What to Watch For This Cricket Season
Izzi Ord-Kinnear, Physiotherapist (Palmyra clinic)
Footy season wraps up and cricket nets start filling back up, and every year around this time I see the same pattern: young fast bowlers coming back from a break, building up overs quickly, and a few weeks later coming in with a one-sided lower back ache that just doesn’t settle with rest.
This is often the result of a lumbar bone stress injury, one of the most common injuries in junior pace bowling, and one that’s very manageable when it’s picked up early.
Why Fast Bowlers Are at Risk of Injury
Every ball a fast bowler sends will load the lower back through extension, rotation, and side bend all at once, repeated hundreds of times a week. The lower lumbar vertebrae takes most of that load.
In junior bowlers, this adds up: one study of teenage fast bowlers (aged 14 to 17) found about 1 in 5 already had signs of a bone stress injury when first assessed, with new injuries continuing to appear at a rate of roughly 27 per 100 players every year after that.
The lumbar spine also doesn’t fully mature until the mid-20s, and the 18 months or so after a growth spurt is consistently the highest-risk window, because bones lengthen before they gain strength.
The Two Main Risk Factors: Technique and Workload
Bowling technique plays a role too. Some bowlers use what’s called a ‘mixed’ action, where the hips and shoulders twist against each other more than they should as the ball is released. This puts extra strain through the back, and it’s the technique we see most often when a stress fracture turns out to be a serious one.
Workload also matters and, importantly, is the one we can manage week to week. Bowling more than roughly 230 deliveries in a week has been linked to meaningfully higher risk compared to under 200, and getting less than about three and a half days of recovery between bowling sessions roughly triples the chance of injury. Fatigue also affects technique as a spell goes on, which tends to compound both issues together.
Cricket Australia’s Workload Guidelines
Cricket Australia’s junior pace bowling guidelines set age-based limits on overs per spell and per day, rising from around two overs a spell at Under 11 up to six overs a spell by Under 17/19, along with rest days built into the week.
They also recommend a lighter week roughly every four weeks, a full week off bowling every 10 to 12 weeks, and 8 to 10 weeks of gradual bowling build-up before the season gets underway, rather than jumping straight into a full spell.
If your junior bowler hasn’t picked up a ball much over winter, this build-up period is exactly where it matters most.
Recognising the Warning Signs
The main thing to watch for is one-sided lower back pain that comes on with bowling, often worse with movements like arching the back, and doesn’t fully settle after a few days of rest the way normal muscle soreness usually does.
It can start subtly, an ache after a long spell that a young athlete might brush off as ‘just tight,’ which is exactly why it’s worth having it checked rather than waiting to see if it passes on its own.
Treatment and Recovery
Conservative management (no surgery) works well for this injury, with good outcomes in around 90% of cases when it’s managed properly and early. It does take time though.
Recovery generally moves through an initial period of rest from bowling and aggravating movements, into core and trunk control work, then progressive loading, and finally a graded return to bowling built around clear milestones rather than the calendar. This usually plays out over several months.
A technique review is often part of the plan. Refining a mixed action toward a more efficient pattern, without necessarily losing pace, is one of the more effective ways to reduce the chance of this happening again.
When to See a Physio For Bowling Pain
Get your young bowler assessed if lower back pain shows up during or after bowling and lingers for more than a few days, if it’s clearly worse on one side, or if it’s changing how they bowl. It’s also worth a check-in before the season ramps up, especially after a growth spurt or a long break from bowling. Catching this early generally means a few weeks of modified load rather than months out of the game.
If you’ve got a junior fast bowler heading into cricket pre-season, or one who’s already carrying a niggle, book an appointment and we’ll help you get a proper handle on it early.
