STAND AND DELIVER
The delivery action (how you swing your bowling arm and how you release the bowl from your hand) is the third factor in achieving consistent results. Once the bowl leaves your hand, you can no longer influence its speed and direction.
The Delivery Arc
The act of delivering a bowl is often compared to the swing of a pendulum. This is only partially true. With an unrestricted backswing, the arc that the arm follows should, ideally, be in the same plane as the line along which you want the bowl to travel. Any variation, such as swinging the arm behind the back during the backswing or away from the body in the downswing, requires a corrective action to bring the arm back in line at the point of release.
Unlike other forms of bowls, the laws of short mat bowling limit where you can place your front foot. It cannot touch or go outside the delivery lines marked on the mat. This means that the backswing is restricted with some stances and you will need to compensate for that.
Bowl Speed
At the top of the backswing the bowl is stationary. At the bottom of the swing, when the bowl is released, it is travelling at its full delivery speed. From that point onwards it will be slowing down on its path to the other end of the mat. If the delivery arc was truly a pendulum action, the only force acting on the arm and bowl would be gravity. As the acceleration due to gravity is a constant, the speed of delivery would be controlled solely by the length of the backswing. However, there are other biomechanical forces influencing delivery speed. The muscles and tendons in the shoulder, chest and arm all act together to generate bowl speed. As a result, you could have a backswing which is always the same length but the delivery speed varies according to the amount of biomechanical force applied. Where the backswing is restricted by your stance the biomechanical force becomes a major factor in the delivery speed. The bowling action that is best for you will be a combination of length of backswing and biomechanical force which, with practice, is a combination that becomes instinctive and requires very little conscious thought.
Straight Arm Delivery
The simplest delivery and, therefore, the easiest to repeat, is one where the bowling arm is held straight throughout the delivery action. From your fixed stance, draw your bowling arm back in a straight line, then swing it forward until your hand is at mat level. Open your hand and release the bowl. Continue your swing until your arm and hand naturally stop.
Some bowlers turn their wrist at the top of the backswing such that the bowl is pointing inwards or even backwards. This can feel more comfortable as the wrist will naturally turn in when the arm is extended. As the arm comes forward the wrist returns to its forward facing position for a straight bowl release.
Bent Arm Delivery
Some players prefer to have their arm bent at the top of the backswing particularly if they are playing a fast (heavy) shot. This may be because the bowl can feel insecure in the hand at the top of a long straight arm backswing. As the arm comes forward, it straightens and the bowl is released with a straight arm. This action can impart some additional force through a "whip" effect.
Bowl Direction
The direction of the bowl is initially determined by your grip and stance but the moment of release is also very important. Having taken care in lining your fingers and feet up correctly, a “clean” release will complete the process.
The Release
At the bottom of the delivery arc, by opening the hand slightly, the fingers release their grip on the bowl and it is free to leave your control. If you have released the bowl "cleanly" it will set off upright and on the straight line determined by your grip and stance.
For a standard stance, where the backswing is unhindered outside the hip, the point of release will be somewhere near level with the toes of the lead foot and underneath the shoulder of the bowling arm. For other delivery stances (see the pages on draw shots and weighted shots), where the backswing may be restricted, the release point may be in front of the lead foot.
The Follow Through
The follow through is an important part of the delivery action, even though the bowl has left the hand and can no longer be influenced. The recommended follow through is a simple continuation of the delivery arc ending with the arm straight and the fingers pointing along the delivery line.
As with many aspects of the game you will see some top-level bowlers that have a less than perfect follow through. They are able to control their action so that the deviation always occurs after the bowl has left their hand.
THINGS TO AVOID
Avoid The Finger Flick
The middle finger should be the last to lose contact with the bowl. Try to avoid the temptation to give the bowl a little flick with the middle finger as you release because this action will impart a small amount of additional speed to the bowl and may slightly alter the direction of travel.
If the little finger is too far up the side of the bowl, it can flick the bowl as it leaves your hand and this is the most common cause of a wobbling delivery.
Over-gripping the bowl with the outer fingers, particularly if you are using a small bowl, can also result in either outer finger slightly flicking the bowl. If you are using a small bowl, it is recommended that you place your index finger and little finger on the outer concentric rings of the bowl rather than up the sides of the bowl. The bowl is then merely resting on those fingers rather than being gripped by them. See the Grip page of this Skills Development section for more detail.
Avoid The Wrist Flick
At the bottom of the swing, as the bowl leaves your hand, it is very easy to bend the wrist slightly which can cause all fingers to flick the bowl away. This is quite common if your stance is so low to the mat that your arm does not have room to fully straighten at the point of release. Try to keep the wrist locked in line with rest of the arm at the release point.