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[SLC]

Advice please!

Sometime last season, without being hit, I seemed to have become afraid of the ball. I'm 26, played since about 10, usually open the batting and have never had a problem before. I had an operation last off-season (unrelated to cricket), which although is completely fine, seems to have got into my head. Suddenly, anything above the most gentle of medium has become much more problematic than before. I'm actually quite a good player of pace (certainly compare to dibbly dobblies), and have the technique to easily defend myself, on the very rare occasion when there's a pitch and bowler fast enough to cause trouble.

My main concern is just that I look a bit ridiculous, at winter nets the other day I was hopping about and taking one hand off the bat, to anything above knee height.

How can I get back to being confident? I find it so annoying, because I've very rarely been hit, and even then, I know it doesn't really hurt!

And as a sidenote, I'm using this as an excuse to get some new pads, as the 10 year old ones are feeling a bit flimsy, any recommendations on really solid pads?

[Buzz]

buying new kit seems the perfect solution! The sponsors will be able to help out, no problem

You would benefit from a session on the bowling machine.

The reality is that playing in the indoor nets isn't much fun and I have frequently been petrified of our quicks who usually bowl off about 17 yards too. When you get outside you may find it totally different.

[Northern monkey]

Would agree totally
Invest in decent protection , hopefully it will improve your confidence
And don't worry about indoor batting,, I've netted at hundreds of indoor facilities, and not found one that bears any resemblance to batting outside.
The new astro type ones seem to be the worst, with stupid bounce off a length which makes it harder to get forward and inline

Bowling machine may help in getting your eye in a bit,, but again, I'm not a fan of them indoors

Main thing is,,,a quicker ball comes off the bat a lot nicer, focus on that

Try not to back away either,( I know that's easier said than done,sometimes) because a half decent bowler is just gonna follow you,and you will end up getting pinned

[brokenbat]

what helped me was to get on the machine and have balls directed at my face - and very slow speeds initially, and then gradually faster. i would then get in line, and watch the ball all the way on the bat, right in front of my eyes. this stopped me from flinching when facing pace.

[GarrettJ]

stand and deliver .......... take them on

the best form of defence is attack

[smilley792]

Purchase top of the line batting equipment.

Pro spec pads and gloves, stretton fox full body armour, good lid.

Hire bowling machine, and just wear a few, then switch to batting, if you still shy away, go back to wearing a few!


I used to shut my eyes playing pulls, I added a grinders screen to an old helmet, and had a guy under arm them at my face till i stop closing my eyes, it worked

[Rob580]

Put an old bat behind your heels in your stance, that'll stop you backing away. Plus if you do wear a few you'll probably learn that it doesn't hurt. Unless you get it in the nads....

[arsenal123]

Feeling comfortable in my gear is a big part of it.  My aero P2's, good pads and sweatbands on my front arm.  The sweatbands serve a dual purpose, makes me think about keeping my front elbow higher as well as offering protection (this is more mental than anything else).

[Gingerbusiness]

I had this when I was 16, facing a genuine quick. A ball hit a crack, reared at me and broke my wrist in three places.

Worse of all, I was sent back out to bat and was hit two more times before backing away to leg and basically letting him bowl me.

Some may say coward, to this day - I still say sensible. I was out for 6-8 weeks.

When I came back, I found my trigger movement had changed, causing me to back away. What was worse, is that it was all completely sub-conscious.

I dropped down the order from 3 or 4 to at one point, 11. I could still play all the shots but was not getting in line.

Eventually, I put a brick behind my back foot in the nets and just batted. Worked well.

Though even to this day, I still have my former team mates taking the mick... Though I am sure it should have been a major child protection issue!

[ProCricketer1982]

If it's indoors then completely ignore it. Any bowler with any modicum of pace can scare the life out of you indoors. Netting with two guys currently who are in and around 80 and it's just frightening indoors, bloody thing is on a length and I simply have to play back otherwise it's pinning me.. even then, the nip off the new ball seam makes it move amile so a off stump ball back of a length suddenly smashes into my thigh guard etc.

Just stay calm, clear the mind, focus on the ball and don't let the bowler win. unless really you are facing 85+, you're natural reactions will keep you out of trouble outdoors. Indoors just get out the way, let the bowler think he's better and wait for them to do the same outdoors and as JG says.. pull them to oblivion

[InternalTraining]

Advice please!

Sometime last season, without being hit, I seemed to have become afraid of the ball. I'm 26, played since about 10, usually open the batting and have never had a problem before. I had an operation last off-season (unrelated to cricket), which although is completely fine, seems to have got into my head. Suddenly, anything above the most gentle of medium has become much more problematic than before. I'm actually quite a good player of pace (certainly compare to dibbly dobblies), and have the technique to easily defend myself, on the very rare occasion when there's a pitch and bowler fast enough to cause trouble.

My main concern is just that I look a bit ridiculous, at winter nets the other day I was hopping about and taking one hand off the bat, to anything above knee height.

How can I get back to being confident? I find it so annoying, because I've very rarely been hit, and even then, I know it doesn't really hurt!

And as a sidenote, I'm using this as an excuse to get some new pads, as the 10 year old ones are feeling a bit flimsy, any recommendations on really solid pads?

Aero P1 leg guards and thigh pads.

Use a bowling machine for pace training. Dedicate an entire session to pace . Repeat this for a few weeks. Avoid 17/18 yarder humans until you are comfy in front of Bola.

Psychologically pump yourself up by self-talk. Get angry at (unnecessarily) aggressive bowlers by learning to curse/mutter under your breath. It helps and gets your juices flowing.

[SLC]

Thanks guys!

Have ordered some new pads and thigh guards, and booked in a net.

[Mattsky]

Kudos to you for bringing up the topic. Not many would, even though the great majority of us are healthily scared of a real quickie. Hope the advice here helps others too.

[Buzz]

Thanks guys!

Have ordered some new pads and thigh guards, and booked in a net.

What did you get?

[SLC]

I got aero p1s (I'm not yet worried enough to drop stretton fox money, but we'll see!), and the high end GN omega pads.

Although as always I suspect its the net that will help most!