Custom Bats Cricket Forum
General Cricket => Cricket Training, Fitness and Injuries => Topic started by: Mr Cricket on April 11, 2011, 05:15:39 PM
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what are your tips to score runs quickly (around a run a ball or in excess) without risking giving your wicket away too easily, it is a key balance that can be the key to any players game... but how do you find it? is it a question of pure talent to find gaps? or can it be learned through advice and practice?
your views please...
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ask shane Watson
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Watch sachin as last year he was one if the leading run scorers in the ipl and hit 1x6
Just play naturally but positive
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Have confidence in playing your shots in the middle.
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personally, i like a bit of width outside off or drifting on to my pads, or anything short, but when i get a line and lengh bowler hitting the top of off every time, keeper up to the stumps, i can get bogged down, thats my trouble
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placement and run hard.
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I play more scoring shots more often. I.e proper cricket shots to every ball. You'll get the odd good ball which can be worked for one.
Also you don't have to hit boundaries to score quickly, you can go about your business quietly yet be at 30 in what seems like no time at all. Unlike Shane Watson who is 0 or 4/5, finding singles or twos will also help you score quickly
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If you're not a 6 hitter, then don't try and hit 6's. Just place the ball and run. Ten well placed shots for 4 , is better than hitting 1 six then getting caught going for another one. But you really want to play each ball on its merits, don't try and smash it if its not there to smash. If it is, then go at it 100% and don't change your mind mid shot, otherwise you will get out
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It depends on the situation, most people find it harder to score quickly when the field is spread. If this is the case score your boundaries in your areas, if its not in your area look for the gaps run hard and put pressure on your boundary riders, causing fumbles or misfields, this also drags fielders on the boundary in slightly to cut off the twos thus making hitting boundaries easier to come by. A nightmare for a captain if your hitting boundaries but running twos at his men on the rope.
If your not a big hitter naturally i wouldn't suggest cutting that aspect from your game, it is something you can develop. Practice hitting the ball over the top but in a controlled fashion, straight is the best place to start then open up your 'V' gradually from there so your then able to hit over extra cover or mid wicket.
And for all the guys of slighter build it does not mean you can't hit over the top! With technique you can hit the ball plenty far enough! Last year I was the biggest hitter in the club and hit quite a few maximums despite being far from a big unit im sure Richie will confirm that i am by no means a gym animal! (However am getting there since coming to uni!)
- Practice hitting over the top or in unusual areas to move the field
- Pick up singles from good balls
- Run hard and create panic or pressure in the field
Any questions or anything give me a shout
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If you're not a 6 hitter, then don't try and hit 6's. Just place the ball and run. Ten well placed shots for 4 , is better than hitting 1 six then getting caught going for another one. But you really want to play each ball on its merits, don't try and smash it if its not there to smash. If it is, then go at it 100% and don't change your mind mid shot, otherwise you will get out
I like that advice - I'm a tail-end biffer but I don't have the technique to hit sixes - and I've stopped trying.
If I really concentrate and stay in, I can hit a lot of fours and really push the scorecard along - also, it pushes the field back and then gives you more options.
I've scored 3 x 40's from no10 and they have each been off minimal balls.
There is nothing wrong with scoring 4's or 1's.
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Wait for the ball to come to you, play it late and you'll be able to hit behind square on both sides far easier. Then get your running shoes on.
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if the field is in hit over the top. if u get another power even a miss hit should be safe. if the field is out hit on the floor and push the singles simple
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Look to score a single off every ball. Drop and run, hitting gaps etc. It's amazing how many of those turn into twos, and you'll automatically hit a bad ball for four. A typical over may go like 1, 1, 0 (good ball/fielding etc.), 2 (in the gap, hit well, able to come back for second), 1, 4 (bad ball). 9 off 6 balls, all when trying only to hit singles.
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Look to score a single off every ball. Drop and run, hitting gaps etc. It's amazing how many of those turn into twos, and you'll automatically hit a bad ball for four. A typical over may go like 1, 1, 0 (good ball/fielding etc.), 2 (in the gap, hit well, able to come back for second), 1, 4 (bad ball). 9 off 6 balls, all when trying only to hit singles.
marvellous.
Also remember there will also always be at least one "big over" - 12 or more in a chase, when the pressure gets too much for a tired bowler and you can take him apart.
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oh and this from Aakash is worth a read...
The science of the big hitThere's a lot more to hitting a long ball than clearing your front foot out of the way and having a swipe
Aakash Chopra
http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/456798.html
Make room and clear the infield © Associated Press
All batsmen hit the ball to score runs but some build their games around hitting big and hard. Robin Uthappa belongs to that category, while Jacques Kallis looks to find a balance between aggression and defence. I am not a big hitter, so I watch in awe when someone like Uthappa or Yusuf Pathan goes berserk.
But there is more to hitting the ball hard and far than just whacking a white round object thrown your way. There are different ways to hit the ball and this is my attempt at break down the method behind the madness. (Though it would have been better if I had cracked it while I played for India.)
Momentum
To play fast bowlers behind the wicket, you can use the pace of the ball to good effect. But if you want to hit them down the ground it's almost like playing against spinners: you'll need to generate some pace of your own. In other words, momentum, which can be achieved in different ways.
The back-lift: The higher the back-lift, the harder the impact of bat on ball. That's why we see players like Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag hitting further than the rest without really trying to knock the leather off the ball. To get the bat to come down at the right time, they need to either initiate the downswing early or increase the bat speed; but those are small adjustments to gain the extra yards. Many Australian batsmen, like Ricky Ponting, cock their wrists at the highest point of the back-lift to get the bat higher, and then unwind at the point of impact. That increases the back-lift and the bat speed.
Use your feet: Most batsmen prefer this to adjusting their back-lifts. The objective here is to throw the weight of the body behind the shot at the point of impact. It's common to step out of the crease against the spinners - Sourav Ganguly does it really well, especially against left-arm spinners - but these days many batsmen successfully do it against fast bowlers as well.
Timing
Players like Sachin Tendulkar are blessed with this gift. They don't need high back-lifts to send the ball speeding down the ground or careening through the air. The trick is to meet the ball at the right point of the downswing and then transfer the weight from one foot to another at the point of impact. It's as complicated as it sounds and that's why a lot of good batsmen spend their careers searching for this elusive skill. And it's why less-accomplished batsmen, despite high back-lifts and powerful arms, rarely manage to clear the fence.
Maintaining shape
Hitting a long ball on a regular basis is as technical as playing a cover drive. While the back-lift and downswing are important, the shape a batsman maintains during and after the shot is equally important. Uthappa is a good example: he keeps his head still and maintains a stable base and good shape, during and after the shot. No wonder he's one of the biggest hitters of the ball. The follow-through, a by-product of a good downswing, is just as important. The arms should follow the line of the shot and not fall away.
Hitting a long ball on a regular basis is as technical as playing a cover drive. While the back-lift and downswing are important, the shape a batsman maintains during and after the shot is equally important. Uthappa is a good example: he keeps his head still and maintains a stable base and good shape
Free your arms
You must have room to swing your arms freely. Bowlers will try to eliminate this space by pitching it straight, and batsmen respond by clearing the front leg to create the necessary room - Suresh Raina does it to hit the ball in the midwicket area - or by going deep inside the crease to get under balls that are pitched up. MS Dhoni is really good at getting under the ball and that's why he manages to hit yorkers with ease.
If you want to hit in the air, there are some more things to keep in mind.
When you step out, you mustn't get close and over the ball but stay slightly away to get under it.
While playing a grounded shot, the impact with the ball occurs during the downswing, with the face of the bat tilted slightly towards the ground. When you play a lofted shot, you hit the ball when the bat is facing upwards. In theory the lofted shot is an extension of the one played on the ground, but there's more to it; only a few players, like Matthew Hayden, can hit the quicker bowlers down the ground by simply extending and elevating the straight drive.
That's one difference between Hayden and Uthappa. While Hayden hits them with a straight bat, Uthappa hits with a horizontal bat. The straight bat is a safer option because there's more room for error if you misread the bounce. By choosing horizontal strokes Uthappa risks missing or edging the ball if it bounces more or less than he anticipated.
We have come a long way from the time when hitting sixes was a synonym for slogging. Hitting sixes on a regular basis is an art only a few have mastered. And those few are worth their weight in gold, especially in the Twenty20 format.