The Best Cricket Bowling Machines for Batting Practice When No Bowler is Around

Are you aware of the cricket bowling machines?

It is cricketing equipment that is used primarily by the batsman to practice and improve their batting skills.

One can simply fill the bowling machine with the cricket balls, set the height and the speed at which the balls will be delivered (thrown towards the batsman), and start practicing.

The best part about cricket bowling machines is that you don’t need a bowler to bowl to you to help you practice batting.

For those of you who are fond of batting and want to take a very serious approach towards improving the batting skills, a Cricket Bowling Machine is a must-have cricketing equipment.

In this article, we will have a look at the top 6 best bowling machines that you can use to improve your batting skills.

Comparison of Top 6 Cricket Bowling Machines

Table of content: 

1. A Brief History of Cricket Bowling Machine
   
2. Factors to Consider When Buying a Cricket Ball Machine
   
3. Slider Cricket Bowling Machine by Heater Sports
   
4. Heater Sports Deuce 2 Wheel Cricket Bowling Machine
   
5. First Pitch Bowler Pro Cricket Machine Up To 168 Kph, 120v
   
6. FAQ – Cricket Bowling Machine
7. Final Verdict – Cricket Bowling Machine
   

A Brief History of Cricket Bowling Machine

The bowling machine for cricket was developed by Michael Stuart way back in 1985. Michael Stuart played club cricket for many years. He named it the “Bola Machine.” Initially, the Machine had been used for cricket-pitching analysis purpose.

Since its inception, it had a great impact on the game and helped many Cricketers as well as Cricket analysts. In the later years, with the advancement in robotics, it took the shape of a Bowling Machine. By now, this cricketing equipment is extensively used by the top batsmen from all over the world.

Things have drastically changed over the years and now, most of these machines can be programmed to a large extent to have the most challenging deliveries bowled at a batsman to elevate one’s skills to a massive extent.

The advanced Bowling Machines are characterized by various multi-functions such as multi-spin settings, speed controllers, and length settings to offer more than a real training session.

As far as the types are concerned, you can find both mechanical and pneumatic bowling machines easily available in the market these days.

---

Factors to Consider When Buying a Cricket Ball Machine

A Cricket Ball Machine will certainly make things a lot convenient for you at your practice but it is always wise to bear in mind a few important things while choosing a cricket bowling machine. Here are a few important points to consider:

• Look for the Cricket Ball Machine that can accommodate more balls
• A machine that runs on DC power is always safer than one that runs on AC power
• Always, check the speed of delivery that the machine can offer at the most
• Check what all surfaces it can pitch the ball on
• Check the bounce and the speed with the kind of ball you wish to practice with
• Also, check if the controllers are easy to operate
• Do a good price comparison
• Check what all ball types it supports
• Always choose a bowling machine with sturdy steels legs for more stability while in use
• Look for a bowling machine with enclosed wheels for better safety
• Always ensure that the slider pitches the balls in every 9-10 seconds.
• Also, you may buy a battery power separately
• Look for an auto ball feeder
• Make sure that the machine you choose to buy can be easily stored and moved

---

Now let’s have a look at the best cricket bowling machine robots available in the market.

1. Slider Cricket Bowling Machine by Heater Sports

The Slider Cricket Bowling Machine by Heater Sports is a good bowling machine for beginners. The cricket practice machine can hold up to 12 balls and allows you to have the balls delivered at 60 miles/hour at the most.

The adjustable controllers allow you to set any desired speed for the delivery within 60 miles/hour. Also, it is pretty easy to use.

Specifications

Shipping Weight	18 pounds
Max. Speed	60 miles/hour
Auto Feeder	Yes
Auto Feeder Capacity	12 Balls
Power	AC
Delivery time	Every 9 Seconds
Legs	Tubular Steel with Rubber Tips

Features

Pros

• You do not need a bowler to practice batting in the nets for hours
• Learn to bat against the most challenging deliveries
• You can practice at any time you like
• Pretty simple to operate

Cons

• DC Power is safer than AC Power in preventing shock
• Only 12 Balls can be accommodated while some can hold up to 100 balls
• Balls have to be bought separately

 

2. Heater Sports Deuce 2 Wheel Cricket Bowling Machine

The Heater Sports Deuce 2 Wheel Cricket Bowling Machine has a pretty robust construction with steel legs. It can accommodate 12 balls. It can be used with a standard AC power outlet or a third party battery. The Bowling Machine helps you to have balls bowled at you at a max speed of up to 75 miles/hour.

Also, you can adjust the height to set the line and length for the delivery. Most importantly, it takes merely 5 to 10 minutes to learn to operate it.

Specifications

Shipping Weight	80 pounds
Max. Speed	75 miles/hour
Auto Feeder	Yes
Auto Feeder Capacity	12 Balls
Power	AC
Delivery time	Every 10 Seconds
Legs	Tubular Steel with Rubber Tips

Features

Pros

• Batting practice in the nets for hours without having to need any bowler
• Set the most difficult deliveries and face them
• Largely helps you overcome the limitations of time constraints
• Ridiculously simple to use

Cons

• The fact that it can hold only 12 balls adds up a little extra work on your part as you have to refill them quite frequently
• It needs to handled more carefully to avoid shock since it runs on AC power
• Balls do not come along with it and you will have to buy them separately

 

3. First Pitch Bowler Pro Cricket Machine Up To 168 Kph, 120v

The First Pitch Bowler Pro Cricket Machine up To 168 Kph, 120v is another extensively used Bowling Machine. It comes with two 13 HP Motors and a two meters release point.

The Machine can bowl fast, spin and swing deliveries. However, one downside is the fact that it does not have an automatic random mode but you can buy one separately to use with it.

Specifications

Shipping Weight	115 pounds
Max. Speed	168 miles/hour
Auto Feeder	No
Power	Standard AC

Features

Pros

• Practice different types of deliveries like fast, sping and swing
• Practice whenever you want to
• Easy to carry and operate

Cons

• It lacks automatic random mode

---

FAQs related to Cricket Ball Machines

Q: What is a Cricket Bowling Machine?

A: We are pretty sure that a lot of you must be wondering like, “what the heck is a Cricket Bowling Machine?” However, it is pretty normal to feel that way if you are pretty new to it but once you comprehend as to how it works, you are certainly going to like it.

A Cricket Bowling Machine is a pretty handy cricketing equipment that will help you practice batting in the nets for hours without actually having to need of any bowler.

Q: How does the Bowling Machine for Cricket work?

A: You can actually set a particular length, line and of course, the speed at which you want the ball to be bowled at you.

All you have to do is take your position and wait for the ball to be delivered by the cricket ball machine for as many times as you want. Isn’t that a brilliant way to improve your batting skills?

Q: How to get a good ball bounce as well as a good ball delivery speed from one such Machine?

A: We actually tried using these machines with two different types of balls; the white and the green. With the White balls which are a little heavy, the bounce was great. However, the delivery was a little slow compared to the Green balls.

With the Green balls, the speed was great but the bounce was average. However, what we can actually do is shorten the pitch a little and this eventually will help you get a good bounce as well as a good speed.

Q: What all surfaces these Machines support?

A: These Machines support almost all surfaces; grass, concrete and even hard floor.

Q: How to adjust the speed, line, and length of delivery on a Bowling Machine?

A: It is really not difficult and all it takes is adjusting the speed using the controllers and adjusting the height of the Machine to set a perfect line and length.

---

Final Verdict – The Best Cricket Bowling Machine is…

Although there is no denying the fact that a Cricket Bowling Machine can largely make things convenient for you at your practice, finding one that perfectly suits your need is the actually the difficult part just as in any choice making.

However, we shared 3 of the most popular Bowling Machines for Cricket in this article and we actually tested all the 3 of them besides testing several others. We actually liked the Heater Sports Deuce 2 Wheel Cricket Bowling Machine quite a lot in terms of the ball bounce and speed.

Even then, we suggest you go through all the features over and over again to choose the one that perfectly fulfills your requirement.

Top 6 Best Cricket Bowling Machines