Batting Basics
Successful players make batting look simple because they get the basics right. Of course, good technique doesn’t just happen.
All respected coachesdemonstrate skills with the message “practice that 100 times a day and you’ll soon get the hang of it!”. Practice does make perfect.
This isn’t intended to be a coaching manual. But some coaching points arise so often at junior practice that it’s worth repeating a few of them here. You could treat these as background if you’re using coaching books or videos.
Remember, cricket is generally a “sideways game” – the “side on” position figures highly in most cricketing skills.
Most batting errors result from “bad set up” – in grip, stance and backswing. Get this right and success will follow. Encourage practice in front of a mirror (without breaking it, as I once did). Or use a video camera, as freeze-frame can be a great coaching tool.
The hands should be close together in the centre of the handle. The “V” between the thumb and forefinger of each hand should be in line, between the outside edge and splice.
To find this position, try resting the handle on the inside of the leading thigh, with the blade forward, and place both hands on the handle naturally – they should then be close to the correct grip.
The feet should be around one foot length apart, parallel to and each side of the popping crease. The weight should be balanced equally on the balls of each foot. Bend the knees slightly to avoid overbalancing to the off side.
The eyes must be level, facing the bowler – open the front shoulder slightly to make this easier.
The backswing must be controlled by the top hand on the handle, and be directly over the wickets. Roll the front shoulder slightly downwards as the blade is raised. Rest the bottom hand lightly on the handle – try holding a squash ball against the handle to lift the bottom hand off it, and remember how this feels.
Batsmen can only defend their wickets if the know where they are. Yes, obvious – but how to achieve this? Ask your junior player to adjust his stance along the crease until his head is in line with middle stump, then mark the ground so he remembers this position.
The head should move into the line of the ball as soon as possible, and watch the ball “onto the bat”. Amazingly, few junior players can do this intuitively without extensive practice.
Getting the Best Trigger Movement
Many cricket coaches will tell you that most batting problems stem from a poor set-up, or stance. But after this, its important to make the right trigger movement. This means making an initial movement or series of movements so that they move from their original stance to a “ready” position as the bowler releases the ball. This is known as a “pre-delivery” or “trigger” movement.
There are advantages and disadvantages to this. The advantages include “unweighting” the feet to allow rapid movement, creation of rhythm, and helping with weight transfer into strokes. Disadvantages include causing head movement, poor balance and bias to particular strokes. Generally, good trigger movements are consistent, rhythmical, keep head and eyes stable and level, make for balanced easy movement forward or back, and help with successful stroke execution.
As golfers always have to work on their swing, so batsmen need to work on their set-up and triggers. Ever wondered how top batsmen play 130 km/h bowling, that gives them about one third of a second to play a stroke? Next time you watch Ricky Ponting, see how his front foot trigger movement gets his feet moving even before the ball is released.
Watch how the experts do the basics. Michael Hussey, Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting are classic stylists, and great models for junior players to copy. But, they didn’t become this good overnight – even the stars need to keep practising!