The bowler who never gets a rest
There is a familiar pattern in junior cricket. A twelve-year-old starts bowling a bit quicker than everyone else. Suddenly he is opening for his club side on Saturday morning, backing up for the school team on Wednesday, bowling in the nets on Tuesday and Thursday, and having a hit with his dad in the driveway on Sunday because he loves it.
Nobody in that chain is doing anything wrong. The club coach sees a kid taking wickets. The school teacher sees a kid who wants to play. The parent sees enthusiasm and encourages it. The problem is that no single person is counting the total, and the total is what matters.
Pace bowling is one of the most physically demanding actions in any sport. At the point of front foot contact, a fast bowler puts several times their own body weight through the lower back in a fraction of a second, while simultaneously rotating and side bending. Do that a few hundred times a week during a growth spurt and the body has a problem.
Why teenagers are the highest risk group
This is the part that catches most families off guard. It is not the smallest or weakest players who get hurt. It is often the best ones.
During adolescence, bones lengthen quickly before they fully strengthen. There is a window where a young athlete has adult height, adult speed and adult competitive drive, but the bone in the lower spine has not yet caught up. Repeated bowling without enough recovery can weaken that bone over time, and because these injuries build gradually, a bowler often feels no pain in the early stages. By the time it hurts, it has usually been developing for a while.
That delay is the whole issue. A hamstring strain announces itself immediately. A lumbar bone stress injury does not, which is why it is managed through workload planning rather than waiting for symptoms.
What the guidelines actually recommend
Cricket Australia publishes junior pace bowling guidelines that clubs and coaches across the country work from. They are built around simple, memorable rules rather than complicated calculations.
For bowlers under 17, the guidance follows a 1, 3, 5 pattern: one day of rest between bowling days rather than bowling on back-to-back days, a maximum of three bowling sessions in a week, and a maximum of five overs in a single spell. For bowlers aged 17 to 19, it moves to 2, 4, 6: at most two consecutive bowling days, four bowling days per week, and six overs in a spell.
Two things are worth flagging. First, these guidelines are reviewed and updated, so check the current version on the Cricket Australia community site rather than relying on a number someone quoted three seasons ago. Second, and more importantly, the guidelines are general in nature, and every bowler needs to be managed individually. Physical maturity, technique, bowling speed, fitness and injury history all matter alongside age.
The number almost everyone forgets to count
Here is where most families go wrong. They look at the match scorecard, see eight overs across the day, and assume the workload is fine.
But a bowling session is a bowling session whether it happens in a match or not. Net practice counts. School cricket counts. The extra twenty deliveries after training count. A player who bowls in two matches and two net sessions in the same week has had four bowling days, regardless of how few overs appeared in any single scorebook.
If your child plays for both a club and a school, or sits in two age groups because they are ahead of their peers, someone in the family needs to keep a simple weekly tally. A note on the fridge is genuinely enough. The goal is not precision; it is visibility.
Signs a young bowler is carrying too much
Watch for a bowler who quietly loses pace across a spell and does not recover it the following week. Watch for stiffness in the lower back on Sunday mornings that clears by Monday. Watch for a change in action, particularly a bowler who starts falling away at delivery or shortening their run up without being asked to.
Reluctance is a signal too. A child who has always wanted to bowl and starts finding reasons not to is often telling you something they cannot articulate yet.
Any persistent lower back pain in a young fast bowler should be assessed by a physiotherapist or sports doctor familiar with cricket, not managed with rest alone and a return to the same volume. This is one area where the gear and preparation habits that prevent common cricket injuries only take you so far, because no equipment protects against accumulated load.
Building volume the right way
Bowling less is not the answer either. A bowler who does nothing all winter and then bowls eight overs in round one is at more risk than one who has built up gradually.
Cricket Australia’s guidance is that volume should be increased progressively in the lead-up to a season, over a period of roughly ten weeks or more, so the body is prepared for what the season will demand. The preseason is where that work belongs, and it fits naturally with the principle that consistent training beats occasional intense sessions.
Indoor facilities make this a lot more practical in Melbourne, where a wet August can wipe out weeks of outdoor preparation. Controlled surfaces mean a planned build-up actually happens on schedule instead of being compressed into the fortnight before round one.
How we approach it at the academy
Bowling development at Concept Sports Academy is planned around the individual rather than the calendar. Our assessment process looks at action, physical readiness and current playing commitments together, because a player already bowling four days a week across club and school needs something very different from one who has just picked up a ball.
For younger players, our foundational training program focuses on a repeatable, efficient action first. Technique quality reduces load, and habits established at nine or ten are far easier to build on than to correct at fifteen.
The aim is simple. We want players still bowling at twenty, not remembered as the quick kid who broke down at sixteen.
FAQs
My son bowls spin, do these guidelines apply to him?
The pace bowling guidelines are written specifically for fast and medium pace bowlers, because the injury risk comes from the force generated at front foot contact. Spinners generate far less load through the lower back and are not subject to the same restrictions. That said, spinners can still develop overuse issues in the shoulder, fingers and side, so sensible session planning still applies.
Should my child skip a match to stay within the guidelines?
Occasionally, yes. Cricket Australia’s own guidance acknowledges that sometimes a young pace bowler needs to miss a game so their body can cope, particularly when matches fall on consecutive days. Missing one round in November is a much smaller cost than missing a full season with a stress injury.
Is it safe for a young bowler to play in an older age group?
It can be, but it doubles the need for tracking. Players good enough to play up are usually playing in two teams rather than one, and that is exactly the situation where weekly totals climb without anyone noticing. Apply the guidelines for the player’s actual age, not the age group they are playing in.
Does bowling into a net count the same as bowling in a match?
For workload purposes, yes. The body does not distinguish between a delivery bowled at a batter in a match and one bowled in a net. Net sessions should be counted as bowling days and structured in spells with genuine breaks between them.
What if my child has already had a back injury?
Return to bowling after a lumbar bone stress injury needs to be staged and supervised, usually over several months, with a gradual reintroduction of run-up length, intensity and volume. This should be guided by a physiotherapist or sports doctor rather than by feel, because these injuries recur when players return to full load too quickly.
Contact Concept Sports Academy For
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Fast bowlers are made over years, not seasons. If you are unsure whether your child’s current bowling load is sustainable, or you want their action assessed before the summer starts, come and talk to our coaching team. Call 1300 310 769 or email info@conceptsports.com.au to book. Visit us at 1/16 Poa Court, Craigieburn VIC 3064, or explore our programs at conceptsportsacademy.com.au. |