Unlocking Fast Bowling Success: The Power of Science

In this episode of Science & Shiney, the team explore the relationship between biomechanics, coaching, and fast bowling performance.

The discussion focuses on how science can support better coaching decisions, why individualised approaches matter, and how bowlers can use biomechanical information to better understand their actions and development.

The episode also introduces the new coaching and video analysis services available through Fast Bowlers, including integration with the PaceFlow platform via DineticQ. Players can now combine detailed biomechanical reports with personalised coaching feedback and annotated video analysis.

Topics covered include:

• Integrating biomechanics with coaching
• Understanding biomechanical reports
• Injury prevention and performance
• Personalised coaching approaches
• Practical application of sports science in cricket

Transcript

Introduction to Fast Bowling Coaching Services

SPEAKER_03 0:00

Welcome back to the Science and Shiny podcast from Fast Bowlers Limited. Today's episode is a little bit different. Over the last few weeks, we've been talking about fast bowling, the science, the coaching, and the experiences behind it. But what we haven't done yet is explain how we actually apply all of this in practice. So today I'm joined by Shiny, Johnno, and Paul to talk through the coaching services we're now starting to offer. What they are, who they're for, and how we're different from what's already out there. We've also recently partnered with Dynetic to integrate with the Paceflow platform, which allows us to connect detailed biomechanical analysis with practical coaching. So we'll talk about that as well. And I'll try and ask for a few of the harder questions along the way. Shiny, there's no shortage of fast bowling coaching out there. So what do you think is actually missing at the moment?

SPEAKER_01 0:53

I think there's an opportunity out there to um simplify a lot of information that you see. And that information might present itself in shapes or very biomechanical language. And ultimately fast bowling is a tough enough thing to do as it is anyway. So I think where um where we come in at a slightly different angle is Paul has obviously helped us to understand the biomechanics or the human movement side of it, but he he now likes to call it human movement rather than biomechanics. John O and myself have actually tried to interpret that slightly differently into right, how do you actually use this to build? And that's probably the last 15 years of myself and Johnno is trying to understand the wonderful information that's out there to deconstruct it into something that is incredibly easy to learn. Moving forward, we we don't think we're there yet because uh there's new research that comes out every uh every year or so. Um we're always trying to keep ourselves up to date. So that is a fluid situation at the moment. But what we're gonna try and do for anybody who would like to work with us is actually look at them as an individual, use the science but then the art of coaching to help them to improve.

SPEAKER_03 2:18

Okay. And John O, from both a player and a coach perspective, where do you see players going wrong or getting misled?

SPEAKER_02 2:27

Um, I don't know if it's misled. I think there's just a lot of misinformation out there. Uh, I think there's lots of different information out there, some good, some bad. Um, and I suppose from our point of view, uh with the experience in the room, we want to try and keep that consistent information going, which is well researched. Um, and we want to get that out to the to the public rather than just be with professional cricketers because we all coach and have coached at the at that level. Um, I

The Gap Between Science and Coaching

SPEAKER_02 2:55

think it's an opportunity to actually take that level and and and give it to give it to the public and give it to young or aspiring players who who want to improve. So I think it's more about keeping things consistent with an environment that we've created that that's really well researched through Felt and 15 years of looking at fast bowling, and it's bringing it all together for the public.

SPEAKER_03 3:19

Great. And Paul, from a science point of view, uh, where do you think coaching and biomechanics aren't quite connecting properly at the moment?

SPEAKER_00 3:28

I think it's the connection to be fair, Lawrence. I think we've we've got an understanding or a set of well, an ever-evolving piece of knowledge, um, which Shiny's alluded to, that we keep doing research and we keep evolving it. It is an ecosystem that keeps developing. So, and then you've got the coaching on the other side of it, and I'd say quite a lot of coaching that I still like have conversations around is still from research from the early 90s or coaches or that have written things, and obviously it's developed massively over the last 25 years. So it's that it's a there's a bridge between the two, um, and that bridge has to get longer at times, and I think that's what we're trying to evolve. And we've got now this 20 years, if not more, of knowledge that's built up through the research we've done, but also how we read research that other people have done and how we entwine that with what we're with what we're thinking in our practice. So for me, the gap between science and coaching is just that bridge between how do you translate it to Shiny and Jonna and the conversations that we have. Um, how do I take the complicated and try and make it as simple as possible for two self-professed tick fast bowling coaches? Um, and how can we then now take what we've learned? And I'm not I wouldn't necessarily say that's what we've learnt from science, but actually how we take what we've learned from translating it into simple messages for coaches and deliver it out to other players and coaches that are beyond the ecosystem of a professional elite environment that have access to it or have the opportunity to have access to it.

SPEAKER_03 4:58

Okay, well you kind of leads on you kind of answered this question already, but um, if you combine world-class biomechanics and world-class coaching, what does that actually allow you to do differently?

SPEAKER_00 5:09

Produce world-class players. Um, I think like our probably history suggests that we've been pretty successful at that. But I also think it makes you or gives you the opportunity to make world-class decisions. So I still think you can make you can get the world-class science and the world-class coaching together, and there's decisions to make about directions and drills and interventions and what you want to do. You're gonna get some of them right and some of them wrong, regardless of whether you've got excellent information and excellent practice. But it gives you the opportunity to have a little bit more information, a little bit more knowledge, and a little bit understanding about the decisions you're trying to make. And I remember me and Shiny having a conversation back 10 years ago where we talked about science and what science was, and science was the like and trial and error is the rawest form of science. Ultimately, a coach, you go trial and error with your interventions. But if you can take some of those trials out of the pot because you've already got some understanding whether they'll work or not work,

Individualisation in Coaching

SPEAKER_00 6:05

it it makes your decisions more successful or have a higher chance of success. Um, and I think that's what we're trying to help coaches have, improve their knowledge so they make better decisions and help more players get the outcomes that they're working so hard to achieve.

SPEAKER_03 6:22

Okay. Um, Shiny, from a coaching point of view, how does that change what you actually say or do with a bowler day to day?

SPEAKER_01 6:32

I think the I I think firstly the science okay, it's twofold for me. You've obviously got you've got health and performance. They're two things that as fast bowling coaches we have to be incredibly aware of. And the the health side of it is tough for every bowler. Remember, uh bowlers don't want to hear they're gonna get injured, they want to be indestructible. But reality says that that doesn't happen. So you know there's a there's a nice blend there where uh you you yes, you try and make them healthy to start with, because bowling is is is ultimately a fairly unhealthy thing to do, as John O would definitely attest to having numbers of pins in his knees and the back and stuff. Um, but what we've also got to do is balance that performance side. Sometimes performance might look like in some researchers' eyes, some scientists' eyes, it might look unsafe. But well, but actually sometimes you've got to go down that route a little bit to get as good as you possibly can. There are inherent risks involved with it. I think probably where Johnno and I are slightly different, having both had lots of injuries as well, is that we're sort of willing to take some risks but not put you in in too much harm's way, if that makes sense. So once again, this blend is around performance and health. But I would say that we push more towards the performance. I mean ultimately, when you go over the white line, we never say, look, make sure you do this because it means you won't get injured. You're putting a massive glass ceiling on someone there, and you're sending them out to battle effectively without their full lot of weapons. So I think where we will look to uh evolve our coaching still, and with Phelps' help, when he sees new new research that comes out and he will inform us on it, we'll then start to say, okay, do our current methods work? So what we're trying to do is impart current science, current coaching methods to suit the individual.

SPEAKER_03 8:38

Okay. And John, having been coached at the highest level, um, what would what would this approach have given you as a player?

Integrating Biomechanics with Coaching

SPEAKER_02 8:48

Um I think I think the big thing for me now is is looking at this as world-class support. You know, you you've got you've got world-class biomix, you've got world-class fast bowling coaches coming together with all the information that's given as a player, and you can rely and trust the information that's coming through. So, as a player, when you have that support and that network around you and you trust in that, then your performance levels can go up because you know these people know what they're talking about. So I think from a player's perspective, it's very much how do you get when would you normally have an opportunity to tap into world-class biomechanists and and and fast bowling coaches? And unless you're at the high end of the professional game or playing for England, then you don't normally have that opportunity. So I think this is an amazing opportunity for everyone.

unknown 9:37

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 9:38

So what I'm kind of hearing from all of you is kind of is this fair to say that it's really about individualization rather than a one-size-fits-all coaching?

SPEAKER_00 9:47

I think that's where the research has gone. So we started off trying to understand what the best do, and now we flipped it and started trying to ask out why do people do it differently. Um, I also think that Shiny's comment around uh joining performance and health up is that we'll put we put dots together so we'll know that if something's gonna go really injurious or very well for performance, they generally align like good health is align with good performance. But we'll have conversations, and we've had this in the past, haven't we, Shiny, where you'll say if I do this, what's going to happen? What does that mean that's gonna happen further down the chain? And the papers we've written and have published recently are now trying to join up what happens at the start and how that affects the end. Um, so me and Shiny have these conversations about it's not singular points in space, it's about the connection of points in time. And if I go one way, how does that affect something else later on the chain? Will that make them really poor from a performance point of view? Might that make them more healthy? Like and we can make them considerations as well.

SPEAKER_01 10:43

Yeah, and I I I'll back you up there, Phelps, by saying that every every research paper that's come out that you and I have discussed, and we we try and look at the consequences of it, from a coaching perspective, it makes you think a lot harder about what you're gonna do with your players. And actually some positions that Phelps has talked about there, obviously because individuals are different, but they're they're gonna affect more people um than others. And I I think because we're so uh you know uh open and honest about the conversations we have, yeah. Hopefully the information that's gonna go out to the individual is gonna suit the individual. And uh and remember uh fast bowling and fast bowling coaching isn't a science, it's a massive, massive art in there. It's an interpretation of really good information that gives you more chance with performance and then obviously staying on the art. They are they are absolutely intertwined, those two things. So, as as Phelps has said there, I I love now the approach which has gone more from this is the way you've got to do it, to actually there are a number of way of ways to do it, and we're trying to find out what suits the individual.

Understanding and Interpreting Biomechanical Reports

SPEAKER_03 11:57

This is slightly off topic, but is this partly the current problem of all the information that is out there online where everybody tries to fit into a certain mold? Whereas that might not be the best solution.

SPEAKER_02 12:09

Yeah, potentially. I think with the internet, uh as we've talked about, there's there's a lot of information out there, and as I said earlier, some of it's good, some of it's bad, and some of it's good for some people and not quite so good for other people. So, you know, Phelps talked earlier about trial and error, and part of our coaching when you're with someone is well, we're trying to do this, so give this a go. If that's not working, there are other ways that we can we can try and you know get get you better. So, yes, and if you if you just research something on the internet, you'll get 10 different opinions and you've got to pick one that you think you know might work for you. Uh whereas this is more tailored towards you individually.

SPEAKER_03 12:45

So uh just to set the scene, that the main services we're looking at are one-to-one coaching, remote analysis, individualized programs, uh, and now we're also integrating, as you just mentioned, with Paceflow, because we have a now have a partnership with Dynetic. Um so just to build on that, one of the key things we've recently put in place is our partnership with Dynetic and integrating with the Paceflow platform. Um players can still get a paceflow report on its own, which gives a really detailed breakdown of biomechanics that Shani just mentioned. Um but what we're also offering is an additional layer on top of that. So alongside the report, players have the option to receive a video analysis from us where we break down exactly what those results mean and what we're seeing and what they should be actually doing to improve. So, Paul, um, from a biomechanics perspective, when someone gets one of these reports, what are they actually looking at and why can they uh sometimes be difficult to interpret on its own?

SPEAKER_00 13:45

Uh it's a lot of questions there. Um I think in terms of what it is, um, you're getting the the latest cutting-edge research um applied to you as an individual in a way which is individualized and not necessarily just fit in a box or a picture that you may have seen online. Um for me it's a bit like tech. Like if you want the latest piece of tech, it costs you a certain amount of money, whereas if you can go and get stuff for free, it's not usually as robust or useful. And I think with Paceflow at the moment, it's probably the most robustly thought about analysis for fast bowling that's out there because it's constantly evolving and we're still researching and adding bits and pieces to it. So when you get it, um I think the first thing that we're slightly different to in terms of how we go about it is that we break the fast bowling action up into more than just a single movement or consider it as a single movement. So you'll get some information about your run-up, how you transition from your run-up into your bowling action, and then about your bowling action. And all of those crossovers are thought about and that have scientific background between how do you get out of your run-up into your preparation phase, how do you go through your preparation phase into your bowling action, which that there's research that's been published in the last two or three weeks that builds on what we're already doing there. So it's really current, up-to-date. We're taking that information and providing it back to individuals how it and how it applies

The Importance of Personalised Coaching

SPEAKER_00 15:11

to them. I think where it gets tricky is great, I've got this information. How do I then go about actually using it to improve my performance or try and improve my um or lower my injury risk? Um, and that's where I think fast bowlers come into the picture in terms of helping players understand it and then apply it to themselves and actually improve themselves.

SPEAKER_03 15:36

Okay, great. Yeah, what do you think um is challenging about how it's currently structured to actually interpret it?

SPEAKER_00 15:47

I think it's difficult because it's a if you think about it, I think, in the real world as co as players, you have players that really like knowing all the information and players that don't like knowing all the information that's behind it, like all the nuts and bolts, etc. And at the moment we try to provide a report which doesn't overcomplicate it from a scientific point of view so that people can read it and try and take some simple messages from it. People sometimes want more information. I think that's where when you want the whys to then help you with the interventions, that's probably where there's a little bit of um knowledge that's missing that helps people make the better informed decisions that I think with our experiences of coaching players and using the same sort of frameworks that we've applied within this, we can help coaches and players understand those whys and then help in inform those interventions. Great.

SPEAKER_03 16:33

Thanks. And uh Shiny, from a coaching point of view, um, how important is that next step? Actually helping a player understand what it means and what they should do with it.

SPEAKER_01 16:42

Um I would say probably the most important thing I've learned um from being in a game for a long time, coaching for a long time, is the uh the information that you're getting has got to almost feel natural. And that might sound really strange because there might be some slightly different positions that we're gonna suggest you get into. But once again, with the the interpretation of that amazing information that Pageflow gives you into right, what's gonna stick when you're in the white heat of battle, and and that's all that counts. Let's face it, and and John and I will probably talk about it in a minute. When you you see the word drills, what does that mean? Now John and I have probably got we've got a very similar um uh thought around drills. Some some drills are just sticking plasters, that's all they are, and you can't then actually make it stick, and there's a lot of science that you'll see out there that suggests why, and and and really a lot of that really confuses me. I just know that I want to be able to connect with someone who understands the theory and can then apply it with me and help it to help it to start to stick more in a game, and remember on your continuum of where you were, where you'd love to get to, anywhere

Overview of Coaching Products and Services

SPEAKER_01 18:02

along there, anywhere, you're going to improve. And the more you work towards it, you don't have to get to the end, you're very, very rarely going to get to the end. That's that's the motivation, isn't it? Because you can keep getting better every day. Um but it's actually to just creep along it. You know, skill most of the time is a creep. Okay, and science helps us to sort of just move that creep along. Um and actually, hopefully, with the way that Johnno and I tend to coach now, you we try to give the bowlers the opportunity to find it themselves. So something that works really well in practice will probably work okay in a game. Yeah, but they might need to come back and revisit it. John O and I might need to either tweak our language or tweak the advice that we're giving them. We generally won't put a massive drill in front of them because we know it'll look okay in practice, but it won't transfer into games. And that's once again where the relationship between the coach and the player becomes the most important thing.

SPEAKER_03 19:02

Okay. And on to that, to the player's perspective. So, John, oh, from a player's point of view, how valuable is that? Um, having someone actually talking through it rather than just being given the data.

SPEAKER_02 19:13

Yeah, I think I that was the bit I was going to add in actually around so if you if you go for this package, ultimately you get your report, um, but you get a voice-over video uh camera, basically, with one of us talking to you around what the report means and how we can then translate that into the technique um of what we're looking at and how we can move forward with your development. So you'll actually get your own personal coach, me or Shiny Feltz, actually talking to you uh through the app, through uh a video, voiceover, uh, explaining your action, explaining the report, and explaining how um you go about improving and developing as a young fast bowler. And I think from a player's point of view, that feels more personal. It feels like you've got your own personal um world-class coach. Um, and there's that that real um touch of of actually being coached rather than just you know generally getting a report that says A, B, and C and off you go and get on with it type thing.

SPEAKER_03 20:16

Great. John O. I think you've got a great grasp of this. Could you just want to run us through all the products we we've provided here at Fast Brothers?

SPEAKER_02 20:23

Yeah, absolutely. So basic package would be um a voiceover coaching uh product. So you would send a couple of clips in uh to one of our world-class coaches, and they would give you a voiceover uh analysis of your action and and and how to improve and develop. And then the next level would be to have that product plus a pace flow report. Um, so we would then look at the pace flow report, give you uh another voiceover on the pace flow report and how to improve and how to develop. Uh, and then we will also provide uh another offer of um a subscription basis. So you would have your own private world-class coach, whether that's biomechanical or coaching, uh, and you would have that access to that guy, that world-class coach, uh uh monthly, and there'd be a fee um for that. And then the last one would be a personal one-to-one session with one of the world-class coaches. So we would turn up to a venue of your choice and actually take you for a private personal one-to-one coaching session. So those will all be listed on our website uh and you can go through those and choose whatever suits you.

SPEAKER_03 21:29

Fantastic. All right, I've got a few questions for you guys now. Uh so one, you keep saying world class. Is this only for elite players?

SPEAKER_02 21:36

No, absolutely not. When I say world class, we're talking about the people in the room being uh at a level that have coached world class players. So you have the opportunity now to be coached by people who have coached world class players. So, you know, having that um for for for everybody out there to be able to have that access, I think, is amazing. So, no, absolutely not. Any any level um that that that's

SPEAKER_03 22:01

Okay. So just playing the the if I if I'm one of your customers here and I'm I'm actually a coach and I'm very comfortable with coaching, but I just want to understand a bit more about the biomechanics. So let's say I want a pace flow report, but I don't really know how to interpret it. Can I get access from FastBowlers to try and help understand that better from a biomechanics perspective?

SPEAKER_00 22:22

I was just going to say, yeah, of course. I think the same products apply. Like you can send some video in, get a voiceover from a biomechanical perspective. We can do the same with a pace flow report. We can even do a one-to-one day where we can come and do some stuff around that as well. So yeah, I think when we talk about world-class coaches, it crosses both the science and the coaching, and we can tailor that to whatever experience you want. Okay, great.

SPEAKER_03 22:44

And then obviously, as a I think we've talked a lot about players and getting coaching, so there's that side. I I get that side. Great. I guess are we are we all happy with that? Can I close now?

SPEAKER_01 22:58

Yes, we can. I I also think that uh last point from Phelps is really good because when we bring the mace uh part out, you could almost do a joined up clip of that when we sort of keep putting it on our socials with regards to him working with Mace and Cameron Green and put that bit together. I think I think that'll go really nicely because that you know people will say, Well, hold on, what do you mean the world-class biomechanist or whatever you call yourself, though? So I haven't quite got that roll of tongue very well. Um, but actually then having that that clip with Mace, I think will be brilliant. And people might go, Oh, crikey, yeah, I quite like that.

SPEAKER_00 23:37

I'm also like, I don't know if you want to stop the recording so we all upload in time because I'm a long way behind. But um unless we need to record anything else.

SPEAKER_03 23:46

We've got one more thing. I'll do it now. Um so if you're interested in working with us, whether that's through coaching analysis or the pace flow integration, head to the website. We'll put the link in the description, or feel free to reach out via our YouTube channel or socials. Um, we'll also be continuing our shorter tech talk episodes, uh, breaking down specific parts of fast bowling. Thanks for listening, and we'll see you on the next one.