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General Cricket => Cricket Training, Fitness and Injuries => Topic started by: uknsaunders on January 10, 2016, 10:40:19 PM
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Here's a net video of me trying to iron out some technical issues. Mainly my backlift and trying to get the bat coming down straight with balls around middle stump. Tried a few things and putting the bat between the legs in the stance seemed to help towards the end - possibly bringing my hands forward and shortening the backswing. Also some over balancing to the straighter balls but it would be interesting to hear what others think. First nets so plenty of bad habits to remove!
http://youtu.be/zAr8Y1teQNo (http://youtu.be/zAr8Y1teQNo)
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Looks good Nick, some lovely shots :-)
It may just be my eyes but your backlift appears to be fine when in your stance, (which looks well balanced and eyes level), but when it gets to the top of the backswing the bat almost points to gully = you'll be playing a lot of shots in to out. Do you snick off a lot/play and miss/play down the wrong line to balls on the stumps or outside off?
James
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As for balance playing those fine leg glances to the straighter ball, i find dragging my front foot back and almost playing with both feet together gives me that extra time to keep my head still. Saying this you do it a few times (to the less extreme of both feet together) but your balance looks good. Your technique also looks fairly good, i would try and concentrate more so on length and shot decision (front foot or back) as a few shots came of the top of the bat rather than the middle. I do appreciate that this is early nettong season so this would change. I am a stong beleiver in what works for you works so stick with it. If you had a major problem then it obviously would need correcting but you look very handy to me (coming from a bowler, who hates all decent batsman) what sort of level do you play?
(someone might have noticed more than what have, but 2 heads are better than 1 right?)
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Looks good Nick, some lovely shots :-)
It may just be my eyes but your backlift appears to be fine when in your stance, (which looks well balanced and eyes level), but when it gets to the top of the backswing the bat almost points to gully = you'll be playing a lot of shots in to out. Do you snick off a lot/play and miss/play down the wrong line to balls on the stumps or outside off?
James
Not as often as you might think! It's more a wrist cock than a backswing but it does slide out towards gully and around as it comes down. Seems to come down straighter on off stump balls but a bit in to out on middle, or I go across it completely (like I did early on).
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As for balance playing those fine leg glances to the straighter ball, i find dragging my front foot back and almost playing with both feet together gives me that extra time to keep my head still. Saying this you do it a few times (to the less extreme of both feet together) but your balance looks good. Your technique also looks fairly good, i would try and concentrate more so on length and shot decision (front foot or back) as a few shots came of the top of the bat rather than the middle. I do appreciate that this is early nettong season so this would change. I am a stong beleiver in what works for you works so stick with it. If you had a major problem then it obviously would need correcting but you look very handy to me (coming from a bowler, who hates all decent batsman) what sort of level do you play?
(someone might have noticed more than what have, but 2 heads are better than 1 right?)
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Thanks for the input. I play decent village league standard. Use to play a slightly higher level for Marlow in the TVL but that was a long time ago.
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Form is temporary. Nick! The one you mossed early on like you said RE James' reply. That will be due to either squaring up and you bottom hand coming through more. Your right should will come forward where you need to keep the side on position and keep that front elvow high. I was told this whilst at lords once. Not nicked off since (touch wood)! The way i practiced this was to play about 30 balls on middle/middle and off with just my left hand, and playing straight. Then when i felt comfortable i just held my bottom hand on it for morale support
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Form is temporary. Nick! The one you mossed early on like you said RE James' reply. That will be due to either squaring up and you bottom hand coming through more. Your right should will come forward where you need to keep the side on position and keep that front elvow high. I was told this whilst at lords once. Not nicked off since (touch wood)! The way i practiced this was to play about 30 balls on middle/middle and off with just my left hand, and playing straight. Then when i felt comfortable i just held my bottom hand on it for morale support
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Pretty much my focus pre-season will be playing straight through the line, so I won't have time for people firing it up my nose or down leg as normally happens at nets. I brought a paceman bowling machine for this reason and I'm hoping to make good use of it before we start our league season.
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Keep that front elbow high is always my aim, dont rush your self in your first 18 balls.
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@uknsaunders just a few thoughts
Good on ya for putting up a video
I'm jealous you're in the nets already
There is a lot to like
What follows is food for right, not criticism and entirely subjective based on one type of bowling for 9 mins only, and one viewing only.
1. In the set up and the back swing your hands do seem to drift away from your body which would create that out-to-in-to-out downward swing; I would look to bowl 5th/ outside off-stump line. I reckon you love in swing and straighter balls, and less so away swing.
You do look stronger on the legs (especially as timing improved as the session went on); tho' there were good cover drives, almost square drives.
2. Timing improves but there is a hint of foot planting. (I couldn't hear any sound on this clip but I'm guessing it was a bowling machine given the bola balls and the fairly consistent length). If you watch it you can see yourself the consequences of planting (loss of power and direction, etc). This could just be because of netting with a bowling machine.
3. Is it the camera angle or do you have an open stance? I think this helps your leg side shots, but that in conjunction with drifting hands and foot planting leaves you reaching for the off drives. That said there are a couple of really cracking looking drives through covers.
4. You mention over balancing, and a few times you are squared up after driving balls pitched on middle , middle-and-off, and on the off side; and a few times those same pitched balls end up going to the leg side too, even when playing a cover drive. Again I think this is a consequence those things already mentioned above, but also playing sometimes in front of a braced left knee and strong bottom hand coming through which tucks your elbow in at or just before impact.
Your best shots are those where you are waiting longer, when you are decisively forward or back and when your leading shoulder points in the direction you're intending on hitting.
I hope this is of interest.
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@uknsaunders just a few thoughts
Good on ya for putting up a video
I'm jealous you're in the nets already
There is a lot to like
What follows is food for right, not criticism and entirely subjective based on one type of bowling for 9 mins only, and one viewing only.
1. In the set up and the back swing your hands do seem to drift away from your body which would create that out-to-in-to-out downward swing; I would look to bowl 5th/ outside off-stump line. I reckon you love in swing and straighter balls, and less so away swing.
You do look stronger on the legs (especially as timing improved as the session went on); tho' there were good cover drives, almost square drives.
2. Timing improves but there is a hint of foot planting. (I couldn't hear any sound on this clip but I'm guessing it was a bowling machine given the bola balls and the fairly consistent length). If you watch it you can see yourself the consequences of planting (loss of power and direction, etc). This could just be because of netting with a bowling machine.
3. Is it the camera angle or do you have an open stance? I think this helps your leg side shots, but that in conjunction with drifting hands and foot planting leaves you reaching for the off drives. That said there are a couple of really cracking looking drives through covers.
4. You mention over balancing, and a few times you are squared up after driving balls pitched on middle , middle-and-off, and on the off side; and a few times those same pitched balls end up going to the leg side too, even when playing a cover drive. Again I think this is a consequence those things already mentioned above, but also playing sometimes in front of a braced left knee and strong bottom hand coming through which tucks your elbow in at or just before impact.
Your best shots are those where you are waiting longer, when you are decisively forward or back and when your leading shoulder points in the direction you're intending on hitting.
I hope this is of interest.
Thanks for the input. My hands drifting away from the body I was aware of last season and slowly getting them more tucked in during the backlift to avoid the bat drifting towards gully. Im not as open as i use to be and i do plant my front foot but its not as bad as it use to be and I'm slowly minimising it. In general I'm trying to do as you say, get a good base and lead with that high elbow/leading shoulder. Just takes a bit of time to remove some bad habits built up over the years.
It was a bola but I took the sound off as it consists entirely of a conversation between adi (procricketer) and my mate huss on contract work lol
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I think the perception that bat not coming down straight is because of slightly open stance. I bat with open stance and when i stand staright, the bat comes from top of off stump. So i guess not too much to worry there.
One think you can look at is your bottom hand grip. The bat turns inside when trying to play in the V. If you could alter that, the bat will flow much straighter through the shot. But if its working for you then why change. Lot of pros grip the bat that way, most prominent was Graeme Smith.
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1) Stop over-thinking it and get on with it!
2) Stand up taller in your stance - Oh! You are.............
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1) Stop over-thinking it and get on with it!
2) Stand up taller in your stance - Oh! You are.............
lol - there is an element why not just stand there and hit the thing, I did a bit of that at the end of the next session I had. The point is to do the hard yards now on the technique so I can avoid thinking about it in a game situation.
As for the vertical discrimination comment - shut up baldy :D
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One think you can look at is your bottom hand grip. The bat turns inside when trying to play in the V. If you could alter that, the bat will flow much straighter through the shot. But if its working for you then why change. Lot of pros grip the bat that way, most prominent was Graeme Smith.
It's a curious one. I hold the bat very lightly with the bottom hand in the stance but it does seem to be getting shoved in more and more as I get older. Part of the work I'm doing on using my left elbow more ought to fix it. I suspect at present my top hand is getting "choked" part way through the shot and the right hand is carrying out the follow through. Something I need to work on!
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Just in case anybody thinks I like to pat down straight half volleys, I did do 4 separate sessions focussing on slightly different areas. I only managed to get video of this bit and to be honest it's the area I need to work on the most from a technical perspective.
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Nick - I have sent you a PM
For others watching this video - when you watch someone bat - the things I always suggest people look at is grip, stance and head position through a shot.
When I look at Nick batting I seem to see different things to what people have posted so far...!
p.s. I really don't think that the bat coming down straight is your issue, it is a symptom of something else :D
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Well done for posting. Batting = start with the head. Bowling = start with the feet.
Your head moves nicely towards the ball on the off side but you over balance slightly on the leg side and the head sometimes goes too far. This is mainly due to your hands being too far from your body and not starting under your eye line. Pull your hands in closer to your body so that they're under your eyes and try to play middle stump balls straighter down the ground. This should stop you chasing wide deliveries and also playing across your front pad (which is why you'll be getting bowled). It's a good bat swing. It just needs lining up a touch straighter. A good practise drill is to get someone to use a bowling machine and target your off stump. Try and leave every ball that isn't hitting the stumps. Also try to hit in front of mid wicket. This will straighten the bat swing and help bring the hands in closer. Good luck.
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Watched the first 2mins. It looks to me that you move and play the ball quite early. I would try and play a little later, that would also help to keep the leg side glances down.
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Ah @uknsaunders I can see what I missed on Saturday, thanks for the invite again. Let me know if/when your going again and I'll bring my GoPro and get two angles.
Looks like you've got plenty of advice already to help you. Lord only knows what comments my 'technique' would get!
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Some more net videos and I was lucky enough to have a coach present to work on the batting (as you will hear):-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AcrPK1Rjzg&feature=youtu.be (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AcrPK1Rjzg&feature=youtu.be)
https://youtu.be/7S9Dv0Hiwtg (https://youtu.be/7S9Dv0Hiwtg)
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Just watched the first video:
It's horrible when you're out of nick as you think ot could be one thing, which it actually isn't, then you change that and things get worse and by the end you tear yourself down!
Quick thought:
1. Face seems very closed on some shots on back lift, and this coincides with bringing the best across the ball. Maybe try just opening the face a touch more. I know o hold my face more angled than yourself, but different things work for different people.
2. Playing the ball too early can cause this as well - you get there then have to wait and ot messes the swing up entirely. That's just a side note. Not something you necessarily do.
I don't think there's too much wrong. The majority of the time you get into position well. A bola can lead to issues - it totally upsets my rhythm having ball after ball so quick.
Stick with it!
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Hi Nick,
Short answer: move your front foot to the balls that and more outside off
Long answer:
Only watch the first few minutes and wasnt listening to the coach but my initialy thoughts are;
The shots you outside edge your front foot doesnt come across enough to reach them, causing you to reach for it and disturb your swing and your bottom hand reacts and cause the bat to start going towards mid on hence outside edging.
Your best shots were at 1:30 and 2:00 (first video) - your front foot it towards the pitch of the ball and every thing follows it.
As ollie said i dont think there's alot to change it all looks very sound with the odd exception of the lazy front foot which every player is a culprit of. And agreed the bola machine can cause more problems sometimes and your train your muscles to come forward and across to those outside off, but doesnt teach you about the one just back of a length so you misjudge it, mistime it and get out. This is neither here or there though.
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Hi Nick,
One thing I learned over winter was the way your front foot points also plays a major part in when playing the shot correctly.
Your front foot points toward cover for every ball which also means your head falls and you were flicking some on the leg from outside off.
The way to overcome that, you could possibly open up the front foot slightly
Hope it helps
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Hi Nick,
One thing I learned over winter was the way your front foot points also plays a major part in when playing the shot correctly.
Your front foot points toward cover for every ball which also means your head falls and you were flicking some on the leg from outside off.
The way to overcome that, you could possibly open up the front foot slightly
Hope it helps
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Oh yeah forget to mention him falling over, best way you can tell this is when your back foot moves to adjust yourself.
Foot - elbow - head all in one direction.
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Hi Nick, looks pretty good to me tbh, I have a couple of minor suggestions that may have been touch on previously.
These are only small tweaks because you look pretty close to prefect imo.
1, grip on right hand looks a tad weak, not in grip pressure weak but more in golfing grip weak/strong if that makes sense, maybe try moving you're hand around a touch so the v is pointing more down the spine or even midway between the spine and the rh edge of the bat.
2, right forearm when in the pick up could maybe tucked in a bit tight to the hip, try to keep both forearms pointing parallel towards the bowler.
3, I prefer the bat to be be slightly more open when in the pick up, toe pointing to 1st slip, bat face around 45 degrees to the ground if that makes sense, hard to explain in text.
All three suggestion should lead to the bat coming down more vertically to the ground.
Like I said earlier these are all very minor adjustments, and you look very close to perfect, it's surprising how small adjustments can make a difference technically and there could be some psychological advantages in making changes also, the brain is a fickle organ and can be tricked from time to time.
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I have some thoughts on pitched balls on leg stump, not sure what others think about this?.
I prefer to get my front forward half a stride along side the line of the ball(as opposed to a full stride when driving through the off side) and try to drive the ball in the v between mid-on and mid-wicket rather than flicking the ball off the pads square of the wicket, tuff shot to play, but there's less variance and it sure looks good when accomplished.
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Is there a thread where we can put our videos of us playing?
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In my excitement to get my thoughts into text I've made the schoolboy error of not watching both videos so some of my points may be moot, I do apologise.
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Thanks for all the input. The guy coaching is a level 4 ECB coach and was given me some decent advice free of charge :-)
Technically it's about refining my technique. It's worked ok for a number of years but you can always improve. If you play club cricket 80% of dismissals are self inflicted, either because we make an error of judgement or commit suicide pushing on the scoring rate ie. Get out slogging. Another 10% are good balls and the remaining 10% are things you could of done better. I'm working on that 10%, staying still, not falling over and bringing the bat down straight are always good things to work on.
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Thanks for all the input. The guy coaching is a level 4 ECB coach and was given me some decent advice free of charge :-)
Technically it's about refining my technique. It's worked ok for a number of years but you can always improve. If you play club cricket 80% of dismissals are self inflicted, either because we make an error of judgement or commit suicide pushing on the scoring rate ie. Get out slogging. Another 10% are good balls and the remaining 10% are things you could of done better. I'm working on that 10%, staying still, not falling over and bringing the bat down straight are always good things to work on.
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Wise words Nick.
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I've seen a few people mention opening the blade up towards gully. Seems like the current wisdom by coaches to help play straighter. I'll probably give this a go while it's early in the netting season and see if keep the face straighter for longer. The other thing I might try is batting on middle and off, I tend to stay legside of the ball and it might cure my inclination to get my head across to off stump to cover it.
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Hi mate,
Having a look through the videos something that may have been overlooked (apologies if i've missed it) is the danger of bringing your hands forward when placing the bat between your feet. This means you're going to restrict your hands being able to go through the ball leading to you closing the face and losing out on a bit of timing.If you feel you have to keep the bat there, when taking it up into the backswing, move your hands backward to be level with your back hip, this will enable you to play the ball later and get your hands through the ball avoiding a closed face.
Just a quick that I hope helps.
Karlo