Why can't bowlers bend their arm?

[TahirFan]

Soccer player can bend their legs

Rugby players can bend their legs

Tennis players can bend the arms

So why can't cricket bowlers bend their arms

 

[Big Mac]

You can bend your arm all you like.

You just can't straighten it.

The reason footballers/rugby players/tennis player etc. can do it is because there is nothing in the laws or rules prohibiting them from doing so.

 

[TahirFan]

The reason footballers/rugby players/tennis player etc. can do it is because there is nothing in the laws or rules prohibiting them from doing so.

So why do we have this law in cricket?

 

[saadsahabjee]

stupid law , atleast spinners should be allowed to bend arms . it will make cricket more competitive

 

[Madplayer]

The law isnt stupid.

Remove this rule and I will make bradman look like a tail ender.

 

[HitWicket]

So why do we have this law in cricket?

In cricket players are allowed to hold the ball in their hands, why are there rules in football to stop this .

 

[TahirFan]

In cricket players are allowed to hold the ball in their hands, why are there rules in football to stop this .

Footballers hold the ball with their hands , bending their hands

 

[Madplayer]

It is simple. Chucking makes the bowler unplayable and its not even funny. The rule is there to allow batsmen to survive.

Maybe the degree limit can be relaxed a bit but the rule in general is fine.

 

[HitWicket]

Footballers hold the ball with their hands , bending their hands

Crickets can bend their arms

 

[MMHS]

Because it's bowling, not pitching.

This question is very much synonymous to why footballers are not allowed to carry ball with hands, when rugby players can - why table tennis players have to drop the ball on table when tennis players can play at volley, why field hockey players are forced to use one side of stick when ice hockey players can use both sides .........

The game is played by it's rule - for cricket, it's established in 300+ years. Long back, bowlers could throw it, could under arm it - but eventually they came down to this stand because considering all factors, I myself believe bowling is the best way to keep fitness, durability & bowling skills. One can try to throw the ball from elbow & then try to leg spin it, googly it or seem it at pace & line ......

I think, it was 1800 or sometimes, one English village cricketer asked his sister to give him a net session. The girl was wearing old style English gown & it was difficult for her to throw or under arm - so she went to a similar action of Sohail Tanvir these days - round arm on wrong foot. That English pro found it extremely difficult to play that ball & he started to bowl round arm in matches, which initially had lots of objections (he was even banned in Sussex league). But, by 1810, one cricket enthusiast Barron or Earl allowed him to playing his private league & he was almost unplayable - since then, round arm bowling had been established. But, under arm bowling was allowed under certain circumstances, until youngest Chappel abused it to restrict NZ hitting a SIX on last ball at MCG without boundary rope (it was a mean suggestion by his elder sibling ....).

Fundamental difference between baseball & cricket is that ball is pitched on turf in cricket - otherwise throwing is always better.

 

[aloo paratha]

Footballers hold the ball with their hands , bending their hands

 

[aloo paratha]

It's just a rule of the game... It's like saying "why isn't there a goalie sitting on the rim in basketball?" or saying "why can't players use their feet in hockey?"

 

[Major]

Because by bending your arm, bowling any kind of delivery becomes very easy, everyone could then become a right arm off spinner easily. All you would need to do is learn a bowling action and thats it.

By bending your arm you get massive massive turn with little energy

Same with pace bowling, you generate extra pace easily if you bend your arm

By making rules strict regarding bending elbows, this makes it really hard for people to bowl off spin and bowl proper fast bowling, and thats what makes it a skillful art.

if some lullo starts bowling offbreaks and doosras easily, it kills the whole game, becuase that bowler hasnt bothered to work hard.

when i 13, i had figured out how to create massive spin with a massive bend elbow

 

[Major]

It is simple. Chucking makes the bowler unplayable and its not even funny. The rule is there to allow batsmen to survive.

Maybe the degree limit can be relaxed a bit but the rule in general is fine.

exactly this!

Spin isn't as easy to play as it looks like. Having massive spin with not soo much workload being added kills the whole game

 

[Rayyman]

Leg spin would die if chucking was allowed.

 

[yasir]

I am not sure where to start, you are questioning the very definition of bowling, which means releasing the ball without bending the arm or elbow joint. Pitching or throwing means releasing the ball with bending the arm or elbow joint. These are high level definition of these two terms, if they were same thing, we did not have to use two different words, duh....

Why cricket uses bowling Vs pitching, there may be historic significance which I don't know myself...In baseball, your pitch never land on the ground, where as in Cricket bowling mostly land on the ground before reaching the batter. With baseball style of releasing the ball (pitching), you may not be able to bounce a whole lot, you have to take the arm over shoulder to hit the ground hard or bowl that heavy ball...Throwing is more useful when your trajectory is aimed at object that is above ground...Even at 100 MPH, MLS pitchers will not be able to bounce much with throwing action...

Also, over the arm bowling was developed later, earlier people use to bowl under arm for most part...Over the arm is more natural evolution of under arm...

Cricket chucking is mix of pitching and bowling, you are trying to do both, get more momentum and bounce behind the release, that's probably the reason its not allowed even from the early days, too much advantage to bowlers...Plus, with chucking you have change the nature of the ball in the very last minute(what Hafeez used to do), which is hard to do with pure bowling, again unfair advantage...Same goes for no LBW if ball is pitched outside leg stump...

If you look at scores in 1800s, game was lot more bowlers friendly, wickets were sticky and very uneven...Laws evolved (both playing conditions and bowling rules) to balance the game in favor of batters... Now we are trying to balance the game in favor of bowlers in era of T20, flat wickets and small grounds...15 degree bend is allowed, bat sizes will be regulated soon, two bouncers allowed, etc... Keep in mind Cricket prospers when contest is even between ball and bat, you have to keep tweaking the rules to maintain the balance

 

[Hawkeye]

What kind of logic is that?

That's like asking why cyclicsts have to pedal, and are not allowed to install jet engines in their cycles.

Because it's not in that sport! It's played and meant to be played in a certain way.

Also, you can bend all you want. You can't straighten more than 15 degrees after bending. Seems like you didn't quite know what chucking is.

Let me give an example.

Pick up a stone and try to throw it with as much force as possible, as far away as possible.

The way you'll do it will be called "throwing". That's what you do in baseball.

Cricket is a different SPORT. You don't THROW. You bowl.

 

[Nil Dhumrojal]

It's not baseball that's why

 

[FreakCricket]

different sports very stupid logic, its an unfair advantage and its a law

 

[Convict]

Soccer players can take shots from right in front of the goal. Why have no balls by your logic?

 

[Ellipsism]

This has to be the worst thread on PP.

Your questioning the very laws of bowling. Are you suggesting we turn cricket into baseball?

 

[TahirFan]

The availability of less time has given birth to T20 cricket where batsmen go after the bowlers in order to please their masters and spectators. Moreover, the rules have been bent further to provide more leverage to batsmen. We have seen in lot of matches where a team requires six or seven of the last over and the batsman on strike changes his stance ( switch hit) and hits the bowler for a six. The former cricketers have raised their concerns on such innovations. According to many of them, if a batsman can change his natural batting stance why can't bowlers? The bowlers are being scrutinized and controlled by a rule book while batsmen are like free birds these days. A batsman is allowed to innovate and attack the bowlers while bowlers are made to follow strict guidelines. Is cricket only a batsman's game where bowlers play a secondary role? Dilscoop by Tillakaratne Dilshan, the helicopter shot by MS Dhoni and switch-hit by Kevin Pietersen and David Warner are the new modes of scoring runs in international cricket. If batsmen are changing because of the new format then why should bowlers be made to sit behind and go for runs? They shouldn't be bound to bowl in a particular action and within a limit of 15 degrees. Let's take a look at few ways which could put bowlers in good position against the batsmen.

Innovative shots vs. Bowling Arm

The bowlers of this generation have become too predictable. The batsman knows all about their bowling arm, action and the delivery which they are going to bowl. But a bowler can only imagine about the kind of shot a batsman will play on his delivery. The batsman can come down the track or hit in any odd fashion. He can apply switch hit or reverse sweep to up the tempo but there is no room for experiment as far as bowlers are concerned. If the batsman can change his stance, a bowler should be allowed to change his bowling arm. Let a batsman be in some sort of confusion while facing any bowler and apply his brain power to score runs. If ICC allow bowlers to change their bowling hands, the game will certainly become more exciting.

The challenge of bowling angles

A ball has to travel 22 yards after being released from the bowlers hand only to be hit in any fashion from a batsman. The owner of a willow can apply any sort of shot to pile up runs so why there is a restriction on angle of a bowler? A bowler should be allowed to bend his arm in any fashion before his delivery stride. The shortest format of the game has taken the cruelty level on the bowlers to new heights and they have no choice apart from bowling their regular stuff over after over. If the game is changing keeping in mind the demands of the consumers, why can't this apply for bowlers? The old rules are brought into notice whenever a bowler tries to do something different while there is nothing of this sort in case of batters.

Quota of bowlers

A batsman comes to bat at the start of an inning and has the option of staying till the end but the bowlers are bound to bowl only limited amount of bowlers in the shorter formats of the game. They can't exceed more than four in T20s while the number goes up to ten in the limited over internationals. When a batsman can take high percentage of overs to score runs why can't a bowler bowl more overs to take wickets and restrict teams from scoring? The top bowlers of any team is often hampered by limited opportunity of overs but if this is removed, we would see more fierce bowling from them.

Quality of bats

Cricket has improved a lot over the years and the same could be said about bats. The willows are being made from a quality wood. Even a miss hit these days are enough to clear any boundary ropes across the globe. Different kind of bats are used in one game to dictate terms. However, the number of innovations and application of new techniques is zero in terms of balls. If good wood is used to make bats more productive then why can't thick piece of leather is used in the processing of a ball to help the bowlers to zip the ball with more pace? A sport is termed as a great leveler for its participants but cricket is far away to be included in this list. The International Cricket Council will have to think on these issues, which are making cricket an alien commodity for the bowlers. It's high time that more powers are granted to the bowlers to bring everyone on a level playing field. It's a great sight to watch a bowler cleaning up batsman's defence with a peach of delivery and to make this a regular scene bowlers need trump cards

http://www.crictoday.com/should-bowlers-be-allowed-to-experiment.html

 

[Sports_Psychologist]

Soccer player can bend their legs

Rugby players can bend their legs

Tennis players can bend the arms

So why can't cricket bowlers bend their arms

Sorry mate but this question is as stupid as asking why can't men get pregnant!!

 

[super hitter]

Crickets can bend their arms

View attachment 73316

Very well answered mates, terrible thread

 

[Arsalan Pro]

Why can't hockey players just kick the ball like footballers,instead of using hockey sticks?

 

[phoenix363]

Badly worded opening post and terrible logic, but a good thread.

A very interesting question that I have long wondered. If throwing was allowed, it would certainly be an advantage for off spin / doosra bowlers, but would it affect pacers and leg spinners?

 

[hafizexpress]

I thought that this was a troll post at first but then people started giving serious answers smh. What kind of question is this? In cricket you technically do your arms while batting and fielding. Bowling is just another aspect of the sport where it is prohibited. Just like in soccer you are allowed to kick the ball but not touch it.

 

[dildildalwalla]

You all misunderstand the law anyway. The issue isnt simply the bend in the arm but the extension or straightening of the arm at the elbow, i.e. making a chucking motion.

However, even those guys some label is cheats have neevr as blatantly thrown the ball as say, a baseball pitcher so an arbitrary stipulation was put in: a 15 degrees of extension or straightening of the arm from the point at which it bends, during the release of the ball. Apparently, the 15 degress is where the human eye can catch such a movement.

 

[Pollack]

Bcoz they should rather bend their back.

 

[Messiah]

Badly worded opening post and terrible logic, but a good thread.

A very interesting question that I have long wondered. If throwing was allowed, it would certainly be an advantage for off spin / doosra bowlers, but would it affect pacers and leg spinners?

Leg spin would be dead because even gully kids would spin the ball more than leg spinners. Pacers would bowl at 200+ km/hr with enough training in "throwing"

 

[super hitter]

Why can't hockey players just kick the ball like footballers,instead of using hockey sticks?

Why can't footballers use their hands and take the ball to the goal post

 

[shravan]

Why cant batsmen punch a bowler for bowling a bouncer?