BCCSL Bowling Academy: Darrel Foster -

In April 2000, 31 young bowlers from all corners of the country converged on Colombo and under the expert guidance of Darrel Foster, Rumesh Ratnayake and D.S de Silva took part in Sri Lanka's first ever bowling academy. It marked the beginning of a systematic effort by the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL) to develop Sri Lanka's fast bowling and spin bowling resources and ultimately to produce the best team in the world.

CricInfo spoke to each of Darrel Foster, Rumesh Ratnayake and D.S. De Silva during the three-week academy. As part of a series of features we will reproduce these illuminating discussions on the Sri Lankan site.

Below is the transcript of our interview with Darrel Foster:

Charlie: How did the Sri Lankan bowling academy come into being?

Darrel: Well I don't know exactly how it started but I wrote a report to the Sri Lankan Board in August/September last year suggesting that Sri Lanka always seemed to have plenty of batters but their bowling seemed to be a bit deficient, especially when they went abroad. They could beat anyone at home but when they go to South Africa and Australia they have really got to have a little more zip in their attack.

I suggested that one of the ways of doing this would be to have a bowling academy.

Rumesh has been absolutely magnificent, sorting through some three hundred fast bowlers to come down to a squad of 21. B.S. De Silva looked at 500 spinners to come down to a squad of 10. So they has been a lot of groundwork going on before this academy started and really by the time I arrived most of the boys had very good techniques anyway.

Charlie: Can you tell us something about the format of the Academy, now and in the future.

Darrel: Well we are having a three week programme to kick it all off but afterwards the boys will meet up every week to work in the gym and receive specialist coaching. This will continue until the next school holidays in August when we will have a fortnight camp and another fortnightly camp in December. After this will have a look at the boys and if there are some other talented boys ready to come in then there will be some inflow and outflow.

Charlie: On what has the coaching focussed?

Darrel: There are basically three things that make an international cricketer: fitness, skill and mental toughness. We have been working on all three.

On the fitness side we have been doing gym work, a lot of running and even some pool sessions.

However we have mainly focused on techniques. The boys have been bowling at least once a day and every second day we have been bowling to the national team in the nets. That really has brought them on in leaps and bounds, bowling against such quality players.

Finally we have been working on their mental skills, regularly having lectures on keeping stress under control, on confidence and on concentration and how do you maintain it. So it has been an all-round programme that has encompassed fitness, skills and mental approach.

Charlie: How have the players progressed during the camp?

Darrel: When I arrived, because of the work that had already been done, I thought the boys were exceptionally well qualified technically. They really knew what actions were about but what they needed were points to go with that like: where do you bowl to certain batters, where is the place to bowl to good players. At club and school cricket you mainly bowl at the stumps but in first class cricket you have got to be able to bowl in the corridor.

They have come on in leaps and bounds. Everyday we have seen an improvement and a growth in confidence as they realise that they can bowl at the likes of Mahela and Sanath.

Charlie: Is there the natural fast bowling talent here in Sri Lanka on a par with other countries?

Darrel: I am sure that it is. There may be no Shoaib Akhtar at the moment, we haven't got anyone that quick, but we will find someone somewhere. I think we have got two boys who can bowl fast and above. Then we have a number of boys who will be fast medium and a few medium fast who can swing the ball.

You can't just concentrate on the Akhtar's, you have got to have the Chaminda Vaas's of the world, who can do the work and swing the ball.

Charlie: Why is it that one tends to find more fast bowlers in Pakistan and Northern India, rather than in Sri Lanka and Southern India?

Darrel: I am not sure exactly what the reason is but it's likely to be a number of factors that include differences in body structure, diet, climate and pitches. It's mainly body type though as you cant turn someone into superman if they don't have the right number of red and white fibers. We make them as strong as we possibly can.

Charlie: What about the spinners, is there a lot of talent coming through?

Darrel: Oh yeah, there is a tremendous about of talent at the moment. They all give the ball a good rip. They will learn to become a little more accurate. Spinners have a different maturation rate than fast bowlers. Fast bowlers can get out there on the pitch and get wickets without even knowing how. Spinners have got to learn a lot of lessons and they are probably not going to be at there at the best until they're mid to late twenties.

Charlie: What different things do the spinners need to learn?

Darrel: Because spinners can't blast people out, they have got to think people out and therefore that requires putting lessons in the memory bank all the time. Questions, such as when to bowl quicker, slower and wider or the leggy, toppy or googly. They have got to learn the right time to use these variations. It takes a long while to make a really good spin bowler. There are not too many good spin bowlers of 20 years of age.

Charlie: What is the difference in attitude that you have noticed between kids of a similar age in Sri Lanka and Australia

Darrel: There are certainly no differences in their enthusiasm. The attitude of the youngsters here is superb. I have got nothing but the highest commendation for the way they approach their job, they want to learn and they are enthusiastic about what they do. It's better than the youngsters that I have worked with in Australia.

Charlie: The Australians are commonly considered to be mentally tough, what about the Sri Lankans?

Darrel: Well you have got to learn that. Some people say you are either mentally tough or you are not and that it's in the genes. However I think you can learn a lot about it. I think mental toughness is about having mental skills, which enable you to resist certain thoughts and being able to concentrate on the right the right thing at the right time.

Mental toughness doesn't mean sledging the opposition it just means being to hold your composure and your concentration.

Charlie: Having you been using techniques with the boys to develop that?

Darrel: Steve Waugh reckons, and I think he is right, that 95% of the game is played in the head, and so yes, we have done specific work on this area.

Charlie: When did the Australians start to get serious about cricket development?

Darrel: Western Australia started all the fitness work in the early 1980's. Before that the boys would just put on their tracksuit, have a little jog, take a few catches, a bat and a bowl and the off they go. Times have changed now. In the mid-1980's we then started to do a mental skills programme with the players.

I thought that cricket was one of the last sports to go scientific. Athletics and swimming made all sorts of scientific changes. Cricket just remained a game for the old fuddie duddies. It's changed now of course. Its still not up there with the real scientific sports but it is getting there.

Charlie: Does Sri Lanka have a chance of becoming the number one test playing country in the world?

Darrel: I think this s what we are trying to do. We are trying to produce bowlers that can go and take wickets abroad so they don't rely on Muralitharan to get 6-8 wickets a game. I think we are starting to develop that

Charlie: How long till this programme starts to bear fruit?

Darrel: I think it will bear fruit almost immediately. We will have guys going in to the A team who will bowl better now that they have participated in the academy and will continue to get better.

Charlie: What about the future?

Darrel: The logical next step is to include the batsmen and the wicket keepers but that might not happen next year. It depends on whether there are the funds to do it.

Charlie: Thank-you for speaking to CricInfo Darrel