Cricket Ball- Pneumatic Bowling Machines

Pneumatic Bowling Machine

A bowling machine is a device that functions as a nets bowler, firing balls at batsmen, providing them with practice. The machine can simulate various types of pace, swing, and spin bowling accurately. It can also be used when no-one is there to bowl. Cricket Bowling Machine gives a real match feel to the batsman while practicing. Any level of batsman can enjoy, learn and improve his batting skills by practicing with cricket bowling machine. Following are the types of Bowling Machines:

1. Mechanical Bowling Machines
2. Programmable Bowling Machines
3. Pneumatic Bowling Machines

In this blog, I will be mainly emphasizing on Pneumatic bowling machines.

Kanon Pneumatic Bowling Machine

Pneumatic Bowling Machines

Pneumatic bowling machines are more common than other machines. These types of machines use a pump to provide a flow of air that forces the ball through a tube at varying speeds.

How does it work?

This machine is a hopper containing balls and there is a rotor with a gap of 6 balls. It consists of a trap door, through which the rotor passes and the ball’s weight falls into the small chambers. There are pumps that are used to provide a stream of air into the chamber and the air flow pushes the ball along with the chamber of a rubber ring known as masking. The Hood has a hole whose diameter is slightly smaller than a cricket ball that closes the hole. So the pressure chamber builds up and then pumps the ball out of the nozzle, which is released at height of the pitcher’s arm.

Stimulating different deliveries

• Fast Bowling: A method exists that allows air to leak from the barrel shortly after it has passed the restrictor. This reduces the pressure on the ball, reducing its velocity. This increases the speed to its maximum.

• Swing Bowling: For Swing bowling, a curved piece of tubing is attached to the end of the barrel. The ball rolls around this causing it to swing.

• Spin Bowling: The tubing used for swing bowling can also be used for spin bowling, by pointing the curve any where between vertical and horizontal.

• Seam bowling: Seam bowling is impossible in this machine as it only takes tennis balls and cricket training balls such as Slazenger’s “Slazball. These types of ball have no seam.

• Bouncer: Again the same tubing can be used to create high and low bounce by mounting the tube vertically.

For more information on Bowling Machines, checkout my blog on Mechanical Bowling Machines