How To Construct An Innings

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CharlesS

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I'm relatively new to the game - I played competitive baseball my whole life, and took up cricket about a year ago as an adult. What I've found is that I have a completely opposite set of problems from most cricketers, and in particular I'm looking for some advice on how to think about building an innings.

Basically, what I've found is that against pace bowling, which is what most of the top bowlers I face are bowling, there are two shots I'm very comfortable playing:

- Anything down the leg side I can hit hard someplace, either some sort of ugly-looking slog over midwicket for 6 or something more like a flick a little behind square for 4.

- Anything on the stumps I can play a half volley straight back over the bowler.

What I can't do is pretty much everything else. In particular, I get out caught behind frequently trying to play a forward defensive shot. The end result is that I have a high strike rate but average around 10-15, typically getting my eye in and then getting out.

Similarly, I tend to score few runs apart from boundaries; coming over from baseball, I'm used to swinging far too hard at everything. For example, first ball the last time I played I tried to just defend by punching the ball back down the pitch with a straight bat and it went for 4.

Everything I've read about how to construct an innings basically comes down to play each ball on its merits, attacking the bad balls and defending the good ones. My problem is that the good ones are the ones I can score runs off of, while I often get out doing things like taking something where I've been given some width and scooping it trying to put it away somewhere.

On the other hand, my current plan also isn't working - I score some runs, but never enough to really make a big score. In a T20 format that's probably not so awful, but we also play longer matches, and in any event, I feel like I have to be doing something wrong when I keep getting into double digits and have never topped 29 -- the other batsmen in my team frequently fail to get started, but when they do get into double digits and get comfortable, often make a big score.

So, I have to think that my approach is wrong, and I'd appreciate any and all advice on how to improve!
 
If you mainly get out defending, then don't defend, play to your strengths, which apparently is hitting everything for four.

Every batsman is different, there is no "right way" and "wrong way", only ways that work for you and ways that don't.
 
Well, I wouldn't say trying to hit a boundary on every ball is working for me, either. It's working better than playing defensively, but it's not successful. So, I'm trying to figure out if there's a better way to approach an innings that might help.

Right now, before every ball, I try to decide ahead of time what shot I want to play. Basically, look around at the field setting and decide something like "if the ball is down leg, I want to try and flick it backward of square, if it's on the stumps and short I want to leave it, on a good length try and defend it, and leave anything outside off". Is this the right idea, and is the problem just that I'm picking the wrong shots? Or, do good batsmen really come into each delivery with no strong preference for how they're going to play it and mainly just react to the delivery?
 
CharlesS said:
Well, I wouldn't say trying to hit a boundary on every ball is working for me, either. It's working better than playing defensively, but it's not successful. So, I'm trying to figure out if there's a better way to approach an innings that might help.

Right now, before every ball, I try to decide ahead of time what shot I want to play. Basically, look around at the field setting and decide something like "if the ball is down leg, I want to try and flick it backward of square, if it's on the stumps and short I want to leave it, on a good length try and defend it, and leave anything outside off". Is this the right idea, and is the problem just that I'm picking the wrong shots? Or, do good batsmen really come into each delivery with no strong preference for how they're going to play it and mainly just react to the delivery?
Click to expand...

It's advisable to have a batting plan that you have worked out in the off-season. You should assess in the nets what shots you are able to play and what shots you are not, and get it sorted in your head what kind of shots you will play to what deliveries in what situations. For experienced cricketers this plan becomes a mainly unconscious process with small tinkerings here and then, at that point it is mainly just a case of reacting to the delivery in an instinctive manner.

Of course, it's not adviseable to premeditate shots before you know where the ball is going to pitch. Learn to play the drive, the defence, the cut, the pull and the glance, and possibly the sweep against the spinner. That should be enough shots for any batsman.
 
Developing a game plan takes some time because it's a complex task. It also does vary greatly between batters. Your own style will come with experience and I can see you are already starting to build a framework based on your strengths and weaknesses.

I would recommend playing a lot of games and/or doing middle practice for extended periods. Have a plan in your head beforehand but when you walk out clear your mind and play the ball on it's merits in the middle. Continue to assess your game plan between overs and between matches. You will need to do some experimenting and you will make mistakes.

We have some free resources to help you here:

http://www.pitchvision.com/category/batting
http://www.pitchvision.com/scoring-options-how-good-batsman-deal-with-line-and-length
http://www.pitchvision.com/how-to-bat-against-spin
http://www.pitchvision.com/heres-a-simple-formula-for-batting-success
http://www.pitchvision.com/a-good-pull-shot-crushes-bowlers-spirits
http://www.pitchvision.com/how-to-improve-your-batting-shot-selection-front-foot-on-drive
http://www.pitchvision.com/6-shortcuts-for-becoming-an-excellent-batsman-in-record-time
http://www.pitchvision.com/how-to-use-“pairing-up”-to-score-more-runs-against-spin
 
CharlesS said:
Well, I wouldn't say trying to hit a boundary on every ball is working for me, either. It's working better than playing defensively, but it's not successful. So, I'm trying to figure out if there's a better way to approach an innings that might help.

Right now, before every ball, I try to decide ahead of time what shot I want to play. Basically, look around at the field setting and decide something like "if the ball is down leg, I want to try and flick it backward of square, if it's on the stumps and short I want to leave it, on a good length try and defend it, and leave anything outside off". Is this the right idea, and is the problem just that I'm picking the wrong shots? Or, do good batsmen really come into each delivery with no strong preference for how they're going to play it and mainly just react to the delivery?
Click to expand...

I don't know if it will be helpful, but instead of trying to decide which shot you want to play, decide on a couple of shots you definitely will not play. This is a bit like professional players decide not to cut early on in the innings or decide not to pull on some pitches. Sachin Tendulkar's famous 200 in SCG (where he decided not to play a cover drive) is an extreme example of the same.

Coming from baseball, I think you should have a better grasp of which ones are in your zone ( After all, you are not supposed to swing at balls out of strike zone). So, first work out one or two zones in which you are confident of connecting. If the ball is wider, leave it, if it is shorter, you can leave it. Anything else, think of doing a bunt. if you can bunt without getting caught, I am sure you can tap without getting caught and run the single - no need to "defend" as long as you refrain from hitting,
 
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