00:00fast bowler development program in India. Because that's what I can do, I can develop fast bowlers.
00:06The mindset that the more you do, the harder you work, the better you get. Unfortunately,
00:12that might be okay for batting, but for bowling, it doesn't work like that. There will always be
00:16a talented bowler coming, Umra Malik, Kuldeep Sen, Navdeep Saini, you know, these guys are
00:21coming through. But the key is developing them. The key is nurturing through, giving them the
00:26right information so they can achieve the potential that they clearly have. So my tip to
00:32all bowlers, they need to sprint more, they need to throw more medicine balls, they need to jump
00:38more, and they need to bowl weighted balls. This gym stuff is supplementary. And then from there,
00:44you need to learn the craft, the game awareness. So here we are with Stephen Jones. First of all,
00:50he's a former player, a former high-performance bowling coach of Rajasthan Royals. And now his
00:59own endeavour, PaceLab, is doing wonders for Indian cricket and roping in top talents,
01:05where their main aim is to enhance a fast bowler's career and their trajectory through biomechanics
01:12and other scientific programs. So Stephen, first of all, thank you very much for talking with me.
01:17Pleasure.
01:18So how has been, you've been a professional cricketer, you've worked in IPL in various
01:24schools as well, if I'm not wrong. How did the PaceLab concept start in your mind?
01:31Okay, so when I played, so I played for 20 years professionally, and I was also a professional
01:36rugby player. So I was very much grown up with high performance, physical training,
01:43strength and conditioning, power work. But for me, there was a sort of something missing in that
01:48we weren't testing it. You need to plan the direction of travel, you need to know where
01:54you currently are. So I test everything and technology in the world now is incredible.
01:59So we need to know where the current bowler is sat, where they are physically, technically,
02:04tactically, psychologically. Then from there, then I can tailor an individual program for the fast
02:12bowler based on their needs. Every bowler has a different style, there's no point copying a
02:18certain bowler. No, they have an individual style. And then the key is to make sure that the technique
02:24and the strength and conditioning is right for that individual bowler. And that's what PaceLab
02:28does differently to everyone else.
02:30So we've seen already Indian PaceLab, Isham Sharma is working here in Bangalore, and I'm
02:35sure that you have multiple projects around India, all over the world as well. So how,
02:40what have the ecosystem of bowling in India, you have seen, especially for pace bowling, because
02:44we have seen that we have some top quality paces, just Bhumrah, Muhammad Shami, but we have also a
02:50lot of talented paces who have kind of faded away. So what is the reason, do you think behind that
02:57and how you are aiming to have a change in that?
03:00So for me, I would, I'll say it straight away now, I would love to be in charge of fast bowler
03:07development program in India, because that's what I can do. I can develop fast bowlers, you know,
03:13the IPL and the top level, they're already good. You know, the next level down, and I know Troy
03:19Cooley and the NCA does a great job. I'm here to help. So the problem in India, as people,
03:26the work ethic is exemplary. It's an example to everyone in the world, the work ethic, but with
03:32that becomes the mindset that the more you do, the harder you work, the better you get.
03:38Unfortunately, that might be okay for batting, but for bowling, it doesn't work like that.
03:43So bowling for two hours a day is not healthy. So, but it has to be smart with what we're trying
03:49to achieve. So I think there's a mixture in India, as everywhere in the world, where some bowlers are
03:56over-bowled, while others are under-bowled. We spend too long in the gym and not actually
04:02bowling. So fast bowling is about intensity. Nothing we can do in the gym will match the
04:08intensity in bowling. So it's, my big thing is planning, is periodization. So, so much talent,
04:15but, but Indian bowlers, it can't be about the volume of bowlers. You know, there will be,
04:20always be a talented bowler coming, Umra Malik, Huldim Sen, Navdeep Saini, you know,
04:24these guys are coming through, but the key is developing them. The key is nurturing through,
04:30giving them the right information so they can achieve the potential that they clearly have.
04:36There is always room for improvement, as you rightly say. But one, one more thing that we
04:40have seen, we saw that Ishaan Sharma is doing various drills, curated, personalized. What,
04:46what, what is the, what was the main, you know, program of his training, if you can elaborate?
04:52So I've, I've helped Ishaan on and off, uh, since he was playing test cricket, actually,
04:58I think about seven or eight years, but on and off, because I then go to the Royals and he's,
05:03so it's difficult then to, but so Ishaan is clearly a legend. He's only two bowlers,
05:08seamers in India. We've got over a hundred tests, Kabil Dev and Ishaan. So there's nothing I can
05:14teach him bowling. He knows what a good delivery is. What I can do is look at his technique,
05:20make sure we can sort of fine, fine tune his sequencing, his timing. As you get older,
05:28timing is different because we get older. It's a bit, you know, the body's a bit broken. So
05:33the key for him is maintaining his freshness, his sharpness. He looks lean. He looks really
05:39fighting fit and he's a knee dominant bowler. So it's important that we maintain strength.
05:45If Ishaan loses strength, he loses pace. So this last year, he bowled 145. And that's a,
05:52that's good pace for someone his age and someone his workloads. So it's about managing workload,
05:58managing intensity and making sure he's fresh enough to bowl. Ultimately, that's his skill.
06:04He's a bowler. I've seen that you're working with a lot of next-gen bowlers, youngsters as well.
06:10What is the, what is the main thing that you think a general Indian pace bowler who is aspiring to
06:15be a pace bowler will have to work on from early ages? What are the main things that
06:19they have to focus on? So that's, that's a great question for me. Okay. Because of the
06:25physical education programs in India, a lot of the bowlers haven't got physical literacy,
06:32athletic development. So you have a foundation of movement. You need to be able to move. There's no
06:37point me coaching a bowler to sort of on back foot contact four times their body weight on
06:42front foot contact eight to nine. If they can't stand on one leg, you know, their knee valgus,
06:47their knee collapses. And that's built. If, if in these big centers, we are doing sort of the
06:55general prep work with 20 year old athletes, it's too late. That needs to be in school.
07:02And then from there we give athletic development. So speed wins. So my tip to all bowlers,
07:08they need to sprint more. They need to throw more medicine balls. They need to jump more
07:14and they need to bowl rated balls. This gym stuff is supplementary. And then from there,
07:20you need to learn the craft, the game awareness, when to bowl slower balls, not enough bowlers,
07:25just people from Malinga can bowl Yorkers, they can. But why are we struggling for to find bowlers
07:32who can bowl Yorkers? So our training has to be more relevant. You've worked with Rajasthan Royals
07:38in the IPL as a high performance bowling coach, if I'm right. And how was the experience? How
07:43has the IPL experience been for you? Incredible. I love that. The timing of it was great for me.
07:51Ultimately, the Rajasthan Royals through Rahul Dravid took a gamble because I wasn't in cricket.
07:56I was a director of sport at a private school. But they saw something in me and I was employed
08:01as a bowling coach in 2019. Loved it. But unfortunately, because of my role as director
08:07of sport, I couldn't commit fully. But the last two years, I've been in the IPL. I prepped them
08:13to the tournament, spent two or three weeks in the tournament, making sure they're ready to go.
08:19Then I go home. I love that role. I love developing them, looking after them year round.
08:26Great setup. And for me, with Rahul Dravid there, it's only one way out.
08:30With Rahul Dravid coming back to Rajasthan Royals again, is there another chance we are going to
08:35see you again in the IPL 2025? Not 2025, but moving forward, they have my number.
08:42Thank you very much, Stephen, for your interview. Really hoping that you can
08:46make a dynamic change in Indian baseball. Yeah, I'm trying. Thank you very much.
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