Increasing reaction speed

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madbunny

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Increasing reaction speed

Hi Guys,

I am just a local club player on the weekends but I'm looking to improve my batting skills. I find I am great at playing slow/medium pacers and I'm very strong on the offside. However when I face pace bowlers I tend to struggle to play shots as I am far too slow to react and never have time to pull or hook. I find the only shot I can play off pace bowlers is the straight drive. I tend to fish outside the off to good length balls to pace bowlers also.

I guess what I'm asking is, what's the best way to increase my reaction speed so that I have a little more time to construct a shot against pace bowlers rather than constantly prodding? Could it be I have trouble picking the length of balls?

Thanks heaps :)
 
Re: Increasing reaction speed

A lot of it is down to being able to anticipate what is going to happen and this comes from practice. The more you face pace bowling the more you're able to pick up cues about length and line and deal with it.

You can try drills with reaction balls (for example) to help improve you hand-eye co-ordination but the best way is to start facing bowling at a certain pace and then crank it up steadily.

Normally, someone will throw in talk of a trigger movement (see part on trigger movements here) but I think the key for you to worry about is making sure you're getting in line with the ball and keeping the head still.
 
Re: Increasing reaction speed

Thanks mas,

I think you may be right. I never really get any practice with pace bowling in the nets as I'm the only quickie in the team :) I'm thinking of doing half an hour a week with the bowling machine and gradually increasing speed every week until im used to it.
 
Re: Increasing reaction speed

It really does help but you can also do other drills to help your general reaction times, such as the reaction (or Z ball) drills. Also, thinks like close catching practice can help as you have to have keep your eye on the ball and react to it in short space of time.

There are a fair few examples out there of reaction drills but the trouble can be in relating them to cricket. The other side of the coin is to also improve concentration skills so you're able to more keenly watch and follow the ball.

Welcome to the board by the way!
 
Re: Increasing reaction speed

Thanks!

I will look into getting one of those reaction balls. I am of the belief that nerves play a huge part in the reason i'm so slow to react as I seem much more comfortable in the nets.
 
Re: Increasing reaction speed

That may be a reason, I'm the opposite as I hate batting in nets and it really messes my game up, would much rather be out in the middle or at least in outdoor portable nets.

Not sure what facilities you have around you but a few gyms and fitness centres now have reaction training stations and they can be reasonable (non-cricket) way of at least starting to train reactions. It will normally be things like tapping a light when it comes on etc.
 
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