Off side shots

[slowfinger]

This sometimes really annoys me, I am a dominant legside player and i score nearly 3/4 of my runs legside.
I have tried to do what Katich does, moves across the stump, but not going to the off side, to the legside. This makes me try and play more offside, but i can never time and middle a shot normally and I really struggle around-the-wicket facing that aswell...

Any Tips? I want to be able to score frequently on both sides of the wicket.

 

[slowfinger]

Please help please?

 

[Neil Pickup]

Don't back away as it exposes your stumps. Throwdowns are the key here - top hand only will help groove the body position.

 

[slowfinger]

Don't back away as it exposes your stumps. Throwdowns are the key here - top hand only will help groove the body position.

Yea thanks, I've tried taking leg and walking into middle, and I think its helping me step into my shot better, I can still play all my legside shots, too

 

[Faisal1985]

Seems like you have the basics wrong. shuffleing across the stumps is only advised when you are a master player and have the ability to keep your head steady and have a great ability of reading the bowlers mind. Now, having said that, stick to the basics, try and get to the pitch of the ball, use your feet and practice off side driving in the nets. when a bowler is coming around the wicket, you don't get enough room to play the shots, so try and play as straight as possible and as much as in the "V" as possible.

 

[knights12]

I will try to answer your

question more specifically than the others. I am 99% sure that the main problem is the lack of use of the front shoulder and elbow. If you do not dip and point your shoulder to the off side then follow it with your elbow, your hands and bat cannot go to the offside (with good timing anyway). Chances are that you swing more like a golf swing so the face of your bat faces the leg side on contact and therefore the ball will go in that direction (if you get the timing right, if not you may miss the ball or get a leading edge). You probably should start with hitting off a tee or doing drop drives and work on dipping your shoulder prior to your downswing (this will increase power) and follow with your elbow (high) pushing through the line of the ball and towards the direction you wish to hit. This should be followed by the hands and bat finishing in front of your eyes (I find check drives easier when grooving this shot, as opposed to a full swing over the shoulder). This allows you to easily check if you have followed through straight rather than out to the left (for a RH batsman). Another thing you should check is that the face of your bat finishes pretty much parallel with the roof/sky rather than being angled to the leg side (you may need to change your grip which will fell uncomfortable or weird to start with but works and gives you a cleaner strike on the ball). After mastering drop drives move onto underarm then overarm throwdowns then bowling machine (if you have access) and then facing bowlers. It will take you several months probably until you can use it with some regularity against bowlers. 10,000 repetitions to master a new skill!

 

[jathu]

I kinda agree on what the above guy said...try and lead with you left shoulder...batting is a side-on thing...make sure your other shoulder only follows your front shoulder and does not lead...

 

[Neil Pickup]

question more specifically than the others. I am 99% sure that the main problem is the lack of use of the front shoulder and elbow. If you do not dip and point your shoulder to the off side then follow it with your elbow, your hands and bat cannot go to the offside (with good timing anyway). Chances are that you swing more like a golf swing so the face of your bat faces the leg side on contact and therefore the ball will go in that direction (if you get the timing right, if not you may miss the ball or get a leading edge). You probably should start with hitting off a tee or doing drop drives and work on dipping your shoulder prior to your downswing (this will increase power) and follow with your elbow (high) pushing through the line of the ball and towards the direction you wish to hit. This should be followed by the hands and bat finishing in front of your eyes (I find check drives easier when grooving this shot, as opposed to a full swing over the shoulder). This allows you to easily check if you have followed through straight rather than out to the left (for a RH batsman). Another thing you should check is that the face of your bat finishes pretty much parallel with the roof/sky rather than being angled to the leg side (you may need to change your grip which will fell uncomfortable or weird to start with but works and gives you a cleaner strike on the ball). After mastering drop drives move onto underarm then overarm throwdowns then bowling machine (if you have access) and then facing bowlers. It will take you several months probably until you can use it with some regularity against bowlers. 10,000 repetitions to master a new skill!

Yeah, this is good stuff. Ensure your grip is comfortable on the finish position so your hands aren't fighting one another.

 

[kevinpietersen]

When a ball goes down legside just give it a nice little sweep to the boundary.

 

[mat]

when a ball goes down legside just give it a nice little sweep to the boundary.

 

[knights12]

Mat

Agreed!

 

[slowfinger]

Thanks all, have just adopted a stand and deliver approach on my middle stump and tbh, works wonders, scored frequent 30's including a 76 and a 47.


But now I have a problem which is putting the ball away on the leg-side, my tendency to overbalance on the off-side making me plant my front foot on the offside.

I think you get it. I think I'm trying to step before the ball is bowled but I don't really no why... Any tips?

 

[Kylez]

Thanks all, have just adopted a stand and deliver approach on my middle stump and tbh, works wonders, scored frequent 30's including a 76 and a 47.


But now I have a problem which is putting the ball away on the leg-side, my tendency to overbalance on the off-side making me plant my front foot on the offside.

I think you get it. I think I'm trying to step before the ball is bowled but I don't really no why... Any tips?[/QUOTE]



Yeah, I use to have a similar problem because I kept puting my front foot down around the off stump area before the ball was being bowled, I always sucked more at off side shots though . This led to problems because you need your front foot to be planted on where the ball is. I was getting dismised by LBW frequently because my front foot was already planted and I was playing around my front pad to the straight deliveries. This was also a problem when the ball was wide of off stump because my foot was already planted so I couldn't move towards where the ball was pitched and this lead to me just swinging my arms at the ball, instead of getting close to the ball and playing a nice drive.

I often felt when I played a shot when I had this foot planting problem, that after the shot was played I would lose my balance and fall over to the offside and I would need to stamp my bat on the ground to keep myself from falling over. I would either do this or I would completely lose my stance after playing the shot and would take a couple of steps forward because of overbalance ( kind of hard to explain )

The first step I had to do to fix this was throwdowns. I would receive lots of throwdowns in the nets and my coach would either throw them straight, slightly to leg or on the off side. I would have to move my front foot to where the ball is pitched and play a drive or a front foot defense ( after the ball was bowled of course ). When your doing this exercise, make sure when coming forward that your toes are pointing towards where you want the ball to go because that helps too ( They should be relatively straight ). Also, make sure you play as straight as possible when doing this and that you come well forward, when I was going through that rough patch, I wasn't coming fully forward with intent, I was only coming half forward.

I have a few more tips for this but I think that is enough for the one post. Tell me if this advice helps, if it does then loads of scoring opportunities should open for you.

 

[slowfinger]

Thanks all, have just adopted a stand and deliver approach on my middle stump and tbh, works wonders, scored frequent 30's including a 76 and a 47.


But now I have a problem which is putting the ball away on the leg-side, my tendency to overbalance on the off-side making me plant my front foot on the offside.

I think you get it. I think I'm trying to step before the ball is bowled but I don't really no why... Any tips?[/QUOTE]


Thanks, I will try in the soon, problem is it's the end of the season (bummer) and the nets are gonna close soon so I'l need alot of practise. I know what you're saying, try as much as possible to move after the delivery is bowled and with a bigger stride... I'm working hard on it at the moment and it is working for the majority, but my bat isn't coming down fast enough for pacers and I keep getting beaten for pace for some reason. And if it is sliding down my legs I STILL keep on missing the ball which is really annoying me now so I'm thinking if I keep my head a tad forward that I might be able to balance over my legs for working on-side ONLY!

And one more thing (sorry)- When I play alot of my off side shots through the cover-mid off region I tend to lean back a bit makng them zip through point and sometimes when it does go through cover it normally goes areal, making me a bit over cautious towards balls pitching top of off ish- drastically slowering my scoring rate at times. I try to plant my foot like a big stride but then I keep missing it.


Yeah, I use to have a similar problem because I kept puting my front foot down around the off stump area before the ball was being bowled, I always sucked more at off side shots though . This led to problems because you need your front foot to be planted on where the ball is. I was getting dismised by LBW frequently because my front foot was already planted and I was playing around my front pad to the straight deliveries. This was also a problem when the ball was wide of off stump because my foot was already planted so I couldn't move towards where the ball was pitched and this lead to me just swinging my arms at the ball, instead of getting close to the ball and playing a nice drive.

I often felt when I played a shot when I had this foot planting problem, that after the shot was played I would lose my balance and fall over to the offside and I would need to stamp my bat on the ground to keep myself from falling over. I would either do this or I would completely lose my stance after playing the shot and would take a couple of steps forward because of overbalance ( kind of hard to explain )

The first step I had to do to fix this was throwdowns. I would receive lots of throwdowns in the nets and my coach would either throw them straight, slightly to leg or on the off side. I would have to move my front foot to where the ball is pitched and play a drive or a front foot defense ( after the ball was bowled of course ). When your doing this exercise, make sure when coming forward that your toes are pointing towards where you want the ball to go because that helps too ( They should be relatively straight ). Also, make sure you play as straight as possible when doing this and that you come well forward, when I was going through that rough patch, I wasn't coming fully forward with intent, I was only coming half forward.

I have a few more tips for this but I think that is enough for the one post. Tell me if this advice helps, if it does then loads of scoring opportunities should open for you.

 

[slowfinger]

Thanks, I will try in the soon, problem is it's the end of the season (bummer) and the nets are gonna close soon so I'l need alot of practise. I know what you're saying, try as much as possible to move after the delivery is bowled and with a bigger stride... I'm working hard on it at the moment and it is working for the majority, but my bat isn't coming down fast enough for pacers and I keep getting beaten for pace for some reason. And if it is sliding down my legs I STILL keep on missing the ball which is really annoying me now so I'm thinking if I keep my head a tad forward that I might be able to balance over my legs for working on-side ONLY!

And one more thing (sorry)- When I play alot of my off side shots through the cover-mid off region I tend to lean back a bit makng them zip through point and sometimes when it does go through cover it normally goes areal, making me a bit over cautious towards balls pitching top of off ish- drastically slowering my scoring rate at times. I try to plant my foot like a big stride but then I keep missing it.


Yeah, I use to have a similar problem because I kept puting my front foot down around the off stump area before the ball was being bowled, I always sucked more at off side shots though . This led to problems because you need your front foot to be planted on where the ball is. I was getting dismised by LBW frequently because my front foot was already planted and I was playing around my front pad to the straight deliveries. This was also a problem when the ball was wide of off stump because my foot was already planted so I couldn't move towards where the ball was pitched and this lead to me just swinging my arms at the ball, instead of getting close to the ball and playing a nice drive.

I often felt when I played a shot when I had this foot planting problem, that after the shot was played I would lose my balance and fall over to the offside and I would need to stamp my bat on the ground to keep myself from falling over. I would either do this or I would completely lose my stance after playing the shot and would take a couple of steps forward because of overbalance ( kind of hard to explain )

The first step I had to do to fix this was throwdowns. I would receive lots of throwdowns in the nets and my coach would either throw them straight, slightly to leg or on the off side. I would have to move my front foot to where the ball is pitched and play a drive or a front foot defense ( after the ball was bowled of course ). When your doing this exercise, make sure when coming forward that your toes are pointing towards where you want the ball to go because that helps too ( They should be relatively straight ). Also, make sure you play as straight as possible when doing this and that you come well forward, when I was going through that rough patch, I wasn't coming fully forward with intent, I was only coming half forward.

I have a few more tips for this but I think that is enough for the one post. Tell me if this advice helps, if it does then loads of scoring opportunities should open for you. [/QUOTE]

 

[slowfinger]

Thanks, I will try in the soon, problem is it's the end of the season (bummer) and the nets are gonna close soon so I'l need alot of practise. I know what you're saying, try as much as possible to move after the delivery is bowled and with a bigger stride... I'm working hard on it at the moment and it is working for the majority, but my bat isn't coming down fast enough for pacers and I keep getting beaten for pace for some reason. And if it is sliding down my legs I STILL keep on missing the ball which is really annoying me now so I'm thinking if I keep my head a tad forward that I might be able to balance over my legs for working on-side ONLY!

And one more thing (sorry)- When I play alot of my off side shots through the cover-mid off region I tend to lean back a bit makng them zip through point and sometimes when it does go through cover it normally goes areal, making me a bit over cautious towards balls pitching top of off ish- drastically slowering my scoring rate at times. I try to plant my foot like a big stride but then I keep missing it.

EDIT:SORRY FOR THE MULTIPOSTS

 

[Kylez]

Thanks, I will try in the soon, problem is it's the end of the season (bummer) and the nets are gonna close soon so I'l need alot of practise. I know what you're saying, try as much as possible to move after the delivery is bowled and with a bigger stride... I'm working hard on it at the moment and it is working for the majority, but my bat isn't coming down fast enough for pacers and I keep getting beaten for pace for some reason. And if it is sliding down my legs I STILL keep on missing the ball which is really annoying me now so I'm thinking if I keep my head a tad forward that I might be able to balance over my legs for working on-side ONLY!

And one more thing (sorry)- When I play alot of my off side shots through the cover-mid off region I tend to lean back a bit makng them zip through point and sometimes when it does go through cover it normally goes areal, making me a bit over cautious towards balls pitching top of off ish- drastically slowering my scoring rate at times. I try to plant my foot like a big stride but then I keep missing it.

EDIT:SORRY FOR THE MULTIPOSTS

For your first problem you mentioned in your post, When facing the fast bowlers I have a few tips: Make sure you are coming forward every ball or atleast expecting the full ball. Make sure your whole body is coming forward ( head, body, ect ). Another few things I forgot to mention is have an attacking mindset, you'll be suprised how many more deliveries you hit, also if the bowlers are pretty quick, just time the ball when driving and don't try and play a full blooded aggressive drive. More and more practice will do you good especially against fast bowling.

- For the balancing on the legside problem, I think I know the problem. It's because you are planting your front foot every ball around the off stump and therefore you are moving away from the legside. So it's harder to hit those deliveries on your pads when you are moving towards the off stump. If your foot movement was correct though, you would be staying straight when these legside deliveries come and you would be able to hit the ball a lot more. I had the excact same problem.

- For your last problem. Always make sure when you are driving the ball that you are hitting as straight as possible. Secondly, when you are driving the ball, make sure your using your top hand as much as you can and also having a high left elbow ( assuming you are right handed ) is always a good sign. Try and get your foot as close as you can towards the ball when driving through the off side because sometimes that can be the problem. Sometimes there can be a backlift problem that can cause problems with driving but I don't think this occurs to you, so don't worry .