Bowlers That Bat At No. 10 & 11 Section.
- Thread starter someblokecalleddave
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someblokecalleddave
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Yeah that did cross my mind - something like lead flashing that you use on roofs.
someblokecalleddave
Well-Known Member
I was posting over in the Wrist spinning bit and it all got a bit 'Batty' so I've copied it over to here.
Oh - right, maybe that's what I've been doing? With this 'Watch the ball, watch the ball' that I say to myself, it might be that I'm doing that - visualising what I do, I think I try and get the head and bat lined up with the ball when I'm playing and with my son I do something different because it's only ever in a practice scenario?
The other thing that this has made me realise is........... Is there a theory about one-eyed-ness when batting, if you use two eyes compared to one eye there's the stere-scopic aspect to the process, although I'm sure the brain sorts it out, but are there theroies relating to the use of one eye as opposed to two? Isn't it that the single eye is a disastor and that you look directly at the bowler with the head level etc?
Oh - right, maybe that's what I've been doing? With this 'Watch the ball, watch the ball' that I say to myself, it might be that I'm doing that - visualising what I do, I think I try and get the head and bat lined up with the ball when I'm playing and with my son I do something different because it's only ever in a practice scenario?
The other thing that this has made me realise is........... Is there a theory about one-eyed-ness when batting, if you use two eyes compared to one eye there's the stere-scopic aspect to the process, although I'm sure the brain sorts it out, but are there theroies relating to the use of one eye as opposed to two? Isn't it that the single eye is a disastor and that you look directly at the bowler with the head level etc?
Head (eyes) level helps in general and I would think you really need two eyes to get depth ie length. I have seen it said that the dominant eye should be in line with off stump at bowlers release, but as with so much individual preference has to take priority if it works. The way I have had dominant eye explained to me is point at an object in the mid distance (lamp post, church spire) with your index finger then close one eye, then swap - with one combination of open/shut your finger will move, with the other it wont (or at least wont appear to) this is your dominant eye.
Andrew Bourne
Member
Hi, Just in relation to playing the off-spinner...
Using your feet to get down the wicket is the best method you can use in my opinion, no matter where you bat in the order its always harder for a spinner to work you over when the batsman is being confident and using his feet.
Coming down the wicket gives you the chance of getting to him on the full, negating the spin and allowing you to drive comfortably, and if you dont quite get to the pitch you can smother it using your front pad/bat as you shouldnt be given out lbw down the track. You will find that the offie will tend to start dropping them a little shorter to account for your footwork, which will allow you to use the crease and get right back turning him for an easy single off your legs once your eye is in.
Don't discount the value of batting at 9/10/11... a lot of the times the contributions made by the tail can be matchwinning
Using your feet to get down the wicket is the best method you can use in my opinion, no matter where you bat in the order its always harder for a spinner to work you over when the batsman is being confident and using his feet.
Coming down the wicket gives you the chance of getting to him on the full, negating the spin and allowing you to drive comfortably, and if you dont quite get to the pitch you can smother it using your front pad/bat as you shouldnt be given out lbw down the track. You will find that the offie will tend to start dropping them a little shorter to account for your footwork, which will allow you to use the crease and get right back turning him for an easy single off your legs once your eye is in.
Don't discount the value of batting at 9/10/11... a lot of the times the contributions made by the tail can be matchwinning
someblokecalleddave
Well-Known Member
Cheers for this, If I remember come Jan I might give it a go in the nets. I think I do try it every now and then using the theory you've described - smothering it if I miss it, but I think its the lack of confidence that lets me down. I'll have to see.
someblokecalleddave
Well-Known Member
Have a look at this - does this make sense for me? My issue seems to be that I'm pretty useless at judging length and timing, but last season I seemed to have made a massive improvement in that I had lots of not outs and saw a bloke home to his first century through 3 or 4 overs and really p*****d off some bowlers by just staying there and blocking waiting for loose balls when they obviously just wanted to finish the game off. The bloke in the vid says not to use your feet and to stay static. Is there something I could do if I got used to the line and length in that situation where I could just do something like angle the bat down with the face slightly towards slips with loose hands - might that guide the ball through slips, rather than just keep blocking?
the late cut or guide through the slips is probably the single most dangerous shot you can play against the offspinner. All it has to do is spin a little more than you're expecting and you've lost your offstump.
That video is rubbish. It doesn't even make sense. "Once you have moved the front foot you can't move the back foot anywhere but legstump" Really? how come you see Test cricketers doing that all the time then?
This is my advice, and actually mirrors how Test cricketers play:
http://www.pitchvision.com/playing-spin
someblokecalleddave
Well-Known Member
The opposite advice, really. Be ready to move, and get quickly into line as soon as you see the ball out of the hand. Play straight to anything on the stumps. Pick a couple of shots to have a go at and be careful with the rest. If you need to score runs quickly, don't be afraid to have a go at anything outside off stump.
Dave, the danger with the glance/deflection is you either get into 'waft' mode and start playing away from your body without getting your head in line, or you play with an angled bat which is in effect reducing the width of your bat by a fair bit (you are old enough to remember 'the makers name' quotes). That said, if you have a limited range of strokes adding another option which you are comfortable with is no bad thing, from what you have said you are really only looking for 'rotating the strike' shots anyway so the old Graham Thorpe nudges and nurdles may be the next best option
someblokecalleddave
Well-Known Member
Everyone says that those nifty flicks off the legs are bread and butter shots and whilst I don't really have a clue as to how to execute them (Maybe I should go and have a look) I seem to be pulling these off if the bowler 'Strays onto the legs'. It's probably that I'm managing to keep the bat straight and there's no-one there other than the bloke on 3/4's and I just deflect the ball and it runs away for a single or a couple and ocassionally a 4, that's pretty much how I get off strike. The other is the one through the slips and is this angled down bat, normally off of a lifting ball that is quite safe - it's a backfoot defensive block, but I've seen its safe and I think I just angle the bat guiding the ball down and through the slips, done it a few times. I have a cut shot, but the bowler has to have bowled potentially the worst ball in the world before I'm able to get that away and with really slow balls I do that paddle sweep demo'd by Ian Bell fairly successfully. I suppose on reflection I think I've probably come on a bit as a batsman this past season, I've lost the fear I used to have of the ball and I have these few 'Strokes' and as I said earlier I'm not usually the bloke that gets dismissed and I come away with a not out 80% of the time I reckon. A nudger and a nurdler is a good description and I'd be happy with that, I need to try and get No.9 and see if I can get 3 an over and I might beat my all time record of 11! I'm quite looking forward to nets in January now to see if I can put some of this into action!
Oh and I forgot - just looking at some vids of me batting last Sunday I've remembered that I've been practicing with this and it may have a helped a bit?
someblokecalleddave
Well-Known Member
I've been looking around at various sites SLA's favourite 'Pitchvision' (Their youtube stuff), Mavericks circket as well and seen this approach where you take your guard and then step back across the stumps which then brings the head in line with the *ball and stumps (*I assume) and allows for you to block nicely and nurdle the ball around a bit. But they're also saying if the balls picthed up a bit you're then in position to drive the ball. I like the looks and sound of this. Is the practice in the mirror really that useful as I know so many people that say it is and it kind of conforms to the muscle memory and pre-visualisation theories?
Mirror, or "shadow" batting, is wonderful Dave. It's like videoing yourself. Find a clip of a shot played well (an Ian Bell cover drive comes to mind!) and show it on youtube, and visualise yourself playing it in your head. then try it in front of the mirror, remembering to move your feet, make sure your head is still and in line, and then analyse. Or, even better, video it, see where you can improve. That's how I've improved this season!
someblokecalleddave
Well-Known Member
Damn! I just did a big reply and the bloody thing didn't save!
someblokecalleddave
Well-Known Member
Tumo, I had a go at the mirror thing, realising that it conforms to the theory that if you practice over and over it starts to imbed as muscle memory. Doing it in front of the mirror felt right and as you said it allows you to analyse what it is you need to do to execute the stroke correctly (Or as best I can). Pre-visualisation helps as well, just going over it in my head seems to make sense and then this weekend I unleashed it on the kids and it came together quite nicely. I need to get in the nets in the new year and get one of those sidearms for the kids to use on me which’ll help with replicating the kind of bowling speeds I see in games, although my older son is a pretty nippy and accurate bowler himself and he still gets me even with this new technique. He simply bowls Yorkers first up and bowls me clean. I need a different approach for him! But, that aside it looks promising and I feel a lot more confident, no longer scared of the ball, which helps a lot.
Yorkers take a combination of quick thinking, quick moving, and luck to dig out. You have to pick it up early, move your feet accordingly (normally to get them out of the way), and get your bat down in time. I tried to find a video of someone playing a yorker well but they're all bowled/LBW! I'm not sure what advice I can offer from here really, I shall have a think on it whilst working!
someblokecalleddave
Well-Known Member
Yeah what do you do? Is there a standard approach to starting your batting? I think with him I'd gone out there with a positive intent with an intention to play the ball and he pulls out his fastest Malinga style right on the base of the stump yorker. He's very good sometimes, more difficult to play than many of the adults and much older kids I face in games and seemingly faster! I could go in prepared to face Yorkers and just block the ball, but that sounds negative?
You're right - you can't just go out there expecting a yorker, otherwise it will cause you to curtail both your backswing and your footwork, both of which are essential to be able to play attacking shots. So it's really just a case of practicing two things: recognising yorkers quickly, and instinctively training yourself to bring the bat down quickly as soon as you do.
someblokecalleddave
Well-Known Member
Another development is that we've got a Sidearm over Christmas which gives us the potential to practice facing very fast balls. We've found that the Pro version of the Sidearm is usable with a range of balls including the Bola balls and Wind balls and so we've been practicing with windballs and it is ridiculously fast even in the hands of a 13 year old. Possibly the fastest I've ever faced seeing as I only ever play 3rd and 4th XI cricket at best. But it is so fast it seems as though I'd never have an answer to anyone bowling at that speed and I'm wondering where you'd start - I barely get the bat down from the back-lift and its passed the edge of the bat and the stumps!