Point of Release
The point of release is the position of the ball in relation to the body at the moment when the ball is released. It is crucial for the arm to be stiff, not bent, and the wrist rather looser, to ensure smooth release of the ball, and sufficient bounce off the pitch. Otherwise, the action will resemble chucking. The left shoulder ought to be somewhat towards the stumps, the arm beside the bowler falling away, having just before this stage been pointing directly at the stumps.
For fast bowlers at the point of release the back of hand will be facing in the opposite direction of the batsmen facing the pending delivery. The front of the upright wrist and tips of the index and middle fingers all point to the target. For spin bowlers the wrist may well be at various angles at release point. This is because one is trying to create drag on a particular side of the ball, not propel it straight as per the section above.
Read more about this topic: Bowling Action
Famous quotes containing the words point of, point and/or release:
“In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn’t merely try to train him to be semihuman. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog.”
—Edward Hoagland (b. 1932)
“In the labyrinth of a difficult text, we find unmarked forks in the path, detours, blind alleys, loops that deliver us back to our point of entry, and finally the monster who whispers an unintelligible truth in our ears.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“The near touch of death may be a release into life; if only it will break the egoistic will, and release that other flow.”
—D.H. (David Herbert)