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[jamesisapayne]

After almost two months of not hitting a ball since the season ended I decided to take a trip to Globe Sports and have a net. I was on my own and used the ball feeder for the first time which i must say was a bit strange!

I've uploaded 3 videos, forward defence, front foot drives and some back foot slashes/drives/misses!

I'd appreciate any constructive feedback on technique people may have. 


Forward defence -

http://youtu.be/fe70s-CUXb8

Front foot drives -

http://youtu.be/OnF-R1x37iU

Back foot mish mash -

http://youtu.be/kFJOeLZmzbQ

Thanks

James

[jamesisapayne]

Anyone?

[Buzz]

not so easy to watch in the office, but will look this evening if I can.

[jamesisapayne]

not so easy to watch in the office, but will look this evening if I can.

Thanks a lot Buzz. I've taken your comments from my previous net I posted on board, so it will be interesting to see your comments.

James

[thedon]

you've got good balance at the crease. what pads are they?

[The_Bird]

Great way to spend an afternoon just you and a bowling machine! There is nowhere where i live that you can do this. I'm no expert but it looks like you have a solid technique, playing to your strengths IMO is a major part in all types of sport. You seem to time the ball quite well and allow the ball to come to you as opposed to reaching for it. Whenever i get out of nick i watch this video of Dravid as i think it shows the value of playing the ball close to your body. Try and put yourself out of your comfort zone as well, not 90mph toe crunchers but 65-70 on off stump moving in and away. Ive found that this teaches muscle memory to react to anything other than this being a bad ball and you therefore instinctively get into position straight away (hope that made sense).

Dravid Net

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06tcGJCnrtU

Nice vids mate i wanna see some switch hitting or Dilscoops next lol

[jamesisapayne]

you've got good balance at the crease. what pads are they?

Thanks a lot Don.

The pads are my Morrant Ultralites - they certainly live up to their name!

Great way to spend an afternoon just you and a bowling machine! There is nowhere where i live that you can do this. I'm no expert but it looks like you have a solid technique, playing to your strengths IMO is a major part in all types of sport. You seem to time the ball quite well and allow the ball to come to you as opposed to reaching for it. Whenever i get out of nick i watch this video of Dravid as i think it shows the value of playing the ball close to your body. Try and put yourself out of your comfort zone as well, not 90mph toe crunchers but 65-70 on off stump moving in and away. Ive found that this teaches muscle memory to react to anything other than this being a bad ball and you therefore instinctively get into position straight away (hope that made sense).

Dravid Net
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06tcGJCnrtU

Nice vids mate i wanna see some switch hitting or Dilscoops next lol

Thanks for the kind words and advice. The Dravid net looks very good - he's one of my favourite players ever, total class. I could watch him bat all day long (which is just as well as he does a lot of the time!)

I presume they are tennis balls in the machine?

I'm not averse to trying things, it was just a nice relaxing net after not having hit a ball for 2 months.

[The_Bird]

Thanks for the kind words and advice. The Dravid net looks very good - he's one of my favourite players ever, total class. I could watch him bat all day long (which is just as well as he does a lot of the time!)
I presume they are tennis balls in the machine?

A class act for sure, i think they are tennis balls
its no suprise that this summer he was the only one that could play the swinging pitched up ball really lol

[Buzz]

have had a quick look at he session you have had. I think you made a good use of the time - in terms of groving your shots.

I am not sure I would change much - you are nice and still and playing the ball in its merits - I suspect by the time you got to the back foot shots your patients was wearing a little thin and you wanted to give it large - always a temptation.

If you were to do this again, I would suggest you crank the rev's up a little and test yourself a bit more. I felt that you weren't challenging yourself enough - that doesn't mean do this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzYUDC7pWzA&feature=related

Regardless - you hold a nice shape - you left well and didn't try to hit the ball to hard.
If you want to increase your bat speed I would look a little at your pick up - try to push the bat away behind you rather than pulling it into your chest - but that is hyper critical - and may not be a comfortable change.

[praguetaz]

Hello James, 

I wanted to ask a few questions before leaving my humble opinion:

where in the order do you bat normally or like to?
what speed was the bowling machine set at?
what bat is it and the weight?

To me you looked like a strong front foot batter who likes to drive. I thought your back-lift at 90 degrees looks 'text book' although it's a very individual thing and wondered about how your feet are as the ball is released; I like to be on the balls of my feet but u looked flat, which personally makes me slower to react.

I've been wondering about a trigger movement too and whether to introduce one when i next get into a practice net or session which your videos has made me want to do.. it's been 2 months!!! not sure if this is possible or wise.
Any comments anyone?


You have a very still head which is text book again and a high elbow lift..

I also wondered if any of your front defensive shots could be driven away comfortably for singles or twos and whether it's risky to play around your legs onto the onside which leads me to my last question...

Which ball gets you out most often or did last season?

Thanks for the videos... hope my questions and comments are worthwhile..

[Joe]

I've been wondering about a trigger movement too and whether to introduce one when i next get into a practice net or session which your videos has made me want to do.. it's been 2 months!!! not sure if this is possible or wise.
Any comments anyone?

I have quite a few trigger movements. I shall divulge into them here:


(I have a mildly open stance, and this is for fast bowlers)
As the bowler runs up I will dob my bat up and down in small motions in my back lift in a Trott-esque style. Then as he bowls, I'll shuffle across my stumps and lift my bat up. Then I'll take two small steps forward onto the front foot, then make whatever foot movements are necessary for the shot I'm about to play and play the shot. Then I'll look down in confusion as why my stumps are sprawled all over the place  

[The_Bird]

I have quite a few trigger movements. I shall divulge into them here:


(I have a mildly open stance, and this is for fast bowlers)
As the bowler runs up I will dob my bat up and down in small motions in my backlift. Then as he bowls, I'll shuffle across my stumps and lift my bat up. Then I'll take two small steps forward onto the front foot, then make whatever foot movements are necessary for the shot I'm about to play and play the shot. Then I'll look down in confusion as why my stumps are sprawled all over the place

lol 

[Johnny]

I was coached into a back and across trigger movement at a very young age by a Zimbabwean test player. 17 years later, having read advice from buzz (i think) on triggers, I decided to ditch it this season... It makes life loads easier and helps you to keep your head still at the crease. I found that in previous slumps in form that I was maybe triggering too much and losing balance a bit, at which point I started thinking about my trigger too muh whilst I was at the crease, instead of thinking about the ball.

So my advice, don't bother with triggers

[Joe]

I was coached into a back and across trigger movement at a very young age by a Zimbabwean test player. 17 years later, having read advice from buzz (i think) on triggers, I decided to ditch it this season... It makes life loads easier and helps you to keep your head still at the crease. I found that in previous slumps in form that I was maybe triggering too much and losing balance a bit, at which point I started thinking about my trigger too muh whilst I was at the crease, instead of thinking about the ball.

So my advice, don't bother with triggers

I personally find not triggering makes me less proficient with my footwork, and also tends to make me feel like I am stuck to my crease. But that's just me. If you watch Trott bat he does all sorts of trigger movements and hops around at the crease, whereas Strauss stays completely still until he plays his shot.

[Tumo]

I move my front foot just a tad, to make sure my feet haven't died whilst I'm waiting for the ball... That's it!