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[Buzz]

Thanks for posting that video Dave, there is more in those 7 mins than most coaches can get across in 7 hours!

Grip, stance, visualisation, pre match prep, start of innings prep, knowing strengths and weaknesses, clearing of the mind... I could go on.

[beaver5]

I'm a very wristy player and was taught this technique to increase power into my shots as a young lad by Tom Graveney. It's one of the things I tell myself when concentrating as the bowler runs in. I'm a small bloke but hit a very high proportion of my runs in boundaries, mostly 4's. All my power comes through my wrists, it works for me.

[Seniorplayer]

Has anybody else taken this up at a late stage.  How drastic the benefits/drawbacks?

Yes  against slow bowling but to  make it work i have to use a 2lb 5 ounce harrow bat.

[Boondougal]

Tried this tonight. Worked for me.

[eukaryote76]

Growing up playing very average Schoolboy cricket in The Midlands during the 80s and 90s there was always an emphasis on straight bat and getting on the front foot. That coaching at our school included a very Chris Broad-esque stance with the bat face parallel to the ground pointing down and with the toe pointing to 1st slip. Coming back into cricket as a more mature club player in Australia, I know realise how restrictive that set-up can be. It's good for front foot shots and defence, but even then, I think it reduces my power, not to mention it makes pulling hard on quicker bouncier pitches. However, what Ponting said about cocking the wrists and showing the full face of the bat to point really resonates with me. It opens up the full 360 degrees of direction. For me, it is the difference between day and night it I want to be able to pull and hook, and do it safely/ properly. Great video by Punter.

[GarrettJ]

something for lunch time .....

Secrets of Batting Champions
Greg Chappell

When watching international cricket it is easy to be mistaken into thinking that there is an unlimited number of initial movements that work because each player seems to have a unique method. This couldn�t be further from the truth!

I know that I tried a number of initial movements during my cricket career but the one with which I achieved the most success was a slight movement across the crease in which I shifted the weight onto the ball of the back foot to enable me to move forward easily. During the World Series Cricket revolution in the late 70�s the rise of the great West Indian fast bowling quartet provoked me into changing this movement.

Because I was not getting many balls pitched up I changed the method to putting the weight onto the ball of the front foot to allow me to get ready to play back. What followed was one of the leanest periods of my career. It was only when I reverted to my original method that I began to feel comfortable again and what followed was a very successful series against the West Indies in the Caribbean. I never considered changing my method again.

The thing that I noticed during my career was that most of the better-performed players had a similar initial movement pattern to mine. No one, including myself, could explain why this was so.

The batting stars of the modern era are no more able to explain why they do it either but they are all doing exactly the same thing as the champions of the past. It just looks different because of their physiological and psychological make-up. Brian Lara has an extravagant initial movement compared with Sachin Tendulkar while Virender Sehwag is different again, but they all finish up in a similar position at the moment when the bowler prepares to release the ball.

The reason that they do this is that they have found through years of experience that this active, but neutral, position allows for the widest range of responses to any type of delivery that comes their way. The movement is no different whether they are facing fast or slow bowlers but the timing of when they start the movement is.

Through the years of playing and, especially, during my coaching career I have heard a number of theories about what is the best method of preparation for a batsman. These have ranged from pre-cocked backlifts and so-called �ready� positions that have a batsman planted on one foot or the other before the ball is bowled. None of the proponents could give me an explanation that made much sense to me. None of the methods appeared to give a very wide range of post-delivery options to the player.

A few years ago I was reintroduced to a former first-class cricketer, Ian Frazer. Ian had represented Victoria and subsequently had gone on to work and study in different fields including sports science. Ian was then coaching juniors and was as frustrated as I with some of the theories that were passing as fact in the cricket community. We decided to get together and do some research on the best players of the past and present.

When Ian and I sat down to watch the film of the best batsmen of the past 50 years, from Bradman to the current champions, Tendulkar, Lara, Ponting, Hayden and Gilchrist we saw a pattern begin to emerge. All but a few of them had exactly the same initial movement pattern. Sure, each had their own idiosyncratic way of doing it but the basic pattern was the same.

As the bowler loaded up into the delivery each of them levered the bat to a position parallel to the ground, toe pointing toward the slip cordon with the face of the bat slightly inclined to the off side with arms relaxed and slightly bent. At the same time they shifted their weight onto the ball of the back foot and inclined the body toward the bowler with the front foot hovering above the ground or lightly brushing the ground.

This was fascinating. Maybe we were onto something! What was it that caused all of these champion players to do the same thing? Then it occurred to us. They all must have had the same intention. If that was the case, then what was that intention? That too became obvious when we thought about it. They all intended to move toward the ball. How, you might ask, did we know that?

All movement patterns are organised by the unconscious brain. Once we intend to move in a certain direction, the brain automatically arranges the body so that the most efficient movements occur in an orderly, fluid fashion. If we change our mind about the direction in mid movement, the brain automatically makes the necessary adjustments. We do not have to think about each step in the chain.

The same process takes place when we are batting. Having an intention to move in one direction or the other is enough to trigger the brain to arrange the movements that are required to match the intention.

Try it for yourself. Stand with your weight evenly distributed on both feet with a magazine on the floor immediately to your left. Now move to step over the magazine to your left and observe what this intention triggers in the brain to allow this to happen. Now step back over the magazine to your right and observe once again.

What you should have noticed is that as you intended to move to the left the brain organised for a subtle shift of weight from the left foot onto the ball of the right foot with a slight bending of the right knee to allow you to push off to the left. The reverse will have happened as you went back to the starting position.

These same actions are taking place unconsciously all day long whether you are walking, gardening, stepping over puddles or playing sport. Your intention to move is enough to trigger the brain into action. You do not have to control each movement. In fact if you are thinking about each action you will actually interfere with the process.

So why do the best batters intend to move forward rather than prepare to play back? Wouldn�t it be just as efficient to prepare to play back as I tried against the West Indian fast bowlers? The answer is an emphatic no!

Why it works best to intend to play forward until you are forced back is because the first point of release from the bowler�s hand will be a full-pitched ball. If you prepare for the full ball you will still have time to adjust and push back if the ball stays in the hand longer and is short. In fact, the subconscious brain will begin to adjust before you are consciously aware that the ball will be short.

If you prepare for the short ball first you will not have enough time to adjust if the ball comes out of the hand early. In fact, you will most probably miss the ball coming out of the hand because the brain will be focussing on the expected later point of release.

This then is the �Secret of the batting Champions.

If, as coaches, we can encourage this mind set in our players this movement pattern will occur naturally. What a player thinks about will decide how efficient the movement patterns are, so the correct thought processes are critical to a player�s chance of success. This is why as coaches we cannot afford to cause our players to be focussed on their own movements. They must be focussed on the ball with a clear intention to play forward and let the brain do the rest.

[GarrettJ]

Unweighting
Greg Chappell

Unweighting is the act of accessing the ground forces effectively and efficiently.

It describes the act of the ground pushing back the weight that has been applied to it. As more weight, either through total mass or through the velocity of the movement (mass/time), is applied to the ground the more the ground pushes back. This describes how humans walk, run and jump. It also describes how batsmen must act to use their feet to move into position to strike the ball.

To be able to jump to the left or the right the human body must be unweighted by loading one foot or the other. If you want to jump to the left you must load the right foot by shifting weight over the right leg onto the ball of the foot. Should you wish to jump to the right the weight of the body must be unweighted by loading onto the left leg in the same manner. If both feet are carrying significant weight, movement becomes laboured and difficult.

The timing of any movement is critical to its effectiveness. What is forgotten is that the ground only pushes back at the time of the exposure to the weight. After that point it takes considerable strength and energy to push out of a set position. This explains the problem with total mass plants that are taught by many cricket coaches. These initial movements often weight the ground over a long period of time. To move quickly the body must be unloaded and reloaded quickly at the critical time.

Forces are generated in the vertical, horizontal and rotation planes. Ideally we want to unweight as much into the vertical plane while remaining on balance. Interestingly by loading the unweighting leg vertically we also allow the leg to be loaded rotationally. This same technique is used by ice skaters. These forces are then passed up through the body to set up the top half.

A batsman can do a mini dance on the balls of the feet as the bowler approaches, (have a look at the effect on the bat load as the weight shifts occur. Players like Border even Tendulkar (above) who move around pre ball have to time the bat loading and reloading. It�s another complexity that players often struggle with), as long as at the time for movement the batsman is in a position to push into the ground with the appropriate loading. That is the key! For cricket this requires we push off one leg to set up the other. The simpler it is kept the easier it is for most.

The simplest way to start the movement is with the top hand take away of the bat, to load it, triggering the unweighting onto one foot for push off. For most players it is best to load the back leg as the ball is leaving the bowlers hand to be in position to push forward if the ball is pitched up. The front foot is carrying no weight at this point and is virtually hovering above the ground. If the delivery is too short to push forward to comfortably, then the front foot can be planted onto the ball of the foot to push the body back into the best position to access the ball.

[GarrettJ]

The Mystery of the Wrist Cock in Batting
Greg Chappell

Perhaps no other area in sport has been discussed or analyzed as thoroughly as the golf swing. Just about everyone who plays golf can carry on a reasonable conversation about the mechanics of the swing. Golf is a very precise and demanding game and minor mistakes often result in major disasters.

One of the moves most talked about in golf is the cocking of the wrist. In the last few years, this has been receiving more and more attention in cricket and is now part of the batting lingo.

In the right handed golfer, proper cocking of the left wrist is a key move in the golf swing. Cocking the wrist correctly and getting the clubface in a good position at the top of the backswing enable the top golfers to move freely, smoothly and correctly into the downswing. This helps them to get good contact with the ball and to control its flight, direction and distance. This is also the case in cricket.

But, cocking of the wrist in the backswing is one of the most misunderstood and poorly executed parts of the golf swing and bat swing. When you ask golfers or batsmen to cock their wrist and hold their position at the top of the backswing, invariably you will notice that their wrist is not cocked at all. Instead, it is extended - the back of the hand is closer to the forearm and forms an angle of just over 90 degrees.

What does the wrist look like when it is cocked?

Place the palm of your hand, fingers and forearm on a flat surface and move your hand from side to side (radial and ulnar deviation). Now move your hand in the direction of the thumb and hold it in that position. Your wrist is now in the cocked position � radial deviation.

In this position you will notice that there is a slight backward bend (slight extension) or no backward bend of your wrist. The line along back of your forearm and the back of your hand is either straight or forms a gentle backward curve. You will also notice a gentle concave curve between the radius, wrist and thumb and three or four fine converging lines or wrinkles intersecting that curve.

Keep your hand and forearm flat on the surface and then bend your wrist backward so that the back of your hand moves towards your forearm (extension). Take it back as far as it will go. You will notice a tighter curve between the back of the hand and forearm and large wrinkles across the back of the wrist. This position of extension is often mistaken for the cocking of the wrist.

When a weighted object like a bat or golf club is swung to the top of the backswing, its weight and the generated forces tend to bend the wrist backward into extension rather than into radial deviation. In that extended position, the grip pressure in the last two fingers might decrease and the club handle might move away from the palm of the hand. This can cause problems in the downswing.

I have noticed that batsmen who are taught to cock their wrist invariably end up with the wrist quite extended at the top of the backswing. As the top hand grip loosens, the bottom hand frequently compensates by gripping the handle tighter. If the power grip (palm grip) is maintained in the top hand throughout the backswing with constant pressure between the palm and the last three fingers, this is unlikely to happen. When the backswing ends incorrectly, the downswing is likely to start incorrectly.

Anatomists will tell you that cocking of the wrist or radial deviation � the creation of a gentle concave curve between the thumb and radius - and ulnar deviation are easiest and most effective when the wrist is in a neutral flexion/extension position � when the back of the hand and forearm are in line or form a slight backward curve with each other. Cocking the wrist becomes more difficult and less effective as extension of the wrist increases and the backward curve gets tighter. That is why good golfers are so careful, almost obsessive, about keeping their wrist in a neutral flexion/extension position at the top of the backswing.

Many amateur golfers spend countless hours with their coaches, and at practice, learning how to cock their wrist. Alas, not many of them succeed in doing so correctly or consistently, particularly under pressure.

Years ago, I did some mental work with Greg Norman, the great Australian golfer, who became the number one golfer in the world. Sometimes we spoke about technique and about how it is affected by the mind. There were two technical points that I stressed to him. In putting, he should feel as though his fingers were making gentle love to the club handle. That was to encourage him to use the precision grip and to get a better feel and awareness for the movement of the putter. The second was the cocking of the wrist. I asked him to take his normal grip, start his backswing by making a fist with his top hand, and feel the pressure between the palm of his hand and the last three fingers. He was to maintain that fist at least to the top of the backswing.


Why did I ask him to make a fist? When you do so, your wrist automatically goes into the cocked position. Try it and see. Make a fist and feel the pressure between the palm and the last three fingers. In this position, your hand will deviate to the side of the thumb to make a gentle concave curve with the radius, small converging wrinkles will intersect that curve, and the wrist will go into a neutral flexion/extension position

What does the correct wrist cock feel like in the backswing? Place your right hand behind your back and swing the bat or club with your left arm to the top of the backswing and stop. Now make a fist. Your wrist is now cocked.

Another way to feel this sensation in the backswing is to make a fist around an imaginary bat handle and swing your left fist and arm backward to the top of the backswing a few times. A third way is to place your right hand behind your back, take a power grip on the bat handle with the left hand, make a fist, and swing the bat backwards a few times to get the feel and awareness of the wrist cock. As you cock your wrist in both of the above exercises notice how the weight of your body tends to shift towards the ball of your right foot.

Cocking the wrist is one of the fundamentals of batting. Cricket coaches should emphasize it and explain it plainly to their batsmen. They should then show them how to do so correctly and how to get the right feel of it. In addition, they should encourage them to pay attention to what is happening to the weight on the bottom of their feet during the backswing. They will then be in a better position to enhance batting performance.

[eukaryote76]

Thank you GarrettJ, in 5 minutes I have gone from feeling completely enlightened, to stupid, to confused, and back to enlightened again. Great reading. So it's not about getting on the front foot rather the intent of getting there, which is derived from pressure on the back foot at the point of release, which it seems may come from the correct cocking of the wrist and innate transfer of weight which occurs as you do so... If I understood that correctly. Yes?

[golden duck]

Thanks Garret - interesting reading

[eukaryote76]

Good stuff but reads a bit like English Comprehension. 

[GarrettJ]

thats why people do the back and across movement. To go forward you use your back foot first to push off.

it is fraught with danger if you mess it up though so best to stay still at the crease unless you know what you are doing. Against 80mph standing still will not work very well but i doubt many face that pace week in week out.

[procricket]

Bloody good insight this John and top stuff pal great find and read..

[Buzz]

Thanks John, you have posted that before, but always good to give it another read.

thats why people do the back and across movement. To go forward you use your back foot first to push off.

it is fraught with danger if you mess it up though so best to stay still at the crease unless you know what you are doing. Against 80mph standing still will not work very well but i doubt many face that pace week in week out.

This sums up my view on coaching amateur cricketers - if you try and take on all that is mentioned above you will get lost - but the little bit on cocking your wrists will help, is easy to practice and won't muck up your batting too much if you get it wrong, you can just stop it.

Using a back/across or other pre-delivery movement can cause serious damage to you balance so it remains best to stay still.

[arsenal123]

Exactly the reason I try to make my trigger movements as minor as possible.  My back foot moves about an inch back and across, it just feels awkward if I don't do it.