Well, last night I bowled a decent spell of seam-up for the first time since I blew my knee out.
Admittedly, it kinda happened because I was bored - I was bowling spin and letting the batsmen choose what ball they would face (I let them pick a number between one and four*) and still getting them out for fun when I noticed that there was a dearth of bowlers in the seamers' net.
It's indoors at the moment, so I was coming off a short run of about eight paces. My second ball pitched on a perfect length, with a little bit of away-swing, and took the batsman's off stump out. I started putting my back into it, and the highlights were: one ball that took the batsman's off-stump before his bat had even come down from his backlift; a yorker that hit him on the foot before he had reacted to try to play a shot; one ball that swung away and flew through from slightly back of a length - probably one of the two quickest balls I've ever bowled, even though it of course seems quicker for being inside, which was a real surprise off my short run - and a slightly accidental bouncer that was similarly rapid.
It was an eye-opener really. And makes me feel tempted to strap up my knees and have one last go at bowling quick. But I don't know if I will.
* Variation one: Stock off-spinner
Variation two: Slower off-spinner (Ironmonger grip)
Variation three: Dart (flicked hard with index finger out of front of hand)
Variation four: Carrom ball (flicked with middle finger to apply leg-spin)
Let me know if you want photos of all the grips