Follow through-Pacer

The Follow Through

The ‘follow through’ of the bowling action is the reaction of the arms and the body after the release of the ball. The follow through of the bowling arm and the back foot should be long, fast, straight and in the direction of the target. The head should ideally remain still and straight and should follow the bowling arm. The second stride moves away from the danger area. The body momentum is allowed to decelerate gradually before coming to a stop.

Since the body is moving with momentum built up due to the run up, and upper body speed, abrupt stopping should be avoided at all costs to remain free from injury. In fact, the follow through gives a lot of feed back to the bowler; the things that he has done right and of mistakes he has committed in his bowling action can be analysed. The follow through also depends on the type of bowler and what he intends to bowl.

The bowler who keeps his head still and watches the ball in the air after its release would find it easier to take catches in the follow through off his own bowling. Moreover, to have a good head position in the follow through a good balance is needed and that depends on the correct movement pattern of the limbs.

Some bowlers in their follow through, run on to the danger area. Some pivot on the front foot and hardly move behind the delivery, and others – in a hurry to stay away from the danger area – move their follow through stride in the direction of covers, thus loosing balance in the follow through. A good follow through is the reflection of a good action and having control of the follow through a spinner could add variation to the bowling, which we shall discuss at the appropriate time.