Why did the Curran brothers and Paul Coughlin go through a series of tests at the National Cricket Performance Centre recently?

A group of the country’s brightest fast bowling talents gathered recently at the National Cricket Performance Centre to learn all they can about how they can improve their bowling and minimise their risk of injury.

The ECB’s cutting edge biomechanics analysis system enables players such as Durham’s Paul Coughlin and Surrey’s Curran brothers to benefit considerably.

“We’re trying to provide player specific coaching programmes from the research that we do,” explained Dr Paul Felton, a sports biomechanics specialist from Loughborough University who has been working with the ECB’s fast-bowling coaches at the National Cricket Performance Centre. “It will take certain players who get access to it to the next level.”

It looks slightly peculiar, as the young quicks bowl in the nets with a variety of appliances fitted to their torsos and legs – a motion analysis system, involving the tracking of 3D markers.

But Kevin Shine, the ECB’s fast-bowling lead, is convinced of its value.

“This is the gold star analysis sequence that we do with all of our up and coming fast bowlers through the International Pathway, with the Lions, the Young Lions and the Pace Programme,” he said.

“It’s allowed us to look at what fast bowlers look like. We’ve found there is a shape, but it’s very individual. And now we’re using that technology to build a model which allows us to put the individual on it and find out what they’re capable of.

“Now that’s really exciting - there’s nothing more effective than saying this is what they’re capable of based on facts.

“That’s the beauty of all this technology - it gives us a good picture of where the bowler’s at - and then, can we work out a development programme to get them better and better?

“From a coaching perspective we’re trying to help them to bowl faster and to have more craft. We’re looking at lots of different things - how hard they hit the floor which is quite important when you’re bowling a lot of overs. We look at their actions to make sure they’re safe.

“We’re also looking for the pace indicators - have they got those characteristics of fast bowlers and can we see them develop?”

“The collections today are based on young players that we believe may have a future in an England pathway,” added Dr Felton. “We’re trying to get them at an early stage and then track their development through.

“We have some characteristics that we look for - a faster run-up, a straight front leg, ball release, a large amount of trunk flexion, and a delayed bowling arm. So we screen our players now looking for these characteristics.

“We can screen to look at predictors of stress fractures - some research suggests a counter-movement can lead to it, some research has shown that it’s down to a large amount of side flexion with a large force.”