BOLA
PROMOTIONAL FEATURE
BOLA bowling machines: “17 years down the line I still use our one nearly every day”
ny investment comes with risk, principally ‘will I get value for money from this product?’ But when purchasing bowling machines from BOLA, every ounce of value is extracted. Just ask Peter Came and his son, Harry. “I bought a BOLA Professional in 2004 when Harry was just six years old. At 40, I was running out of arm strength to bowl it fast enough to get him on the back foot,” Peter tells the Club Cricket Guide. “Little did we know at the time that we would get 17 years of service.” Harry is at the start of a career full of potential. He made his first-class debut for Hampshire in 2019 and made five appearances for the county. He is currently on the hunt for his next county, and having access to a BOLA has ensured he is putting his best foot forward when the trials come around. The right-hander can already look back fondly on his cricketing achievements, having broken the longstanding record for most runs in a season at Bradfield College. He achieved the feat when only 16, scoring over 1,000 runs in the summer of 2015. The previous record was set in 1962 by Michael Mence who went on to play for Gloucestershire and Warwickshire. The following summer Came captained the 1st XI. Harry still uses the outdoor nets at the school, with his father acting as chief machine operator, and the transportability of the machine means each net session is beneficial. “The actual machine fits into a box, then it’s very easy to transfer the legs and the battery,” Harry says. “It takes five minutes to set up then you’re off. As well as a battery you can also plug the machine into the mains, so you are not limited by power supply,” Peter says. He is an accomplished cricketer too, having been part of the Hampshire 2nd XI as an amateur in the 1980s. Peter’s
grandfather was Walter Robins, who played 19 Test matches for England and captained them on three occasions. The Professional is normally set up at home, and while some windows are within Harry’s arc, “we try not to proceed on the lines of whacking the ball because Harry has to go get it if he does.” Harry certainly appreciates he has been lucky to have access to a BOLA, whether it be at home or using one of the machines owned by Bradfield (who also have a Merlyn for spin practice), but he has made the most of the facilities on offer and is aware of the benefits they have. “Basically, every day at lunch and after lessons I would be down in the sports hall on the machines. Gloucestershire’s Ryan Higgins, who also went to Bradfield and who I looked up to hugely, would do the same. “I would have sessions where I was on the machine for an hour or two. You’re the only one there, hitting ball after ball. It’s not like an innings in a match where there is a break between overs, or you are sometimes at the non-striker’s end. It’s just you against the machine, and it taught me how to bat for long periods of time. “It’s had a massive impact on my game. Seventeen years down the line I still use our one nearly every day.” The initial battery has only just worn out, but the Cames have every intention of replacing that and continuing to use it. “It’s never been back to BOLA, it’s worked beautifully the whole time. You can swing it both ways and bowl spin, though Harry doesn’t like it when he sees me twiddling with the buttons because he doesn’t know what’s coming next,” Peter says. “For me it was the best way of giving Harry the ability to see what he is capable of. If you get the cricket bug and you want to bat, it’s the best thing you can use. “Hopefully Harry might be able to use it with his children.”
For more information, visit www.bola.co.uk
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CLUB CRICKET GUIDE 2021
JAMES CHANCE/GETTY IMAGES
BOLA HAVE LONG BEEN MAKING THE BEST AND MOST DURABLE BOWLING MACHINES ON THE MARKET, AND PETER AND HARRY CAME HAVE CERTAINLY GOT FULL USAGE OUT OF THEIRS
