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batting help

Q

quigley

Cricket Spectator
Hi everyone. Im having real problem with a certain ball.

A fullish delivery on middle/leg, and deliveries that cut in, i cant seem to help but get stuck to far across the line and falling over myself, or trying to leg glance and getting lbw or bowled.

I see the line and step to it, but if it moves in or cuts in i am then overbalanced to my right and try to compensate by flicking at the ball in a leg glance fashion. I know i should play straight, but my problem is i get myself into a position where i cant.

Is there a stance, or an initial movement or a change in technique i need to employ when facing a bowler who cuts in? I also face bowlers who cut in at random times, so how do i pick this ball and adjust to it?

thanks,

Nathan
 
Q

quigley

Cricket Spectator
oh and another thing...im having trouble bringing my back foot game into play. I seem to hop to quickly onto the front foot, and alot of shots that i should be playing on back foot im playing awkwadly on front foot. Im not confident in my ability to just stand and judge the length and react in time. Any tips there?
 
I

iamdavid

International Debutant
With the full balls on middle/leg it sounds like you could possibly take guard on leg stump to avoid being caught too far across your stumps, and work with a coach on maintaining your balance and keeping your head over the ball throughout the shot, all down to sharp footwork I think.

Also not wise to try glancing balls which are actually hitting the stumps, Mark Waugh and Ricky Ponting flick balls on middle and leg through midwicket and occasionally even backward of square leg and make it look remarkably easy, but we arent that good and the fact is your playing across the line to a straight ball so if you miss it you're gone. Try and stay more upright and play the ball straighter, using your front elbow more. And if its actually down leg and not hitting the stumps then you can pull out the wristy flick.
 
Neil Pickup

Neil Pickup

Request Your Custom Title Now!
First analysis of that is the sentence "I see the line and step to it". That strikes me as an unnecessary commitment - it would also explain why you feel stuck on your front foot.

Try leading with your head. It is the heaviest part of your body, and when it leads, the rest of your body follows. This ought to keep you more upright, prevent you from overbalancing (overbalancing is almost exclusively caused by the head being further to the off side than the feet) and keep you playing the ball from under your eyes. Otherwise you are left playing around your front pad and on a hiding to nothing.
 
NUFAN

NUFAN

Y no Afghanistan flag
Yeah Quigley I naturally play on my front foot too.

I think you just need to practise more (with a new ball that is swinging not an old ball) and realize that the balls you are talking about are actually good deliveries so a dot ball is fine. You need to get your eye in before you can flick balls on middle stump on most occasions.

Another thing that you might be doing is flicking the ball too fine, think about how wide your bat is normally. and then infront of a mirror or video camera look at how wide the bat is with your glance. Your probably not judging how much the ball is going to swing.

As Neil Pickup said you play around your front pad when your head is not balanced. I also think you should make sure you have good fitting pads and thigh pad cause it's easy to play around your legs if they are too big. Also keep your eye on the ball and realize you don't need to hit the ball too hard with glances.
 
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Q

quigley

Cricket Spectator
thanks guys, these r helpful tips. Twice in a row ive batted myself in only to get out cheaply to a lbw which swung in. gotta eliminate it from my game
 
bond21

bond21

Banned
I will give you a tip from another perspective - Im a fast bowler and if i see a batsman only going onto his front foot, even to short of a length balls, he is asking to be hit.

Be careful because if a bowler sees you coming forward every ball, he will most likely throw in a short one and if you are stuck on your front foot, it is a lot harder to play.

I think coming forward too much is better than going back too much, just try and judge the balls to go back on and you will be right.
 
Nate

Nate

You'll Never Walk Alone
Haha like it needs to be explained again...

1) That's not how I bowl.
2) We were aiming for the camera. :)
 
NUFAN

NUFAN

Y no Afghanistan flag
Help! I keep getting out for the same number as that weeks gold lotto powerball.

What can I do?
 
Josh

Josh

International Regular
quigley said:
Hi everyone. Im having real problem with a certain ball.

A fullish delivery on middle/leg, and deliveries that cut in, i cant seem to help but get stuck to far across the line and falling over myself, or trying to leg glance and getting lbw or bowled.

I see the line and step to it, but if it moves in or cuts in i am then overbalanced to my right and try to compensate by flicking at the ball in a leg glance fashion. I know i should play straight, but my problem is i get myself into a position where i cant.

Is there a stance, or an initial movement or a change in technique i need to employ when facing a bowler who cuts in? I also face bowlers who cut in at random times, so how do i pick this ball and adjust to it?

thanks,

Nathan
Click to expand...
I found a similar problem 2 years ago. A senior member of my former club (and father of a rather decent up-and-coming young wicket keeper) was having a look at me in the nets. Every time a ball was middle and leg, and I tried to drive it, my pad got in the way, so I compensated, as you do, with the leg glance type shot, that barely connected bat and ball.

He fixed this in 2 ways:
1. Changing my backlift - my backlift was coming straight through, from middle/off stump line swinging straight. He got me to angle my backlift further towards 2nd/3rd slip region so that it had a clearer line for driving balls on the leg side.

2. Bucketloads of throwdowns - It's boring, but it works. After about 5 sessions of 10 minutes worth of leg-side throwdowns I started playing the drive more naturally. The trick is not to just say "that'll do" and stop the throwdowns, because now I'm at a new club, and the leg flick is a problem again. Keep getting some throwdowns, it's the best way to improve a part of your batting that is struggling and trigger your mind to a natural movement and reaction.
 
W

willb88

Cricket Spectator
Quigley, you have the same problem I had a few seasons ago.

The way i rectified this was to initially straighten up my backswing from 1st/2nd slip to come straight through from keeper to bowler( this may need a chnage in your grip) I found however that this was uncomfortable in my normal stance and so opened up my front leg to mid on in stance, causing the front foot to have to come much further across to get to the point of flicking straight balls and as the movement is automatic already the front leg will naturally only go so far when you pick up the line of the ball, with a more open stance this should open you up for the on drive more. Another point i changed was to stand a little more upright in my stance in order to level my eyes out as if your head is a little slanted or over to the offside you will pick up straighter balls as going down legside.
If these don't work however, perhaps you may want to try stopping on the shot slightly, and settle for the single to square-leg midwicket area and wait for balls bowled to your strength.

Let me now how you get on with those points, but im confident it will sort you out, as long as you practice it religiously in nets.
 
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