A Problem With Aus & Nz Batting?

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leftie600

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I'm just posting this as Martin Crowe (who has thankfully come through his cancer treatment) has mentioned issues with the way people are taught to bat nowadays and it's something that's been in the back of my mind for a while.

Given that NZ usually takes its coaching methods from Aus and that Aus & NZ are pretty poor with the bat, have no spin bowling to speak of and have a good crop of young seam bowlers this link seems even greater.

So, is there something fundamentally wrong with the way Aus & NZ have been coaching batting over the last 10 years?
 
leftie600 said:
I'm just posting this as Martin Crowe (who has thankfully come through his cancer treatment) has mentioned issues with the way people are taught to bat nowadays and it's something that's been in the back of my mind for a while.

Given that NZ usually takes its coaching methods from Aus and that Aus & NZ are pretty poor with the bat, have no spin bowling to speak of and have a good crop of young seam bowlers this link seems even greater.

So, is there something fundamentally wrong with the way Aus & NZ have been coaching batting over the last 10 years?
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Fundamentally, I believe there is but I'm far from an expert on the topic. If one of NZ's best ever batsmen says it then I'll probably take notice. The problem with cricket in New Zealand is the focus is on shorter formats like 20 overs or 34 overs until you make the premier grades really. Correct me if I'm wrong but shouldn't players be playing the longer formats before they are put into the more serious grades? Because their batting techniques have already been forming from when they first picked up a bat and so they are unlikely going to be a Trott-like player if they mostly played 20-20's. Weather is a problem with the longer matches as you know though. Too many batsmen in New Zealand go hard at the ball and not wait for it too come to them (I can't go much more technical than that haha) and many don't use their feet or have little foot movement due to the lack of spinners that really rip the ball and the lack of serious pace in premier cricket maybe?

Feel free to disagree with me...I could be very wrong.
 
futureblackcap said:
Too many batsmen in New Zealand go hard at the ball and not wait for it too come to them (I can't go much more technical than that haha) and many don't use their feet or have little foot movement due to the lack of spinners that really rip the ball and the lack of serious pace in premier cricket maybe?
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Watching the NZ side over the years they do seem to have quite a few batsmen with very ordinary footwork that have made the national side.

In the 90s at the Aussies' hotel someone accidentally put a team strategy sheet under the wrong door and it leaked to the press. Most players had a few comments on them, mostly negative but I did laugh when all they had for Craig Spearman was 2 words, "No footwork".
 
Wow just looked up Spearman's record, 50 ODI innings almost all opening the batting for an average of 18, sr 77.. That's abysmal, it's a wonder he got so many games. Do remember him smashing a massive 6 right out of the WACA over square leg, of course he managed to get out about 2 balls later :D
 
Kram81 said:
Wow just looked up Spearman's record, 50 ODI innings almost all opening the batting for an average of 18, sr 77.. That's abysmal, it's a wonder he got so many games. Do remember him smashing a massive 6 right out of the WACA over square leg, of course he managed to get out about 2 balls later :D
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I actually feel sorry for the guy, he was a jounrneyman player who kept getting picked because the other options were really that bad. The Fleming era kind of glossed over the weaknesses that we had (no consistent openers, lack of a genuine strike bowler until Bond came along). Thankfully Spearman ended up having a reasonable go at county cricket before he retired and did OK from what I remember (he'd actually moved over there and was working in a bank when they asked him to play).

Strange & quiet guy who could hit the ball a long way. That 6 was off Alan Donald wasn't it?
 
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