Bad Advice

[Cricket_Newb]

Yesterday i got out off some bad advice and felt i need to vent.

I play in u14's. It was a 1 day match (25 overs). I came in to bat at 5 and we were not chasing much, only 113. I scoreed a quick 11 in 3 overs. I don't have a very developed cutshot so i let a few balls go on the offside which were all immdeiately followed by sarcasitc remarks from my coach such as "Ha look, he thinks its a 2 day match). I shook them off until he basically started insulting me.

He said "Mate do us all a favor and either tonk it or get out". The whole fielding team laughed and i was so pissed. So i did, i missed 3 balls in a row until 1 finaly hit off stump.

We lost that match by 15 runs. And guess what, we ran out of wickets and not overs.



So my question is, how do i learn a decent cut shot, how can i predict the bounce and is there any reliant way to keep them down

[Cricket_Newb]

And 1 of our players scored 57 N.O and ran out of partners. Our partnership of 23 was the highest in our innings, and i got the 2nd highest score in my team with 11.

How embarrassing is that?

[mas cambios]

Cut shot advice from Boycott (I think this is pretty spot on):

Right. First of all he needs to practise. I come back to this: practice, practice and more practice. But it needs to be perfect practice. You need to know what you're practising.

He should practise on a hard surface. Not necessarily a cricket pitch and not necessarily a turf pitch. It would be better if the surface is concrete or artificial, where you get an exceptionally true bounce. Then he should try and use a tennis ball, a furry one. After that, get somebody to bowl or even throw the ball from 12 or 14 yards away into the surface so the ball bounces at a reasonable height. Then he needs to practise the cut shot.

Now the important thing about the cut shot is to understand what you are trying to do. If you hit the ball into the ground too near you, it will kill the ball and it won't go anywhere. So you've got to aim at a point, maybe ten yards away, so that it skids along past the cover fielder. If you hit the ball in the air, you may get away with runs. But you also may be hitting it at a catchable height for the fielder. So my idea is, if you want to go high, go really high. Right over the top of cover point, but ideally cut it 10-13 yards away and practise that. But don't cut it into the deck immediately because when it is a cricket leather ball and you're playing on grass turf, the ball will just die quickly.

From Cricinfo.

Thinks like how to pick the bounce will come with practice, it's a learned response. The more you do it, the easier it becomes. In terms of keeping it down, then that is going to come from rolling the wrists, again practice will help you understand how much to do this. You could give yourself a target to aim for, say, just before point etc.

In terms of your coach, then maybe a quiet word is needed. What he did isn't on and it's just showing him up. If you don't like your word carries enough weight, speak to a parent/club welfare rep etc.

Coaches are there to develop, encourage and make the game enjoyable, not to put people off.

[someblokecalleddave]

Yeah your coach sounds like an idiot especially as you're under 14. As Mas says someone needs to know about that if that's a constant thing that you have to put up with.

[gandalf]

In my experience at club level, I have to say the cut shot is attempted far too often. And I stress "attempted" - because more often than not batsmen make a mess of it. Here's a few things to consider when you're thinking about cutting:

1. As well as knowing the cut-shot, teach yourself to also play with a straight bat off the back foot. One of the most common errors I see with batsmen is cut shots being played to balls that are too close to the body. In this case, the back foot drive would be the correct shot - but batsmen who don't practice this shot won't be able to adjust if the ball is too close to the body. But if you know both, you only have to judge the length and your reflexes will make the decision to play straight or cross-bat for you.

2. IMO cut shots are most effective off fast bowling - which is very uncommon at club level. What tends to happen when cuts are played off slow/medium bowlers is that the batsmen hit the ball too early, hitting it far straighter than they mean to, and reducing the effectiveness of the shot. A more effective shot IMO is the pull shot - and can actually be played for all but the widest deliveries.

p/s tell your coach to get over himself. His behaviour is totally unacceptable.

[DizzyGillepsie]

Originally Posted by someblokecalleddave

Yeah your coach sounds like an idiot especially as you're under 14. As Mas says someone needs to know about that if that's a constant thing that you have to put up with.

exaclty what i was thinking... coach is a tosser. solution would be to change teams.

a good coach should be able to recognise the areas where you require more development and address these areas with you on a 1 on 1 basis, possibly during net throw down sessions.

[Fishing Charter Man]

The cut shot is a very valuable weapon against all bowlers.

Mas Cambios's appraisal is completely correct. The cut shot will ONLY develop with consistent correct practise in the nets - you need to find an experienced player who can teach you step by step the mechanics or technique from footwork to rolling your wrists. This will take quite a few sessions however it will come together if your keen and it isn't that hard of a shot - but you need to learn it correctly.

Your coach has issues ... I would be looking for a new coach.