Need help correcting a technical flaw

[Barney Rubble]

When I bat, I've noticed that I have difficulty scoring runs off the front foot on the leg side. Anything that is full, and either on my legs or slightly outside, I find it very difficult to hit. I think it's to do with my front foot not getting over far enough to leg, but is there anything I can do to correct this? Perhaps a trigger movement of sorts, I'm not sure.

I also find it hard playing length balls on my legs - if the ball looks as if it's about to hit my thigh guard or that kind of area, I get all out of position and end up lobbing it up on the leg side, or playing a little bit inside-out and driving it in the air on the off. I need to firstly get my front foot moving outside leg, and secondly, either get used to pulling length balls more often or start getting back and into position early enough to get over the ball and play it down when it is directed into my body. Any tips, or drills I can do to improve my batting in these respects? Last time I asked for advice everyone was very helpful, so I thought I'd try again. Thanks in advance, guys and girls.

 

[steds]

I think it's to do with my front foot not getting over far enough to leg, but is there anything I can do to correct this? Perhaps a trigger movement of sorts, I'm not sure.

It can't be that.
I get my front foot across to outside off stump, but everything I play ends up on the leg side.

 

[Swervy]

When I bat, I've noticed that I have difficulty scoring runs off the front foot on the leg side. Anything that is full, and either on my legs or slightly outside, I find it very difficult to hit. I think it's to do with my front foot not getting over far enough to leg, but is there anything I can do to correct this? Perhaps a trigger movement of sorts, I'm not sure.

I also find it hard playing length balls on my legs - if the ball looks as if it's about to hit my thigh guard or that kind of area, I get all out of position and end up lobbing it up on the leg side, or playing a little bit inside-out and driving it in the air on the off. I need to firstly get my front foot moving outside leg, and secondly, either get used to pulling length balls more often or start getting back and into position early enough to get over the ball and play it down when it is directed into my body. Any tips, or drills I can do to improve my batting in these respects? Last time I asked for advice everyone was very helpful, so I thought I'd try again. Thanks in advance, guys and girls.

I have the same problem..anything on a length or fuller I cant hit.

I have just put it down to poor shot selection and trying to leather the ball

 

[Barney Rubble]

It can't be that.
I get my front foot across to outside off stump, but everything I play ends up on the leg side.

I just meant that when my feet are still in line with the stumps, I find myself playing around my legs to try and flick the ball away to fine leg, as opposed to opening myself up and driving through mid-on or mid-wicket.

If everything you play goes to leg, yet your foot's outside off, it's probably just a simple case of trying to get yourself playing straighter, rather than across the line.

 

[Neil Pickup]

Not particularly sure the best way to go about this, but I'll have a pop:

Sounds to me like your foot movement is resulting in your being in a "backing away to leg" position when you try to play the shot. That's either because your front foot's gone away to off or the back foot to leg, resulting in the line linking the two feet to be between mid-off and fine-leg. It's a common issue with kids, mainly in the back-foot area.

This leads to the bat path being angled in such a way that you have to close the face and/or reach around your front pad to play the ball, which isn't good (like you've said). What I'd suggest is a lot of throwdowns - at pace - or even with a bowling machine if you have access to one - aimed at your legs and body working on changing the positioning of your feet either through a trigger movement or a concious effort to move back/across or front/away.

I've been trying something along these lines (a big trigger movement) this summer and it's helping a little, but I really can't say how it would translate to someone else as I'm almost 100% talent-free.

 

[Langeveldt]

If you take middle and leg (which you should), the trigger movement should be a small movement across with the back then the front foot, to get you into line with a "good ball"

When you hit the full ball to leg, make sure your head is over the ball when you make contact.. If you are too early, or reaching for the ball, you will get a leading edge.. Make sure you roll the wrist and make every effort to get on top of the ball, same goes for pulling a short ball..

 

[Barney Rubble]

Neil - I've tried 20 or 30 throwdowns in the places I'm having difficulty, and I can pick up the short ball and get into position for the pull a bit quicker now, but there were no lasting improvements in my leg side play. I got my feet into position correctly and played the shot properly a few times, but it felt like I was doing the same thing every time, and it wasn't always working. I've already developed a trigger movement this season to help me get forward - maybe I'll just have to adapt that into a movement forward and to leg, rather than just forward. Cheers though.

Langeveldt - I do already take middle and leg, and my execution of the shot never seems to be too bad, but my coaches and senior players keep telling me that it's not so much my technique as my footwork that lets me down more often than not. Any suggestions as to how to get my feet moving quicker and more instinctively? Maybe I should ask Marcus Trescothick, I'm sure he's been taught a few........

 

[Neil Pickup]

20 or 30? I was thinking ten times that amount!

A short term exercise like that won't really affect your batting instinct/subconscious much at all - you need to do a damn sight more than that (muscle memory etc)

Have you got MSN messenger?

 

[Dasa]

I also find it hard playing length balls on my legs - if the ball looks as if it's about to hit my thigh guard or that kind of area, I get all out of position and end up lobbing it up on the leg side, or playing a little bit inside-out and driving it in the air on the off. I need to firstly get my front foot moving outside leg, and secondly, either get used to pulling length balls more often or start getting back and into position early enough to get over the ball and play it down when it is directed into my body. Any tips, or drills I can do to improve my batting in these respects? Last time I asked for advice everyone was very helpful, so I thought I'd try again. Thanks in advance, guys and girls.

I had a similar problem with that. With my problem, it was mainly due to my grip. I had a grip where the bat ended up facing up when playing such balls...helped this by changing my grip entirely (very difficult at first). I now use a method (used by Bradman and Tendulkar!) where I pick the bat up with my left hand (being a right handed batsman) and then bring the right hand over just touching the left. It gives much better control, I've found.

 

[cricket player]

I am not trying to be all that but foot movement is the one thing That I am good of batting,

 

[dinu23]

try to open up ur stance, like sanath. I always play the flick or the glance when the ball goes down leg.

 

[SJS]

When I bat, I've noticed that I have difficulty scoring runs off the front foot on the leg side. Anything that is full, and either on my legs or slightly outside, I find it very difficult to hit. I think it's to do with my front foot not getting over far enough to leg, but is there anything I can do to correct this? Perhaps a trigger movement of sorts, I'm not sure.

I also find it hard playing length balls on my legs - if the ball looks as if it's about to hit my thigh guard or that kind of area, I get all out of position and end up lobbing it up on the leg side, or playing a little bit inside-out and driving it in the air on the off. I need to firstly get my front foot moving outside leg, and secondly, either get used to pulling length balls more often or start getting back and into position early enough to get over the ball and play it down when it is directed into my body. Any tips, or drills I can do to improve my batting in these respects? Last time I asked for advice everyone was very helpful, so I thought I'd try again. Thanks in advance, guys and girls.

Before you try anything drastic.

1. What guard do you take ? If it is middle stump or leg and middle, go to leg stump. This is nopt a cure for your problem but it will immediately give you partial relief and increase the proportion of deliveries you can tackle INSPITE of your current problems.

2. Before you twist your shoulders around as advised (which is fine but neds to be done carefully), stand on your stumps in your normal stance and ask a frind to look at you from the bowlers end. I suspect your head is not turned straight towards the bowler. Even with the mpst orthodox side on stance, your head needs to be "twisted" in relation to your shoulders to face the bowler square on. Most youngsters make a mistake in this.

The coaches, lots of them, plaxce a lot of emphasis on the shoulders but not enough on the position of the head. With the result either the player does not look straight at the bowler (which means his total spectrrum of vision is restricted as far as the on/legside is concerned) or in trying to look at the bowler he turns his shoulders ALONGWITH his head. Making him far too square on.

3. The third thing, which is connected to the second is that while you turn your head, (twist it if you please) to face the bowler while keeping your torso sideways, it is possible that your head will "tilt" towards your right shoulder. I dont know if you have been to a studio to have a photograph taken. If yes, you may have experienced the photographer coming to you and straightening the "tilt" in your head. THIS IS DIFERENT FROM THE TWIST which is in a different plane.

It is normal for most of us to tilt our head to one side or the other. I suppose it is the weight of the head that makes us do it and then it becomes a habit. But while batting, the moment you try to twist your neck to look at the bowler without turning your torso, the head will at times tilt towards the right(for a right hander) to compensate, as it were, the strain of the twisting. Correct this. This also reduces your area of vision.

Let me know on these before we proceed.

 

[deeps]

the on drive is one of the most difficult shots to play... takes alot of practice

oh, and SJS knows what he's talking about

 

[Dasa]

the on drive is one of the most difficult shots to play... takes alot of practice

oh, and SJS knows what he's talking about

Reminds me of Jim Maxwell's commentary on Cricket 2004... "The on drive is one of the hardest shots to play, and he is one of the great exponents of it".
On drives are my best shots, honed through years of playing in the backyard where the only easy runs came through on drives.

 

[Isolator]

I'm not qualified to say anything about this, but wouldn't opening one's stance up a little help this? Or having an initial back-and-across movement that opens you up a bit when you play the ball?

 

[SJS]

Reminds me of Jim Maxwell's commentary on Cricket 2004... "The on drive is one of the hardest shots to play, and he is one of the great exponents of it".
On drives are my best shots, honed through years of playing in the backyard where the only easy runs came through on drives.

Its true that the ondrive is the most difficult shot to play. Actually the correct statement would be On drive is the most difficult shot to play correctly. Many people play the ondrive and its common to find, in the sub continent, youngsters with very strongly on-side-favouring batting styles but a large number of them have major flaws in their onside play and use the flick and show much less than the full face of the bat and very little follow through when driving on the onside.

When we talk of onside driving being difficult , we refer to the kind of onside driving that you see from Dravid for example.

But I think Barney isnt at that stage. He has a basic problem with deliveries on his "blind" side. This has to do with his "sighting of the ball.

An open stance does help but it should come after you have corrected some basic flaws , in case they exist.

The open stance should be used in the next stage, if required, to further improve the onside play.

 

[Dasa]

Its true that the ondrive is the most difficult shot to play. Actually the correct statement would be On drive is the most difficult shot to play correctly. Many people play the ondrive and its common to find, in the sub continent, youngsters with very strongly on-side-favouring batting styles but a large number of them have major flaws in their onside play and use the flick and show much less than the full face of the bat and very little follow through when driving on the onside.

When we talk of onside driving being difficult , we refer to the kind of onside driving that you see from Dravid for example.

Ah yes, I used to 'flick' more before, but I remember you mentioning what you've said above somewhere before and worked on my on drive a great deal after that. I try to play an on drive much as I would an off drive (obviously not exactly the same), with the full face of the bat.

 

[Deja moo]

Ah...threads like this make the forum quality reading .

 

[SJS]

Ah yes, I used to 'flick' more before, but I remember you mentioning what you've said above somewhere before and worked on my on drive a great deal after that. I try to play an on drive much as I would an off drive (obviously not exactly the same), with the full face of the bat.

I am so glad to hear that Dasa.

By the way, just for sound bites , the basic difference in playing the on drive as against the off side drives is that you dont lean into the stroke that much. You dont HAVE to ! Since you dont have to REACH for the ball. It is coming onto you. With the result the on drive is a , relatively, standing erect stroke (relatively mind you) and as long as the ball is on the stumps. Once it starts going outside the leg stump, you need to reach for it again.

So, the body has a higher centre of gravity. This makes it better for stability to walk into the shot. Thus for an on drive, unless its pitched right upto you, you will need to walk and will drag your right toe out of the crease. This is fine and should not be considered something to be avoided. If you try to play an on drive but , at the same time want to ALWAYS, keep your right toe anchored, you will restrict your follow through and wont get your timing right PLUS you will find it more difficult to keep the ball on the ground.

 

[SJS]

There is also a tendency in most batsmen, not to get closer to the pitch when driving a ball pitched in line with there pads. Thus only further pitched up balls get driven properly and many near half-volleys are played as if they were good length deliveries. Alternatively, they are driven away from the body and the straiggt bat is compromised.

This again can be overcome by walking into the stroke as you get closer to the pitch of the ball. You willl find that many balls that you were earlier blocking or, at best, turning square for a single, can now be driven with power.