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[The Lawyer]

Hi folks

I'll be having a bowling machine net session this week and wanted to ask what the best way was to ensure I get the most benefit out of it. I see lots of cricketers simply churning out drives to half volleys and whilst this is good for muscle memory, I think there's better things to do!

Any ideas would be appreciated. I've been out the game for a while so need to work on all aspects of my batting and not just one or two particular areas.

Cheers

[SLA]

Hi folks

I'll be having a bowling machine net session this week and wanted to ask what the best way was to ensure I get the most benefit out of it. I see lots of cricketers simply churning out drives to half volleys and whilst this is good for muscle memory, I think there's better things to do!

Any ideas would be appreciated. I've been out the game for a while so need to work on all aspects of my batting and not just one or two particular areas.

Cheers

I guess the first question is, what can a bowling machine do that a couple of net bowlers can't.

[petehosk]

Hi folks

I'll be having a bowling machine net session this week and wanted to ask what the best way was to ensure I get the most benefit out of it. I see lots of cricketers simply churning out drives to half volleys and whilst this is good for muscle memory, I think there's better things to do!

Any ideas would be appreciated. I've been out the game for a while so need to work on all aspects of my batting and not just one or two particular areas.

Cheers

I think always have a plan. And be honest about your weaknesses! If you are rubbish at playing off your pads through midwicket/on side, then have a couple of buckets in that area.
Last nets with machine I got Fattus at set bowling machine just outside of offstump, but back of a length! There is always a natural variation from a machine which is good. But most of the balls would be in that corridor of uncertainty. He would also vary the length a little so I had to judge whether I could leave the ball, defend the ball or whether I could attack it. A lot of the balls had to be played at the top of the bounce so was not easy to play them.
So if I had a long net with machine, I would do the following:
Bucket 1: Nice easy pace balls pitched up to drive.
Bucket 2: nice easy pace balls shorter length so you defend or drive on back foot.
Bucket 3: Work on a weakness and maybe ask to put randome swing on some balls and speed up a little.
Bucket 4: Work on another area of weakness or the same as bucket 3.
Bucket 5: Work on spin
Bucket 6: Mixture of deliveries

Tailor it to yourself. Everyone will be different but I think that working on at least 1 weaker shot is important. So plan what you want to work on in advance?

But it easy for me, as I have lots of weaker areas to pick from 

[FattusCattus]

Get someone with common sense and a little of the devil in them to operate the machine.

Set it up for a line and length then get the operator to chuck in a surprise randomly, 'cos that's what good bowlers do!

When I fed @petehosk, I chucked in a few yorkers and a couple of quicker ones to keep him honest. You can do this quite subtly by leaning on the bar of the machine and playing with the speeds when he's distracted.

[petehosk]

Get someone with common sense and a little of the devil in them to operate the machine.

Set it up for a line and length then get the operator to chuck in a surprise randomly, 'cos that's what good bowlers do!

When I fed @petehosk, I chucked in a few yorkers and a couple of quicker ones to keep him honest. You can do this quite subtly by leaning on the bar of the machine and playing with the speeds when he's distracted.

Definitely agree with this! The last thing you need is someone who just wants to clean bowl you or bounce you every other ball!
It needs to be someone who will focus on the same plan as you have, and work WITH you to improve. Plus putting in the odd naughty ball to keep you alert 

[Real Munson]

Agree with what has been said - I used to practice driving to get my feet moving, back foot shots, pulls. Just be sensible and be safe - accidents can happen, as per what happened to David Fulton - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESFmhcGGxHU - he was never the same cricketer after this injury to his eye.

[Mpt7]

a bowling machines gives you 1 thing. consistency.

you can use this consistency to practice orthodox or unorthodox shots of a similar line and length.

you cannot beat bowlers - triggers, variety of pace and a bowling trying to get you out is the best practice
side arms are great if you have someone who is good with them

bowling machines are for technical improvement practice (getting into the correct positions repeatedly) and it's an easy way to hit as many balls as possible

[Chompy9760]

Ouch!!  Practicing short pitched fast deliveries with a helmet that didn't have a faceguard.  Brainless!  Granted, who-ever was feeding the machine didn't cover themselves in glory, but that was an accident waiting to happen.

[six and out]

Agree with what has been said above the one other main point i would add is - get the speed right........ i see so many guys go in against the machine and whack the speed right up (because they can on the machine), when they simply won't be facing that pace of bowling for their standard.

[Real Munson]

Ouch!!  Practicing short pitched fast deliveries with a helmet that didn't have a faceguard.  Brainless!  Granted, who-ever was feeding the machine didn't cover themselves in glory, but that was an accident waiting to happen.

He had a grill - just the gap was big enough for a ball to fit through. Unfortunate accident, but knackered his career.

[SLA]

a bowling machines gives you 1 thing. consistency.

you can use this consistency to practice orthodox or unorthodox shots of a similar line and length.

you cannot beat bowlers - triggers, variety of pace and a bowling trying to get you out is the best practice
side arms are great if you have someone who is good with them

bowling machines are for technical improvement practice (getting into the correct positions repeatedly) and it's an easy way to hit as many balls as possible

I agree with this entirely. I'm not a huge fan of bowling machines, I feel they're overused. They're an answer to a specific problem, which is: do I have a technical problem with a specific shot that I need to work on with consistent feeds, that a coach with a decent, accurate throw can't simulate.

Such problems are actually pretty rare. Most people who use bowling machines just to have a hit would be better off facing real bowlers.

[Chompy9760]

He had a grill - just the gap was big enough for a ball to fit through. Unfortunate accident, but knackered his career.

Ah, my mistake - sorry.  Yes, very unfortunate, but still operator error on both sides then. 
I was playing with the adjustments on my son's helmet this year and discovered that one of the settings allowed a full sized ball to go straight through the gap!

[Real Munson]

Which is why helmets since 2015 ish have been non-adjustable....

[InternalTraining]

In addition to what's been written, there are couple of things that I find helpful with the bowling machine:

- Match preparation and practicing/preparing for a specific type of bowling.

- Timing your shots. This was a total surprise for me when practicing with Bola Jr's soft balls. If you time the ball correctly, even the soft balls will go a distance. Taking that to a real game against a real cricket ball just makes life so much easier.

- Setting to a low speed. This again was a surprise, a 55-60 mph at a 21 yard distance is more than enough to build muscle memory.

Areas where I feel bowling machine are a disadvantage:

- Delivery angle. The machine is sometimes setup too high and human bowler's release point is lower. It is helpful to practice against human bowlers before a game to (re)adjust to the delivery angle.

- Speed and variation. Human bowlers seem slower than the machine and (in my experience) ball wait is slightly longer. This throws off your reactions slightly. Again, I practice against human bowlers after my machine session to adjust the reaction time.

- Bad balls. Most of the time, bad balls and boredom will get me out. Bowling machine does not prepare you for that. Again reacquaint yourself to human bowlers and a match situation in nets. God knows, if I had my way, I'd ban sledging and make nicety compulsory in a game - boredom gets more batsmen out than outright hostility.

[The Lawyer]

Thanks all. Some very helpful suggestions and lots to think about. I'd definitely agree with those of you suggesting net bowlers over a BM - this is purely in addition to net sessions and not instead of.