Over the past two away series’, a lot has been said about Ishant Sharma. From being the spearhead of the Indian attack to a pedestrian fast bowler who just doesn’t know how to take wickets on helpful conditions. A lot has been speculated about his bowling and the reasons as to why he cannot hit that green corridor of uncertainty without compromising on pace, but a proper solution to the problem is not in sight.
To look into the reasons lets just look at what Ishant Sharma really is as a fast bowler. A 6'4"-tall fast bowler, having a rhythmic, high-arm action, which allows him to bowl at around 140 kph and higher. His balling chiefly resides in having a rhythmic run up and a smooth release, with a stable follow-through. However, he seldom get the ball to jag around from a fuller length, which has caused much distress to the team as well as the captain as the wickets column always remain empty. The opposition batsmen though troubled are not troubled enough to eke out mistakes.
Eric Simmons had once told that for a tall fast bowler like Ishant, the natural length is a just short of a good length. With the amount of height and pace he can generate he can be a bit discomforting for the batsmen but that where his guile ends. The problem is that if he tries to modify the length by a yard or two, he may be reduced to a military medium pace bowler, like the others present around him. Ishant tried to get that modification done but it only made the above condition true and he suffered with a chronic bout with reduction in pace and the ability to take wickets. Simmons had to work overtime to restore the confidence in the fast bowler to regain back the pace, but the primary problem remained unsolved. James Pattinson, Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus recently displayed the wonders of full length fast bowling in the just concluded Border-Gavaskar trophy. The counter point is had the Indian trio tried similar tactics even they would have been rewarded. Instead the Indian seamers including Ishant, Umesh Yadav and Zaheer Khan were always a bit shorter on their lengths than expected, which ultimately caused the heavy margin of defeat.
Ishant’s problem may look a bit complex as it requires modifications in the delivery point and getting comfortable with that fuller length, but in reality this can be achieved by a simple regime of mid/lower bicep and shoulder weight training. I myself am a fast bowler and I have experienced that when you need to be in and around the good length or a bit shorter, you get away by not bothering too much about the initial right arm lift before delivery stride. In other words you can afford to lift your arm and move in to deliver before reaching the top of right ear. But when you want to bowl a full length delivery or say a Yorker, you require a higher lift from your right arm which takes the wrist at par or a little above your right ear height. This in turn balances your body for the delivery stride and enables a higher amount of precision in your delivery. Now bowling this length for longer periods of time may not possible for people who lack this wrist position. Though this looks a bit difficult for a person who has not bothered doing it so far, it can be achieved if a proper fitness regime is used to strengthen the right shoulder and the right bicep such that the penultimate right arm lift before the delivery becomes smoother and non-stressful. Once achieved, this will allow the bowler to swing the ball through a proper wrist position, while not compromising on pace.
One must remember that it’s the fluidity and not rigidity of the arm that is expected to achieve the above. Hence care should be taken that the weight training is not over done. Bowling in the nets using bicep- or shoulder- strapped weights can be one way. Also having lower back weights while bowling is can also help a lot in this aspect. Proper rest accompanied by intermittent periods of weight and non-weight used training can achieve a fluidic yet stout lower back, bowling shoulder and bowling arm.
Though this is just a suggestion, the actual problem troubling Ishant may be a bit more complex than observed above. One must applaud the efforts of Eric Simmons in bringing Ishant back from the brink as far as pace is concerned but it remains to be seen as what Joe Dawes can inculcate such that Ishant can truly realize his potential as a genuine fast bowler.
To look into the reasons lets just look at what Ishant Sharma really is as a fast bowler. A 6'4"-tall fast bowler, having a rhythmic, high-arm action, which allows him to bowl at around 140 kph and higher. His balling chiefly resides in having a rhythmic run up and a smooth release, with a stable follow-through. However, he seldom get the ball to jag around from a fuller length, which has caused much distress to the team as well as the captain as the wickets column always remain empty. The opposition batsmen though troubled are not troubled enough to eke out mistakes.
Eric Simmons had once told that for a tall fast bowler like Ishant, the natural length is a just short of a good length. With the amount of height and pace he can generate he can be a bit discomforting for the batsmen but that where his guile ends. The problem is that if he tries to modify the length by a yard or two, he may be reduced to a military medium pace bowler, like the others present around him. Ishant tried to get that modification done but it only made the above condition true and he suffered with a chronic bout with reduction in pace and the ability to take wickets. Simmons had to work overtime to restore the confidence in the fast bowler to regain back the pace, but the primary problem remained unsolved. James Pattinson, Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus recently displayed the wonders of full length fast bowling in the just concluded Border-Gavaskar trophy. The counter point is had the Indian trio tried similar tactics even they would have been rewarded. Instead the Indian seamers including Ishant, Umesh Yadav and Zaheer Khan were always a bit shorter on their lengths than expected, which ultimately caused the heavy margin of defeat.
Ishant’s problem may look a bit complex as it requires modifications in the delivery point and getting comfortable with that fuller length, but in reality this can be achieved by a simple regime of mid/lower bicep and shoulder weight training. I myself am a fast bowler and I have experienced that when you need to be in and around the good length or a bit shorter, you get away by not bothering too much about the initial right arm lift before delivery stride. In other words you can afford to lift your arm and move in to deliver before reaching the top of right ear. But when you want to bowl a full length delivery or say a Yorker, you require a higher lift from your right arm which takes the wrist at par or a little above your right ear height. This in turn balances your body for the delivery stride and enables a higher amount of precision in your delivery. Now bowling this length for longer periods of time may not possible for people who lack this wrist position. Though this looks a bit difficult for a person who has not bothered doing it so far, it can be achieved if a proper fitness regime is used to strengthen the right shoulder and the right bicep such that the penultimate right arm lift before the delivery becomes smoother and non-stressful. Once achieved, this will allow the bowler to swing the ball through a proper wrist position, while not compromising on pace.
One must remember that it’s the fluidity and not rigidity of the arm that is expected to achieve the above. Hence care should be taken that the weight training is not over done. Bowling in the nets using bicep- or shoulder- strapped weights can be one way. Also having lower back weights while bowling is can also help a lot in this aspect. Proper rest accompanied by intermittent periods of weight and non-weight used training can achieve a fluidic yet stout lower back, bowling shoulder and bowling arm.
Though this is just a suggestion, the actual problem troubling Ishant may be a bit more complex than observed above. One must applaud the efforts of Eric Simmons in bringing Ishant back from the brink as far as pace is concerned but it remains to be seen as what Joe Dawes can inculcate such that Ishant can truly realize his potential as a genuine fast bowler.
