If I was England’s Bowling Coach - Part Two

It was great to get some feedback on my last blog analysing the bowling action of Dom Bess. I asked whose action you would like me to analyse next, and the majority requests were for Jofra Archer and Stuart Broad. 

Jofra Archer

Jofra Archer has a technically perfect bowling action. His action is a bowling coach’s dream and there is absolutely nothing I would change about it. 

Job done -  let’s move on to Stuart Broad. Just kidding, though not about his action -  it is true that it is technically perfect - but about moving straight on to Stuart Broad. There are still a few things that I could do as a coach to help make Jofra the best bowler he can be.

Mentors

Archer is in a very good place with England as he has two of the all time great fast bowlers playing with him. I would encourage Archer to sit down with both Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad and just talk about fast bowling. Other great bowlers he could seek advice from would be Michael Holding and Glen McGrath. Holding is similar to Archer when comparing athleticism and pace. Holding would be brilliant to talk to about bowling fast and how to intimidate a batsman. He wasn’t nicknamed ‘whispering death’ for nothing. Glen McGrath would also be fantastic to talk to about how to stay patient and maintain accuracy. McGrath believed that if he bowled 42 good balls he would get a wicket. He was relentless with his line and length and is Australia’s most successful fast bowler. Archer doesn’t need to talk about bowling technique. He needs to understand how to get batsmen out and advice from Anderson, Broad, McGrath and Holding would be invaluable.

Understand his Role

Archer also needs to understand the role he is playing in the team so that he can mentally prepare himself for the match. Is he an 85mph bowler who bowls eight over spells or the 93mph bowler who bowls four over spells? He has the ability to perform either role. Watching him this summer I don’t think he has been 100% clear on what his role in the team was. If I was England’s bowling coach I would make this clear to Archer. He would be in no doubt as to what was expected of him when Root asks him to bowl. 

So writing about Archer from a technical point of view is very easy. If I was his bowling coach I would leave him alone and not change a single thing about his action. He just needs to surround himself with experienced players and learn how to get the batsman out. He also needs to be clear in his mind as to what his role is in the team. This will naturally come with experience but if he could get there more quickly by talking to current and past great fast bowlers, then even better. 

Stuart Broad

Stuart Broad’s action isn’t technically perfect but very few bowlers’ actions are. I would say that 99% of actions are not technically perfect and that is why watching and analysing bowling actions is fascinating. 

What you need to decide as a coach is whether there are any technique faults in the bowling action which could cause injury to the bowler or that could hinder the bowler’s chances of getting wickets. In Stuart Broad’s case there is just one noticeable and well documented area where he could improve, which is his ability to swing the ball away from the right handed batsman. 

Does Broad need an Out Swinger?

Broad has just taken over 500 test wickets so you would think he would be very happy about his action. But like all professional athletes, I am sure Broad has wondered how he could be even better. I am sure he has wished on many occasions that he could bowl an out swinger. After all it is human nature to wish for things that you haven’t got. 

Broad’s strength is his ability to angle the ball in towards the right hander and target the stumps. He gets a lot of LBW and Bowled dismissals with his natural chest on, slightly left of vertical release action. The question you need to ask yourself is this:  is Broad’s action really worth tinkering with?  Does he really need to be able to bowl an out swinger? Broad may not be able to swing the ball away in the air, but he is very good at the in swinger and cutting the ball off the wicket. So before deciding to change anything, Broad would have to be 100% certain that an out swinger is something he wants, or indeed needs, in his arsenal.

Dangers of tinkering

As a coach you need to be really careful that you don’t tinker too much with an action as it could have an adverse effect. Golf is not cricket, but I remember watching Martin Kaymer destroy an elite field in the US Open. He was an awesome golfer and if he wasn’t number one in the world he was very close to it. Kaymer played with a lovely fade which he repeated over and over again. However, he decided that in order to win The Masters he needed to be able to draw the ball from right to left. So he employed a coach to change his swing so that he can draw the ball. As a result he lost his consistency with his fade and has never been as good since. Matteo Mannessaro is another golfing example, in an attempt to gain 30 yards with his driver off the tee he too has lost his swing and has now unbelievably lost his tour card. The point I am making is that coaches need to be careful; sometimes it is best to leave small technique flaws alone. 

If Broad wanted an Out Swinger

I am a technique coach so if Broad was convinced that he needed an out swinger, I would work with him to make some small changes to his action. 

Firstly, in the Gather, his right foot is pointing straight down the wicket as if he was continuing with a run up. I would encourage Broad to change the landing position of his right foot so that his foot was angled towards leg slip. This will help him get into a side on position in the Delivery Stride with his shoulders aligned more towards the target. Broad is currently very chest on in Delivery Stride and he struggles to get his hips and shoulders around because of the very straight right foot landing position.

Secondly the angle of Broad’s left foot when landing in Delivery Stride is slightly open. It is pointing towards third slip or fourth slip. When bowlers land with an open foot like this, it is much easier for them to square their hips and shoulders as they have naturally opened up their hips and shoulders earlier than is necessary. However, it also means that at the moment of release, their right hip and right shoulder can get ahead of the left. If releasing the ball naturally from this position the ball will swing like an out swinger but it would be heading towards first or second slip. Out swingers heading to first or second slip don’t tend to work too well. 

An ideal release point is where the hips and shoulders are matching and square on to the target. Bowlers like Broad who square up quickly compensate by falling away slightly and then by pushing the ball back towards the target from a position slightly left of vertical. They do this so that the ball doesn’t go towards first or second slip; it is a natural and understandable adjustment to their action but it will prevent the bowler from bowling an out swinger anywhere near the target. This is what Broad has done throughout his career and why he finds it difficult to bowl the out swinger. 

To prevent this from happening, I would encourage Broad to land with his left foot also pointed towards leg slip- notice how the left and right foot are now also matching each other.  He will feel more side on in Delivery Stride and it will take him slightly longer to square his hips and shoulders up to the release point. This extra time will result in his hips and shoulders matching in a square on position at the moment of release. His right hip and right shoulder would stop getting in front of the left hip and left shoulder. His out swinger will then be delivered towards the stumps instead of towards first or second slip. His arm at release point will be lower than it is now and it will be right of vertical. He will need to fight the urge to pull his head to the left but keep it positioned over his left foot. His bowling arm will feel very low at release but it won’t be.

100% committed to change

These changes would not be easy for Broad to make and he would need to be 100% committed to the idea. Initially, the changes to his action will feel awkward and wrong but with practise and repetition the changes will begin to feel more natural. In order to get him in the position required for bowling an out swinger Broad would probably feel like he was performing a football push pass with his right foot when getting to Gather and he will probably feel like ‘Slinger’ Malinga when attempting his right of vertical release point. He won’t be doing this in reality but for him it will feel like he was. 

As a side note, when correcting left of vertical actions in my job I often ask my students to bowl like they were imitating ‘Slinger Malinga’. It always amazes them when I show them a video of their ‘Malinga’ action. Their release point is nearly always vertical or just right of vertical. Yet, to them it feels like they are releasing the ball level with their shoulder. Broad will initially have the same feelings as the action will be different to everything he has done previously.

So there it is, if you have any comments about what I have said please get in touch, or comment on the post on Twitter,  Facebook or Instagram. I would love to hear your thoughts. If you haven’t read my analysis of Dom Bess’s bowling technique in  part one of this series, then check out my previous blog.

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