NFBA
Coaching Insights
Straight coaching guidance from Ian Pont, Director of Cricket at the National Fast Bowling Academy — on what actually creates pace, and what actually causes injuries.
The Follow-Through Is a Receipt
Shouting "follow through straight!" at a young bowler is like trying to change a bill by editing the receipt. The follow-through tells you what already happened.
The Front Arm Isn’t There for Decoration
Most young bowlers are taught to point the front arm and then nobody mentions it again. It’s one of the main levers in the action, and when it flops, pace leaks out.
Where Are the Front Toes Pointing?
A front foot that lands turned out towards the off side is rarely coached. It costs pace, and it loads the ankle and knee at an awkward angle, every single ball.
Stop Watching the Ball. Film the Bowler.
A fast bowling action is over in about half a second. Nobody can see it properly with their own eyes, but the phone in your pocket can.
The Bowling Arm Is Aimed at the Umpire
Where the bowling hand points as the front foot lands decides how much stretch a young bowler has to work with. Most juniors are pointing it at the wrong person.
The Back Foot Is the Handbrake
The back foot touches the action twice — once landing, once leaving — and both times it can quietly delete pace before the ball is released.
The Front Leg Myth
The front leg doesn’t take care of itself once everything else is right. It is the wall the whole action hits — and it has to be coached.
How Fast Should a 14-Year-Old Bowl?
The most searched question in junior fast bowling, answered straight — and why the number matters far less than parents think.
Bowling More Won’t Make You Faster
Volume doesn’t create pace. It creates repetition — and repetition only makes a bowler better at whatever they are already doing.
The Overs Nobody Counts
Clubs count overs. The spine counts total ballistic rotational load — and for the most athletic children, cricket often isn’t the main source.
Side-On or Front-On? Check the Laces
Action type is decided at back foot contact by where the laces point. Judging it from the shoulders hides the only thing that carries a risk.
Nobody Coached Her to Bowl Fast
Pace is the scarcest resource in the women’s game. The pipeline is being narrowed at eleven and twelve by well-meaning coaches.
They’re Not Slow. They’re Being Coached Slow.
Pace is not made by the bowling arm. One mph on the hips can be worth up to ten on the arm — what is really costing young fast bowlers their speed.
The Injury Nobody Warns You About
Lumbar stress fractures in young fast bowlers: the two real causes, why the mechanical one gets missed, and how to check an action with a phone.