How to give a batter quality throwdowns

Throwing by hand

Free, and fine for younger players — but a human arm tires, loses accuracy, and tops out well below match pace. It also puts real strain on the shoulder over a long session, which is why throwdown specialists use a tool.

Hand-held ball throwers

A thrower multiplies your leverage, so the ball leaves faster with less effort, and a good one grips the seam so the delivery still swings and seams. The main thing to compare between them is how much technique they demand: basic throwers reward a practised action, and in unpractised hands the ball sprays.

Bowling machines

Nothing beats a machine for repeatability — the same ball, the same spot, a hundred times over. But it needs power, setup time, a vehicle to move it and someone feeding balls, and it costs twenty to eighty times more than a thrower. For most clubs, and every parent, that's the wrong tool for a Tuesday evening.

Where the RapidArm+ sits

The RapidArm+ was designed to close the gap: machine-like pace from something you keep in your kit bag. The moulded cup grips the ball the way a bowler's fingers do and releases it cleanly, so throwing technique matters far less — a parent or a part-time coach gets consistent deliveries almost straight away. Four steel-screw settings take it from 100 kph up to 160 kph, and seven cup angles change the trajectory from a skidding yorker to steep bounce off a length.

It won't match a machine's millimetre repeatability, and if you already throw brilliantly by hand you may not need one. But if you want genuine pace without needing the skill, that's exactly what it was built for.

Try it before you decide

Our free browser game uses the real adjustments — pick a speed setting and a cup angle and watch what each one does to the delivery. Two minutes, and it's the quickest way to understand the product.