How to bowl faster: what the research says

The finding that recurs most often is that faster bowlers tend to run in faster. In 20 elite male fast bowlers, a quicker run-up was one of four technique variables that together explained 74% of the differences in ball speed. In another group of 20, run-up velocity was one of the variables most strongly related to ball speed (r = 0.62). A 2026 study of 18 junior bowlers also found run-up speed the strongest predictor of ball speed, though in that small sample it fell just short of statistical significance.

A faster run-up only helps if you can still control the landing, so build it up gradually and check that the rest of the delivery holds together at the new speed.

In the second study of 20 bowlers, the faster ones spent less time in the whole bowling action (r = −0.64), less time with the back foot on the ground, and less time from front-foot contact to release. Their front foot also reached its peak braking force sooner. The authors link ball speed to an “abrupt” application of force through the front foot.

The 74% study found that faster bowlers kept a straighter front knee through front-foot contact. A study of 28 high-performance bowlers likewise linked more front-knee extension at release to ball speed (r = 0.52).

The newest three-dimensional work adds an important caution. In the 2026 study, the knee angle at front-foot contact had only a small, non-significant effect on ball speed, and the front leg was controlled mainly by the muscles braking the landing rather than by the knee straightening itself. The authors suggest that training a “braced leg” only by strengthening the knee extensors may be ineffective. Forcing the knee straight is not the same thing as the brace these studies describe.

The faster bowlers in the 74% study also flexed the upper trunk more up to release and started the bowling-arm circle later. In the study of 28, shoulders turned further away from the batter at front-foot strike were also linked to speed (r = 0.47).

Treat these as observations, not positions to copy. Trunk and shoulder alignment is also where fast bowlers’ low-back injuries are studied, so change it only with a qualified coach.

Being a faster, stronger athlete shows up too. In the second study of 20, quicker 10 to 30 m sprint splits (r = −0.55) and greater lower-body strength in an isometric mid-thigh pull (r = 0.47) went with higher ball speed. The time taken for the bowling action and the sprint split together explained 54% of the differences. The authors call sprint speed and lower-body strength “important modifiable factors”. In the study of 28, shoulder extension strength was also linked to speed (r = 0.39).

• A longer stride. In a large group of elite male bowlers, short, medium and long delivery strides showed no significant difference in ball speed, and the longest strides were less accurate.
• Weighted balls as a sure thing. In 10 trained bowlers, each 100 g of extra ball weight cost about 1.1 m/s of speed without harming accuracy or mechanics. Training with lighter and heavier balls might have helped some of them, but the study was too small to say it works.
• One number to chase. Even together, the best combinations of variables in these studies leave a quarter to a half of the differences in speed unexplained, and the study of 28 could not combine its variables into a single model at all.

• Film the same way every time, so a change in the clip is a change in you, not the camera.
• Work on one thing at a time and judge it over several sessions, not one delivery.
• Build sprint speed and strength with a qualified strength and conditioning coach, and raise bowling workload gradually.
• If you can, check pace with a radar gun rather than by feel or a phone estimate, and compare only readings taken the same way.

FastBowlingLab measures the movement side of this from a phone clip, including front-leg brace, trunk position, the bowling arm and the timing of your run-up and delivery stride, so you can see whether a change you are working on actually shows up in your action.

1. Worthington, King & Ranson (2013). Relationships between fast bowling technique and ball release speed in cricket. 10.1123/jab.29.1.78
2. Wormgoor, Harden & McKinon (2010). Anthropometric, biomechanical, and isokinetic strength predictors of ball release speed in high-performance cricket fast bowlers. 10.1080/02640411003774537
3. Kiely, Pickering Rodriguez, Watsford, Reddin, Hardy & Duffield (2021). The influence of technique and physical capacity on ball release speed in cricket fast-bowling. 10.1080/02640414.2021.1933349
4. Ferdinands, Sinclair, Stuelcken & Greene (2026). The joint mechanical function and control of the front leg during cricket fast bowling: A 3D motion analysis study. 10.3390/s26030902
5. Spratford, Kenneally-Dabrowski, Byrne, Hicks & Portus (2016). Does stride length play a role in cricket fast bowling performance outcomes? An observational, cross-sectional study. 10.1177/1747954116667103
6. Wickington & Linthorne (2017). Effect of ball weight on speed, accuracy, and mechanics in cricket fast bowling. 10.3390/sports5010018