long and strong and video it.

Check out my other blog here - this is all about Leg-spin bowling and nothing else. Double click on the image below.