Finding an extra yard
I’m 17 years old, play a good standard of club cricket and I’m considered to be reasonably fast for my level but I’ve been struggling to add the extra pace I thought I would as my body has developed. Do you have any tips on how I can find an extra yard of pace?
Sam Stephens, via email
Liam Plunkett:
Just because you physically develop, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to bowl quicker. I would say strip it back, starting with your run-up. Get someone to video you running in. Is your run-up smooth? You don’t want to be flat-out sprinting, but you want to build up to a point where you’re hitting the crease at about 85 per cent. If you’re ambling in and trying to force it at the crease – more of a shoulder bowler – then that’s not going to work out. That only works for the big, strong guys like Andre Russell. The majority of bowlers need that smooth run-up with a transition, a powerful leap and a jump off their back foot.