With the cricket season not to far away, it is getting to the time to think about preseason preparations.  During the early part of the season it is all too common for bowlers (pace bowlers especially) to get injuries, often due to their increase in bowling load.  Youth cricketers are at further risk of injury due to their periods of rapid growth and pre-matured bone density. However, there are ways to help mitigate the chances of injury by preparing your body for bowling before and during the season.

All professional cricketers (bowlers) will follow a personally designed ‘bowling loading’ programme to prepare themselves for the season or a tour.  This incrementally increases the number balls bowled per week as well as increasing the intensity.  This is a similar theory to how a runner may prepare for their first marathon.

Below there a very generic bowling loading plan for the next 7 weeks in preparation for the season.  This looks to gradually increase the bowling load, in an effort to avoid the shock or ‘spike’ when bowler bowl for the first time in a more competitive training session or game.  You will notice that the intensity changes throughout the programme. 

• 50% = Level 1 – short run up – easy release focusing on seam release.
• 70-80% = Level 2 – full run up – 70-80% effort on release
• 90-100% = Level 3 – match intensity

Generic loading plan below.  If your coach or school have provided you with a loading plan please use that plan.

*Sessions should be on non-consecutive days

Please note that this programme will not reduce all the odds of injury.  But it will mitigate the some of the chances. 

Article added: Monday 06 September 2021