Fast bowlers bowling off 16-metre in nets not good: researchers

Following the introduction of the third umpire in calling no ball has not wondered the game researchers why fast bowlers unintentionally deliver no balls.

"The way bowlers practice is often a problem - bowling off 16 meters in the nets is not good," Marc Portus, Australia's Cricket Biomechanist and founder of Fast bowling academy known as "Pace Doctor", said. 

"There has been a bit of research in the no-ball area, one of my colleagues Dan Greenwood did a PhD in the area of run-ups and their regulation".

"In the Greenwood research bowling foot location accuracy was improved for a small group of fast bowlers when an umpire was standing in position in training, versus when there was no umpire. Some bowlers use the umpire (e.g. another player or coach standing in the umpires position) to help them regulate their run-up so they don't bowl no-balls, but others use different visual cues, such as the stumps, another marker halfway through their run-up, bowling mats at training etc."

"Often a problem is bowlers don't know what they use to help them judge their run-up. If it is the umpire, having someone, or some tall object, stand in the umpires place at training should help. If they don't use the umpire as their visual cue, the coach and bowler should work to find out what visual cue they use, or develop a new one so they can train using it and also replicate what they do in the match", Portus signed off.