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Does the bowler's run-up actually contribute anything useful?

Sports Asked on March 18, 2021

Bowlers run up before performing a little hop to get momentum going and bowl the ball. Does the run-up contribute anything to the speed/spin of the ball? Or could you get a similar speed/spin by just hopping to get your moment going, without running?

I know pitching in baseball is different from bowling in cricket, but wouldn’t you be able to get a similar amount of force behind the ball without running up? Isn’t energy lost by the hop that bowlers perform when they extend their legs and pivot with the ball?

One Answer

Running up does add some speed to the ball.

Simple physics:

Bowling speed = 130 km/h
Running speed + 15 km/h

=> Total speed = 145 km/h

The spin is different as well. While standing a bowler just has a circular movement based on their arm length. Running up causes that movement to be elliptical.

Example:

enter image description here

This isn't all, though. There's also velocity, air resistance and other factors which are missing in this example calculation. But yes, running up does help.

Answered by dly on March 18, 2021

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