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[ProCricketer1982]

Did you read my post? @brokenbat and I are saying the exact same thing - a batter has to find his own balance between weight of the bat and desired bat speed.

Clubbies who are clearing ropes at 2-8 bats are far and few; they have also played in the past at higher levels or are playing at higher levels.

I'm no cricket God and certainly don't class myself as a hitter but I can clear the ropes with a 2.8 bat without trouble, doesn't feel,any different to 2.9/10 tbh. Big heavy bats are a personal/confidence thing, if yiu feel confident you'll go through with the shot.

Assuming a standard bat.. Pros get gun bats but amateurs don't so don't start quoting pro stuff

[brokenbat]

As I said...unlike golf and baseball we have different swings. Heavy bat - I hit longer sixes of medium pace dollies. But, when I open / face genuine pace, the pulls and hooks go MUCH further when I use 2 lb 7 instead of 2lb 10. That's just me though. To each his own

[InternalTraining]

St what point is anything in the amateur game like the pros?

Amateurs can hit like the pros so the game simply isn't the same. They can score at run rates well above amateurs without slogging, amateurs need to slog at those rates etc. It's quite simple really. Teams that try and play like pros tend to be hit and miss, and their payers just hit in the air a lot. Unlike pros who actually half place their shots etc.

It's a totally different game. The amateur game is more like the women's pro game than the men's !!

I see what you are saying - there is more control and finesse to the Pros' approach to maintaining a steady/match winning run rate than the amateurs.

So, as an "amateur", one area of the game where no good coaching is available is shot placement or picking your spots. I wonder how pros do it. We as batters are told to have a clear mind when batting, focus on the ball,  and make good contact. How do pros do it while keeping "gaps" in the field in their heads? Do they have more than 1 spot or gap in mind when they dance down the pitch? Do they pre-meditate one shot for one spot because they know that bowler is bowling to one line? How?

[Kez]

I did read your post and agree its personal preference but you seem to be championing the 2lb 12+ option. I'm merely sticking up for the big hitting "light" bat brigade.

 And personally using a 2lb 9 last year and hitting some pretty big bombs think I could mix it with the big boys (2lb 12+).

[InternalTraining]

Funny, I seem to remember batting with a clubmate who'd bought himself a 2lb6 bat and smashed 4 or 5 out of the ground in one innings a few years ago... I can assure you he has never played a high level of cricket and never will! (no offence meant if he ever reads this ha.)

Then he deserves a medal in my book.

Tell us more about him. Height? Weight? Length of boundaries where this feat happened? Quality of bowling he faced? And, more importantly, what kind of a 2-6 bat he used. Details please.

[InternalTraining]

I did read your post and agree its personal preference but you seem to be championing the 2lb 12+ option. I'm merely sticking up for the big hitting "light" bat brigade.

I am stating my choice and the right weight for me but, in general, I do think that light bats are over rated. I am standing by this assertion.

And personally using a 2lb 9 last year and hitting some pretty big bombs think I could mix it with the big boys (2lb 12+).

Good for you. I could argue that I have seen more normal clubbies hit big with heavier bats than lighter bats.

[edge]

So, as an "amateur", one area of the game where no good coaching is available is shot placement or picking your spots. I wonder how pros do it. We as batters are told to have a clear mind when batting, focus on the ball,  and make good contact. How do pros do it while keeping "gaps" in the field in their heads? Do they have more than 1 spot or gap in mind when they dance down the pitch? Do they pre-meditate one shot for one spot because they know that bowler is bowling to one line? How?

1 - having a clear mind doesn't mean being blank. I often bat best when I'm focused on just a few shots I know I can play off a particular bowler - I'm waiting for him to pitch it in my area, and if he does I put it away. Pros often speak of a similar attitude, look up Ricky Ponting's Sky masterclass where he says he picks a length out on the pitch and anything shorter than that gets pulled. Clear/focused mind can just as much be a mind with a clear plan.
2 - don't pay too much attention to commentators! We all know they talk a load of crap about bats/timing/huge sixes etc, why should them telling you how a batsman has placed the ball in a precise gap be any different?

[edge]

Then he deserves a medal in my book.

Tell us more about him. Height? Weight? Length of boundaries where this feat happened? Quality of bowling he faced? And, more importantly, what kind of a 2-6 bat he used. Details please.

About average height, amateur rugby front row build, has always hit a fairly long ball but nothing remarkable, just for half a season he used 2lb6 rather than his usual 2lb8ish I think. Fairly small boundaries (which is why I only mentioned the ones that went clean out the ground rather than just sixes, of which there were plenty more). Slazenger something or other, which didn't last long! Cleanness of connection (ie batsman!) makes far more of a difference than weight in my opinion, use whatever weight bat lets you hit it the best!

[InternalTraining]

1 - having a clear mind doesn't mean being blank. I often bat best when I'm focused on just a few shots I know I can play off a particular bowler - I'm waiting for him to pitch it in my area, and if he does I put it away. Pros often speak of a similar attitude, look up Ricky Ponting's Sky masterclass where he says he picks a length out on the pitch and anything shorter than that gets pulled. Clear/focused mind can just as much be a mind with a clear plan.

I don't pick gaps but I pick my shots and my footwork (or angles I have created by moving around) guarantees me shot options. I don't pick gaps because I don't know how.

2 - don't pay too much attention to commentators! We all know they talk a load of crap about bats/timing/huge sixes etc, why should them telling you how a batsman has placed the ball in a precise gap be any different?

Agreed. They are first class bs-ers.

[InternalTraining]

About average height, amateur rugby front row build, has always hit a fairly long ball but nothing remarkable, just for half a season he used 2lb6 rather than his usual 2lb8ish I think. Fairly small boundaries (which is why I only mentioned the ones that went clean out the ground rather than just sixes, of which there were plenty more). [/b]Slazenger something or other, which didn't last long! Cleanness of connection (ie batsman!) makes far more of a difference than weight in my opinion, use whatever weight bat lets you hit it the best!

Longer or shorter than 75+ yards? I am using 75-80 yards as a standard boundary length from the batter to the rope. Long on?

[edge]

Longer or shorter than 75+ yards? I am using 75-80 yards as a standard boundary length from the batter to the rope. Long on?

According to the Google distance measurement thing, 70-75 yards around most of the ground, square boundaries are shorter than that along the length of the square though. Small ground, but not unusually so.

[Nothing2SeeHere]

So in summary, some people like heavier bats because when they don't make a clean contact the ball goes further and some prefer lighter bats because they find it easier to make a clean contact.

Have I got this correct?

[InternalTraining]

So in summary, some people like heavier bats because when they don't make a clean contact the ball goes further and some prefer lighter bats because they find it easier to make a clean contact.

Have I got this correct?

Laws of physics favo(u)r heavier bats more than the lighter bats.

[Kez]

Laws of physics favo(u)r heavier bats more than the lighter bats.

Only if you can swing it quick enough.

EDIT: its a balancing act to create the optimum momentum. CBF excuse to buy more bats!