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[Seniorplayer]

I think we should both take a seat, we're about to get a lesson from the Don himself here 

Not from me as a lesson is only of value if the person who recieves it is willing to learn.

[Big Mac]

Not from me as a lesson is only of value if the person who recieves it is willing to learn.

Oh come on, if there is a genuine reason why marking my guard will make me a better batsman then I'm all ears.

You don't need to make a mark in the ground to make sure you stand in the same place before the ball is bowled and if it's a psychological trick to get yourself into a routine or clear your mind then there are other (possible more effective?) ways of doing that too.

[Seniorplayer]

Oh come on, if there is a genuine reason why marking my guard will make me a better batsman then I'm all ears.

You don't need to make a mark in the ground to make sure you stand in the same place before the ball is bowled and if it's a psychological trick to get yourself into a routine or clear your mind then there are other (possible more effective?) ways of doing that too.

As your all ears
when a batsman takes guard  makes a mark it is not only the legitimate time they can put two fingers up to the umpire you take guard so you know where your stumps in your stance at the crease this is important because when when a batsman knows where  his stumps are they know what balls to play  and what balls to leave in defence of there wicket
Also by  fine tuning your   guard on a particular stump or stumps it assists a your scoring areas.
Hope that helps.

[Big Mac]

As your all ears
when a batsman takes guard  makes a mark it is not only the legitimate time they can put two fingers up to the umpire you take guard so you know where your stumps in your stance at the crease this is important because when when a batsman knows where  his stumps are they know what balls to play  and what balls to leave in defence of there wicket
Also by  fine tuning your   guard on a particular stump or stumps it assists a your scoring areas.
Hope that helps.

Right, but the point is that you can do all of that without having to make a mark in the ground.

I hope anybody that needs the millimetre precision that comes with digging a small trench at the crease doesn't have a trigger movement because oh boy, all those boys and girls are wasting their time every time they mark their guard.

[Jaffa]

Pet hate, being hounded when people need something from you yet when you need something from them they're AWOL.

[springbok45]

Right, but the point is that you can do all of that without having to make a mark in the ground.

I hope anybody that needs the millimetre precision that comes with digging a small trench at the crease doesn't have a trigger movement because oh boy, all those boys and girls are wasting their time every time they mark their guard.

Ok I'm curious as to what's your method then, as having a simple visual aid to get you set up seems the easiest and quickest to me. Whether you trigger or not starting from the same point each time aids consistency.

[Big Mac]

Ok I'm curious as to what's your method then, as having a simple visual aid to get you set up seems the easiest and quickest to me. Whether you trigger or not starting from the same point each time aids consistency.

The reason I mentioned trigger movements is because it's humanly impossible to repeat the exact same trigger movement every single time. Sometimes it will vary by half an inch, sometimes by a couple of inches, sometimes it'll be even more than that because of adrenaline, fatigue, premeditation etc.

The longer you play cricket, the more your trigger movement changes or becomes more exaggerated and yet most people still use the same guard that they've been scratching out for years.

Now we're all agreed that one of, if not the, main aims when taking guard is to make sure you know where your off-stump is right? Insisting on machine-like precision when marking your guard in the ground and then tossing it all out of the window with a trigger movement that is impossible to repeat with that same level of precision is just a waste of time.

Even more so when the umpire at the other end is going "No, closer to you, a bit more, a bit closer again, no that's too far move it away now...no that's where you started, oh sod it who cares yeah that's middle and leg" and let's not forget that unless you are opening the batting in the first innings of the game by the time you get to the crease it's such a mess that there is no way you can scratch out a decent guard anyway.

So to sum up:

1) When you ask the umpire for your guard you're going to get a slightly different answer each time.

2) Once the umpire goes "Yep, you've got it" and you move your bat away and replace it with your foot so you can carve a trench with your spikes you've introduced another margin for error into the proceedings.

3) If you've got a trigger movement then your feet are in slightly different spots when every single ball is bowled even if you start from exactly the same spot every time, which you aren't.

I take guard on leg stump (My bat is on the ground in my stance so this gets my eyes in line with off-stump) and all I do is look down and use my eyes to put my bat and toes in the right spot. That's more than accurate enough for any of us.

We can pick the difference between a leg-break and a googly in a fraction of a second from 22 yards away and get in line with a ball coming down at 70+ mph but your eyes aren't good enough to judge if you're in line with a stump which is an arms length away? 

[Gurujames]

I understand your point and to a large degree I agree. I also find it odd that people ask for their guard with their bat and then move it to scratch it in with their spike. How accurate will that be??
I do often open and tap in a mark at the crease, but I'm also a crease tapper and that makes a mark parallel with the stumps about 6 inches behind the crease. I find this mark stays my whole innings and then it provides a good reference point if I want to move to a different guard and I don't need to ask the umpire.
If you don't ask for a guard the suspicion is you're a bit of a slogger or a total rabbit.

[northernboy1987]

The reason I mentioned trigger movements is because it's humanly impossible to repeat the exact same trigger movement every single time. Sometimes it will vary by half an inch, sometimes by a couple of inches, sometimes it'll be even more than that because of adrenaline, fatigue, premeditation etc.

The longer you play cricket, the more your trigger movement changes or becomes more exaggerated and yet most people still use the same guard that they've been scratching out for years.

Now we're all agreed that one of, if not the, main aims when taking guard is to make sure you know where your off-stump is right? Insisting on machine-like precision when marking your guard in the ground and then tossing it all out of the window with a trigger movement that is impossible to repeat with that same level of precision is just a waste of time.

Even more so when the umpire at the other end is going "No, closer to you, a bit more, a bit closer again, no that's too far move it away now...no that's where you started, oh sod it who cares yeah that's middle and leg" and let's not forget that unless you are opening the batting in the first innings of the game by the time you get to the crease it's such a mess that there is no way you can scratch out a decent guard anyway.

So to sum up:

1) When you ask the umpire for your guard you're going to get a slightly different answer each time.

2) Once the umpire goes "Yep, you've got it" and you move your bat away and replace it with your foot so you can carve a trench with your spikes you've introduced another margin for error into the proceedings.

3) If you've got a trigger movement then your feet are in slightly different spots when every single ball is bowled even if you start from exactly the same spot every time, which you aren't.

I take guard on leg stump (My bat is on the ground in my stance so this gets my eyes in line with off-stump) and all I do is look down and use my eyes to put my bat and toes in the right spot. That's more than accurate enough for any of us.

We can pick the difference between a leg-break and a googly in a fraction of a second from 22 yards away and get in line with a ball coming down at 70+ mph but your eyes aren't good enough to judge if you're in line with a stump which is an arms length away? 

I stopped scratching a guard for these reasons, I try not to trigger and stay fairly upright in my stance so I just line my toes up with middle as best I can and go from there, my thinking being that hopefully this brings my bat down on off stump and I should know where all my stumps are.

[Seniorplayer]

Right, but the point is that you can do all of that without having to make a mark in the ground.

I hope anybody that needs the millimetre precision that comes with digging a small trench at the crease doesn't have a trigger movement because oh boy, all those boys and girls are wasting their time every time they mark their guard.

You don't need to make your mark by digging a small trench also the  mention  of trigger movements  is somewhat digressing from the original point of the reason why  batsman mark a  guard .

[Wickets-then-runs]

Idiots driving by the ground screaming out "owwwzzaaaattttt!"...
Yep, never heard that one before!

[Big Mac]

I understand your point and to a large degree I agree. I also find it odd that people ask for their guard with their bat and then move it to scratch it in with their spike. How accurate will that be??
I do often open and tap in a mark at the crease, but I'm also a crease tapper and that makes a mark parallel with the stumps about 6 inches behind the crease. I find this mark stays my whole innings and then it provides a good reference point if I want to move to a different guard and I don't need to ask the umpire.
If you don't ask for a guard the suspicion is you're a bit of a slogger or a total rabbit.

Yup! Then add the fact that whether your guard is accurate depends on whether the umpire is stood exactly in the same spot, it's all a mess.

As for the slogger/rabbit assumptions, good. Makes it funnier when you cream a textbook cover drive for four 

Well, that's what I assume. I'm still waiting for that moment...

You don't need to make your mark by digging a small trench also the  mention  of trigger movements  is somewhat digressing from the original point of the reason why  batsman mark a  guard .

Right but you still haven't explained why making a mark of any sort is better than using your own eyes.

As for the trigger movement point being a digression, when it's so obviously counter-productive to the aims of taking guard then it absolutely is relevant to the discussion.

[shadowlight]

Bowler asking the captain for 2 slip, gully, point and spraying everything down the leg side.

[JK Lewis]

I don't have many pet hates, but there's nothing worse than getting caught by a fella wearing black trainers.

[Long hop 1987]

I don't have many pet hates, but there's nothing worse than getting caught by a fella wearing black trainers.

I played in a pre season warm up last season I got to about 15 and pushed one down the ground to mid on's left hand. There was a kid about 14 fielding their in black trainers I thought he won't be much good, there's an easy quick single there. Only for him to swoop down pick up one handed and run me out with a direct hit and the bowlers end. Lesson Learnt