David Hinchliffe has just re-posted an article on bowling actions (http://www.pitchvision.com/which-action-is-best-for-pace-bowling) which features a short clip of Fred Trueman in action.
I don’t think I have ever properly watched FST bowling, but as David writes, this is the classic model for the side-on action:
- Back foot lands parallel to the crease
- Shoulders square on to the batsman as the back foot lands
- Head looking over the shoulder as the back foot lands
But what happens next surprised me.
Fred does not use the “pre-turn” pivot on the back foot, as described by Ian Pont and Steffan Jones, to allow the back foot and knee to point towards the target, to allow the drop-step and block.
Instead he drags through his back foot and pivots at the same time, so that when his front foot lands (quite probably a foot or more over the batting crease – perfectly legal, until 1962) his legs and lower body are perfectly aligned to execute the drop-step.
OK – not a perfectly braced front leg, but otherwise this looks like a pretty effective transition from tp1 to tp2, to me, with the bowling arm delayed.
Did we lose something when the front-foot no ball law was introduced, and fast bowlers stopped dragging?
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