I desperately need help with my batting

iamjor

Can anyone offer any tips.

Real tips and not smart comments would be preferable, but I doubt I will get through this thread without a few wisecracks !!!!

TrueDub

Really difficult to give anything other than generalisations without actually seeing you bat.

That said, the simplest and best advice I was ever given was this: watch the ball. Not just the area through which the ball will travel, actually watch the ball itself, right onto the face of the bat. This will keep your head down and allow you to make better contact with the ball.

ClareVisitor

The most important one has been said above by TrueDub. Other than that, know your limits. If there's a ball in an area where you don't feel confident playing a particular shot then leave it. Know which shots you are strong on and play them well. If you're weak on a particular shot, get someone to help you practice playing it in the nets as much as you can until you are ready to bring it to the middle.

Of course, depending on the match situation you might just have to have a dart!

TheDrog

the best advice i can think of is work on your defensive shots. the better your defence the more time in the middle and you'll adjust quicker for playing attacking shots.

crackit

All sound advice above. As said it's very hard to give you specific advice without knowing what you're struggling with or what it is you're trying to remedy.

Presumably you play for a club? Surely there must be a coach you can ask for advice on technique. Or failing that get the bowling machine out and have it set to keep putting the ball in the area or areas you struggle with and keep at it until you work it out and then it becomes second nature to deal with those deliveries.

Gordon Gecko

Work hard on your set up: addressing the crease, backlift etc. Then find your weak shots, e.g. cover drive, practice hitting a stationery ball on a cone, then progress to a mate feeding tennis balls into the slot while you practice with a stump, then progress to a bat, then progress to real balls. Very slow and basic but really builds up your skills and far better than spending hours in the nets playing and missing at balls.

iamjor

Thanks everybody for your replies, they are much appreciated. I am curently playing for a taverners team, so I dont have a club coach, and am just looking for some fundamentals to help improve my game.

Any other suggestions are truely appreciated. I promise I won't post a "I desperately need help with my bowling thread in the next few days".

riffmongous

Hmm, if its taverner you're playing, and you're not really looking to break into a first's in a few years, I'd suggest learning three things, how to block, how to leave and how to sweep along the ground.
At taverners level you should be able to sweep most of the bowlers and any you can't you just block and leave. That way you should be able to get a few decent scores. Then learn how to cut and you'll be set, thats what I did anyway

crackit

Are you planning on playing real cricket or staying with taverners?

If you're planning on playing league then go to a team with a coach. Most league teams have some kind of taverners attached or that use their ground.

If you're planning on staying taverners then, despite the good advice above, you don't even need to learn how to do those things. You don't need to block anything. If it's in line with the stumps just make sure you get your pads in the way. Get a nice high backlift and have a hack at everything just keep those pads in the way of the sticks!

LondonIrish90

Difficult to give advice without knowing exactly what your weaknesses are. Enjoy your batting. Anything on off stump, at that level it will be quite a surprise for a bowler to get the ball to do much, so watch the ball and get behind the ball line with a straight bat and you should be fine. If you get a good ball from out of the blue, don't worry about it. Bowlers will more than likely have as much idea as to what the ball will do as you will when playing for a pub side, so if one nips in from nowhere then just accept it and move on. Too many players get worked up and let a dismissal affect their approach for the next few innings.

Anything outside off stump, throw your hands at it. Go hard and hope for the best. Its what cricket at that level is all about!