Losing your muscle memory is a crazy feeling!

[ElRaja]

i dont post much in this section cos i really dont play much cricket, and havnt for a long long time, anyhoo to cut a long story short was invited to nets the other day, and ive bowled, i would guess, a cumulative 10 overs of leg spin over the previous twenty years, i could bowl everything as a kid, leggie, googly, slider, even flippers.

i knew id pbly be a bit rusty, however even i wasn't prepared for what happened next. one ball in the roof of the nets, the other on the left side, one drag down, one beamer, one double bounce lol. its a crazy crazy feeling cos in my head i can still bowl, but irl im worse than when i was 7 or 8 years old, lol. landed abt 3 in the right spot over 2 or 3 overs, before resorting to off spin just not to pi55 off the batsman, lol.

so just a little rant to get that off my chest, im hoping i get invited again tho, in my head if i have a solid few sessions i might still get it back, lol.

 

[Suleiman]

Very normal. Give yourself 1-4 sessions and it’ll come back.

You don’t lose muscle memory. Muscle memory is the built in mechanism for your body not to forget.

 

[ElRaja]

hopefully i get invited back and then can report on any progress, lol.

 

[hoshiarpurexpress]

i dont post much in this section cos i really dont play much cricket, and havnt for a long long time, anyhoo to cut a long story short was invited to nets the other day, and ive bowled, i would guess, a cumulative 10 overs of leg spin over the previous twenty years, i could bowl everything as a kid, leggie, googly, slider, even flippers.

i knew id pbly be a bit rusty, however even i wasn't prepared for what happened next. one ball in the roof of the nets, the other on the left side, one drag down, one beamer, one double bounce lol. its a crazy crazy feeling cos in my head i can still bowl, but irl im worse than when i was 7 or 8 years old, lol. landed abt 3 in the right spot over 2 or 3 overs, before resorting to off spin just not to pi55 off the batsman, lol.

so just a little rant to get that off my chest, im hoping i get invited again tho, in my head if i have a solid few sessions i might still get it back, lol.

Keep practicing. it will come back. You don't lose your muscle memory.
I started playing again last year.. after a gap of 4-5 years. I could hit the meanest cover drive in my younger days... it is a sight to behold. It took me 6 matches, 2 ducks and lot of struggle to get back to my batting rhythm. Scored a 50 after those failures and just last week as 34(22 b) not out.. Finishing off the match in 17th over chasing 155 in 20 overs. Just practice and keep turning up. It will return.

 

[ElRaja]

got back into the nets earlier this week, slightly better, bowled about 4 or 5 overs, beat the batsmen two or three times on the outside edge, got three legit nicks too, but still accuracy was rubbish. 10 or 15 balls either wide or drag downs.

also felt really conscious about my action, like i wasn't repeating it everytime, some felt like they were coming out with slightly different grips, my arm speed didnt feel consistent either. might get to go again in a few weeks. will keep reporting on progress.

still feel a long way away from being able to bowl in a match, hopefully get to that level in a bit and might get a game or two at the end of the season.

 

[sweep_shot]

Almost same thing happened to me on July 7, 2024.

I haven't played any cricket since 2015. I saw 2 desi guys playing cricket and I asked them to allow me to bowl one. I bowled after 9 years. I was very rusty expectedly and bowled a waist-height juicy full-toss.

I definitely lost my muscle memory and control after not bowling for 9 years.

Anyway, I am 34 now and may not return to serious cricket. Used to play 40-over hard ball cricket.

 

[Mitin77]

Losing your muscle memory is such a strange experience! It feels like your body is betraying you, forgetting all those movements that once felt so natural. It's like having to relearn things from scratch, and it can be both frustrating and humbling.

 

[deltexas]

Actually T20 has been a great benefit the older you get atleast in my case. We play 40 over leather ball games and T20s. Much easier in T20's - go bash it and no time to think a lot unlike 40 over games. Plus its actually easier the older you get because you have fewer balls to face.