Today's coaching tip is from new guest poster Matt Homes.

photo credit: jnxyz

"You are an athlete in your approach to the wicket, until you hit the crease when you become a bowler."

I hear that phrase a lot from various coaches to fast/medium paced bowlers. It's very true as this maintains the momentum to work in straight lines towards the target with a good arm drive.
Should this technique, which effectively should be simple not be trained and coached with some simple drills? My answer is yes of course, but it is rarely done!

One method which I viewed on the bowling session of the new UKCC3 course is to sit on a swivel chair and pump the arms back and forward without the chair rocking from side to side. If the arms are driven in a forward motion this should not happen, however the only down side for this drill is that you are not always going to have a swivel chair available in a coaching session!

Alternatively a more realistic option is used in SAQ training (arm mechanics drills) which can be adapted to cricket specifically whereby firstly you work in pairs one behind the other with the person in front driving his arms in a hip to lip motion at a 90 degree angle with the person behind making sure the arms are driven back far enough to hit their outfacing palms. The upper body should be relaxed leaning forward slightly to replicate the forward motion of an approach to the crease. Both the above drills should be performed with the ball in the bowling hand so the correct hand position is maintained.

A great and obvious role model for any fast bowler in terms of an athletic approach and great arm drive is Australia's Brett Lee. Although a natural athlete I am sure this is an area that he has worked on to improve his performance.

Matt Homes is an ECB Level 3 Head Coach and Advanced SAQ Trainer who runs In-Touch Cricket Coaching in and around Surrey. Please contact Matt if you are interested in improving your cricket ability, whatever your level.