Power in the pull

[arjwiz]

Hey guys. I've been facing some difficulty getting some power in my pulls and hooks.

My leg side play is considerably weaker than my offside play. I'm a right hander. Short balls are usually dealt with a slight shifting of the weight to the backfoot and slight movement across. My front leg then raises in the air, bent at the knees as I swivel, pivoting on the toes of my backfoot. I play the ball when it is near my left shoulder. The ball strikes the top of the bat rather than the middle. All this results in me merely being able to guide the ball, usually fine. It rarely provides the the power needed to smash the ball square to the boundary.

What do you think could help me get more power?
- Playing the ball earlier?
- Keeping the front foot on the ground, standing on my toes?
- Holding the bat with a firmer grip?
- Taking a longer backfoot stride?

I might come up with some videos over the weekend, but any advice till then is appreciated!

 

[brsrikrishna]

Play a little early.

In your case, you are playing late.
This is the cause.
If you want to rectify it, then try and change your side on position of your body towards the bowler the moment you see the ball pitch short.
This will help in free movment of your bat.
Then, when the ball comes to you, keep it in your sight and try to hit it by getting yolur bat under the ball and the face of the bat must not be tilted too much, as this will lead to an edge, causing the ball to go fine..
Make sure you hit the ball with the middle of the bat.
And if you want, pull yourself in the direction where you are pulling the ball.
This might help in getting more power.

 

[arjwiz]

Thanks. I'm still wondering what to do with my front foot? Should it be raised in the air or steady on the toes?

Playing earlier is easier said that done. I realise that I tend to fall over slightly towards the off while playing off of my shoulder. Is this normal, and if not, how do you suggest it be corrected?

 

[Woodster]

Would be much easier to improve your stroke with the front foot on the ground. The likes of Brian Lara mastered the stroke with the front in the air but he still always had his weight going into the shot. It is a back foot shot but you are still coming into the ball with your weight. The other thing to help get more power is to play the shot with your arms extended out in front of you, if you're getting cramped in the shot and your arms are bent in close to your body it will affect the power into the shot. Try and get your arms extended when you make contact for additional power.

 

[Riggins]

In your case, you are playing late.

ignore this

Thanks. I'm still wondering what to do with my front foot? Should it be raised in the air or steady on the toes?

Would be much easier to improve your stroke with the front foot on the ground. The likes of Brian Lara mastered the stroke with the front in the air but he still always had his weight going into the shot. It is a back foot shot but you are still coming into the ball with your weight. The other thing to help get more power is to play the shot with your arms extended out in front of you, if you're getting cramped in the shot and your arms are bent in close to your body it will affect the power into the shot. Try and get your arms extended when you make contact for additional power.

This is good. You want to be hitting the shot with arms extended out in front. You basically cant hit it too early.


Without seeing what you're actually doing, I would assume that the reason you're not getting any power into the shot is because you're getting too far across, which means that to hit the ball you can really only help it along its way down to fine leg, basically just catching the ball as it passes you down the leg side. You're probably playing only the hook shot and not a pull shot as such.

People, particularly old people, get too caught up in the idea of getting back and across, and getting inside the ball, probably from the days when you had to get inside it, because there was no protection. It allows you to evade the ball more easily but you lose that ability to really dictate where you're hitting it, it just goes based on the line of the ball.

In terms of one vs two legs, as woodster said keep both feet on the ground. Lifting a foot just means that you're forced to balance on the one leg. Unless you've got ridiculous balance you'll end up falling as you play the shot, which means your eyes are moving and it's much more difficult to control. As for how to play the pull instead of the paddle hook thing you're probably playing, try to make less of a movement, and pick your line of attack better. If I'm playing the pull shot I'm looking for a ball on or just outside the off stump line, not at the body/down leg. I want to move my back foot slightly across (maybe 1 inch towards off) and back a bit but not a large movement (defintely <6 inches) and from there it's just a fast attack of the hands through the ball. My keeping your foot movements small and precise you should be more balanced and have more time to play the ball.

For practice. Get someone on their knees () underarming balls at your right shoulder, make your small movement and torch them. Learn to smash it first and then you can adjust and hit down on it if they drop blokes back on the fence.

Post a video though, would be easier to see if something is glaringly wrong.

 

[arjwiz]

Woodster and Riggins, thank you.

I think what you said, Woodster, makes sense. I never thought of that as a problem. Now that I think of it, my arms are never really fully extended, which means I am playing from my wrists. No wonder I can only play the paddle. I think you're right - arms extended will force the torque to come from the hip and shoulder.

During practice, I also noticed that my left leg being in the air meant that my body was falling over behind me while I swiveled almost 180 degrees (chest facing leg instead of off) like an ungraceful ballet dancer on the toes of the right foot. Not a pretty sight.

I was watching some videos to see how Rahul Dravid got power in his shot. He is not necessarily the most powerful athlete, but he does what you guys describe - arms extended, feet balanced, quick arm movement from the shoulder, bat faced downwards (though that was just his style of shot - it would probably be as effective if you wished to play in the air).

That said, I tried practising some hard shots last evening (without a ball), and noticed that my left wrist got sore pretty soon. I just wonder if it's not also a problem with the grip, which might be held a bit too loose and near the centre of the long-handle bat. Or it could be, like I mentioned earlier, that my wrist is doing too much work where it should be my shoulders and hip instead.

I can get some people on their knees for the practice, no problem That doesn't go in the video, though. I might make one on Sunday, we're supposed to have some decent weather down where I live.

 

[arjwiz]

Here's a video.

Four different shots. I think the 4th, which is on the front foot, looks the most balanced. But a front foot pull is difficult to execute.
In the second one, I fell over a bit. That doesn't normally happen, but it goes to show that the balance isn't 100% perfect with that kind of stroke.

 

[Riggins]

im gonna be super hungover and am planning on taking the day off on thursday. I'll try and write a big post then.

 

[Woodster]

The main thing I would say judging by these few shots is the issue with your balance. The ball ends up going behind square most of the time because you're almost falling backwards with the shot, there is no solid base from which to execute this shot and no power going into the ball because your weight is going backwards. Of course the final stroke where you play it from very much on the front foot will be difficult to execute especially against anyone with any pace and it all looks a bit rushed.

I think that would be the first thing I would focus on, getting the feet into a solid base and the right balance. It is a shot off the back foot but you do need weight transference going into the pull shot.

 

[brsrikrishna]

3rd and 4th are the most balanced, i feel.

Here's a video.

Four different shots. I think the 4th, which is on the front foot, looks the most balanced. But a front foot pull is difficult to execute.
In the second one, I fell over a bit. That doesn't normally happen, but it goes to show that the balance isn't 100% perfect with that kind of stroke.

Yes, the 1st and 2nd does not look too comfortable.
I would say that the 3rd one is the best to pick.
Tyhe 4th one, though it is difficult to execute is effective.
The 4th one can be used after you are set, whil batting or for the spinners when the ball comes slow.
But i would go for the third one.

 

[arjwiz]

Thanks guys. I think I willl try and practice with the aim to better balance the long backfoot stride.

 

[SLA]

That's a hook not a pull.

A pull is played to a ball between thigh and chest height and is generally played in front of square. Although the initial movement is (generally) back, the weight MUST go forward through the shot.

Watch some baseball. A baseball hitter crushing an inside pitch down the left field line is the exact same technique as a cricket batsman crushing a long hop over midwicket.

 

[Ace4]

Try meet the ball in front and not over the shoulder. Keep arms straight. Balance the body that weight is onto the shot. If required not to hit in air roll the wrists.

 

[The Coach]

Keep it simple - decent base and long levers [straight arms] will deliver power.