And if you have ever seen him bowl, you will know how important that is for the 24-year Otago paceman.
He generates most of the 140 clicks or so he bowls at with a terrific leap before he hits the crease.
It is a pretty action to watch and it brought him plenty of success in the twenty20 campaign last season.
Barnes, who transferred south from Auckland with a long list of prior injuries, was a revelation for the Volts, taking 15 wickets at an average of 19. He teamed up with Jacob Duffy to help ensure the Volts’ opponents often got off to a stuttering start.
Their ability to strike at the top of the order was instrumental in the Volts reaching the final.
Otago stumbled in that final, though, losing to Auckland by 20 runs. Barnes bowled dangerman Colin Munro for 14 and picked up three for 33, so he did his part.
But the new year brought a change of fortune for Barnes. He picked up a stress fracture in his foot and his season was over four games into the one-day campaign.
"That kind of kept me off my feet for a while. And when I talked to Rob [Walter, Otago coach] at the beginning of the season, he said ‘we’ll probably keep you off for those first five four-dayers’."
Barnes has been gradually building up his bowling loads and was able to really stretch out for Taieri last weekend. He bowled seven overs and took five for 10 in a club game at Brooklands Park. It was good timing with the New Zealand domestic twenty20 getting under way this weekend. Otago opens its campaign against Auckland at Eden Park Outer Oval on Sunday and Barnes is looking forward to being part of the occasion.
He has made a few tweaks to his run-up since he last donned the blue and gold, but nothing too drastic.
"Rob has been real patient with me and we’ve worked quite a lot on my run-up. It seems to be going quite well," Barnes said.
"I’ve been over-striding a little bit and we’ve shortened my run-up a little bit just so I’m not wasting too much energy. But I’ve still got the leap."
Barnes is confident his shortened run-up will not reduce his pace.
"It is quite the opposite. I’m trying to build up the pace. That is probably the one thing I’m really trying not to lose."
Barnes will be hard-pressed to improve on his twenty20 campaign last season. He was not expecting to take so many wickets. This summer the plan is to stay on the park for longer.
If he can get through the twenty20 tournament, it will dovetail nicely into the one-day competition in terms of Barnes being able to gradually lift his bowling loads. And, all going well, he can make his first-class debut in the final part of the season.
Potentially, he could be very handy with a red ball in his hand. Barnes has a wonderful yorker that tapers back in late. He also has a challenging bouncer and one or two other clever variations to go with his stock delivery. And when you can hit the 140kmh mark, you are always a threatening prospect at domestic level.
Barnes’ main challenge is with his body. Before moving south to Otago, he had four back-to-back injuries. Auckland contracted him with a groin strain. When he recovered from that, he picked up a bone stress in his left foot and then suffered a back complaint. And to top it off, he fell down some stairs and damaged a ligament in his left foot.
But right now he is pain-free and leaping as high as ever. And good things happen when Barnes gets airborne.
