How many overs a week should a young fast bowler bowl?

Question

Accepted Answer

On top of the compulsory match limits, the ECB Recreational Cricket Safety Guidelines recommend weekly workloads, counting overs bowled in matches and training with both hard and soft balls:

Age	Target overs per week	Rest after a bowling day
11 and under	12 to 16	1 day after 2 to 7 overs; 2 days after more than 7
12 and 13	16 to 20	1 day after 2 to 8 overs; 2 days after more than 8
14 and 15	20 to 24	1 day after 2 to 10 overs; 2 days after more than 10
16 and 17	22 to 26	1 day after 3 to 12 overs; 2 days after more than 12
18 and 19	24 to 28	1 day after 3 to 14 overs; 2 days after more than 14

The ECB also recommends:

no more than 4 bowling days in any 7, with only one pair of consecutive days;
a 7 to 10-day bowling break mid-season, a lighter week (about 50% of target) every 4 to 5 weeks, and a 4-week break after the season;
a gradual "ready to bowl" build-up after any break of 2 weeks or more;
a player in a growth spurt (growing faster than 7 cm a year) following the guidance for the age group below.

Too much bowling, and too little, both raise the risk of lumbar stress fractures in young fast bowlers.