Editing Bowling (cricket) (section)

==The bowling action==
[[Image:Bowling action.png|thumb|left|The typical bowling action of a fast bowler.]]
[[File:Brett Lee Bowling.jpg|thumb|Australian [[Fast bowling|fast bowler]] [[Brett Lee]] in action in 2005.]]
{{main|Bowling action}}
{{See also|Throwing (cricket)}}

Bowling the ball is distinguished from simply throwing the ball by a strictly specified biomechanical definition.

Originally, this definition said that the elbow joint must not straighten out during the bowling action. Bowlers generally hold their elbows fully extended and rotate the arm vertically about the shoulder joint to impart velocity to the ball, releasing it near the top of the arc. Flexion at the elbow is not allowed, but any extension of the elbow was deemed to be a throw and would be liable to be called a no-ball. This was thought to be possible only if the bowler's elbow was originally held in a slightly flexed position.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last1=Elliott|first1=Bruce C.|last2=Alderson|first2=Jacqueline A.|last3=Denver|first3=Eliot R.|date=2007|title=System and modelling errors in motion analysis: Implications for the measurement of the elbow angle in cricket bowling|url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0021929007000085|journal=Journal of Biomechanics|language=en|volume=40|issue=12|pages=2679–2685|doi=10.1016/j.jbiomech.2006.12.012|pmid=17307186 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Portus|first1=Marc R.|last2=Rosemond|first2=Charles D.|last3=Rath|first3=David A.|date=2006|title=Cricket: Fast bowling arm actions and the illegal delivery law in men's high performance cricket matches|url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14763140608522875|journal=Sports Biomechanics|language=en|volume=5|issue=2|pages=215–230|doi=10.1080/14763140608522875|pmid=16939154 |s2cid=219698572 |issn=1476-3141}}</ref><ref name=":1">"Definition of fair delivery - the arm". ''[[Laws of cricket]]''.</ref>

In 2005, this definition was deemed to be physically impossible by a scientific investigative commission. Biomechanical studies that showed that ''almost'' all bowlers extend their elbows somewhat throughout the bowling action, because the stress of swinging the arm around ''hyperextends'' the elbow joint. A guideline was introduced to allow extensions or hyperextensions of angles up to 15 degrees before deeming the ball illegally thrown.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1"/>

Bowling actions are typically divided into ''side on'' and ''front on'' actions. In the side on action, the back foot lands parallel to the bowling crease and the bowler aims at the wicket by looking over his front shoulder. In the front on action, the back foot lands pointing down the pitch and the bowler aims at the wicket by looking inside the line of his front arm. Many bowlers operate with a ''mid-way'' action with the back foot landing at roughly 45 degrees and the upper body aligned somewhere between side on and front on. This differs from a ''mixed'' action, which mixes distinct elements of both side on and front on actions, and is generally discouraged amongst young bowlers as it can lead to problems in later life due to the twisting of the back inherent in the action.

[[File:Bart King c1908cr.jpg|thumb|upright=0.5|[[Philadelphian cricket team|Philadelphian]] cricketer [[Bart King]] bowling]]