Keeping your head still

This article is about how to keep your head still and tips on going about it. If, like me, you have trouble keeping your eyes level [simple way of thinking about how to keep your head still] and you keep sending the ball down the leg side or to second ‘Steve Harmison’ slip … then read on and let these words of wisdom keep you in good stead.

As a bowler, you want to have a consistent line and length so that your captain can set a field and build some pressure. You don’t want to be charging in, with the bowler at the other end having bowled a maiden and created some pressure with the run-rate going down, and sending the ball all over the place.

Your head is the heaviest part of your body, so if you shake it all about in your action then your body will be shaking too, and you will have no control in anything you do. By keeping your head still/eyes level, I am talking about the run-up, gather, and release … basically the whole action. If you look at Glenn McGrath, you’ll see that he keeps very tall throughout his action and follows through the line that he wants the ball to go on, instead of falling away to the off side.

A little trick to sort this little issue out, is to get a small plastic cone [like the small training cones that you’ll see cricketers and footballers training with] and balance it on your head. Now go through your action slowly while trying to keep that cone on your head right through to the release. Gradually build up until you feel that you have more stability and balance in your action, and then put that cone away to collect dust.

Hopefully you should have a more consistent result in your line and length, and hopefully your captain will stop swearing at you. Just remember one thing, when you are running in … ‘eyes level’!