Your Cricket Batting Thread

[Vcassano]

Well we have a fast bowling and spin bowling thread so why not?

Basically this thread is about anything to do with your personal batting; be it your style of play and which cricketer is resembles most, your best shots, your bat, your little obsessions while batting - anything really.

I won't say too much about me for now but to kick it off -

As a right-handed batsman I have two bats, a Kookaburra Kahuna Warrior and a Gray Nicholls Gn250. I am a very strong offside player with some excellent driving. When I drive I do so (by pure luck)it mimics Pietersen's style - my wrists are quite far from my chest.

Other then my classic cover drive, my preferred shot is the back foot off-drive which is made easy for me to do because of my very high back lift.

What I am working on right now is my legside shots, particularly the leg glances. This is because I am very weak down the legside, with exceptions of the hooking and pulling and the shot where you open the face slightly and send it to fine leg (mostly) for four.

 

[JikJak]

I apsire to be Strauss, last season i made 3 centuries and 7 fifties batting in the top four, i have never been bowled before in a club match, i mainly get out caught, backward point and cover are my main areas to be caught.
I scored 3 sixes and many many four last season, my areas for scoring are square leg, third man, fine leg and everywhere on the off side.

We've played some indoor games, consisting of 12 overs per innings where i have scored:

1st Match:
Batting 4th
Run Out/ 3
to compensate i ran two people out

2nd Match:
Batting 2nd
Run Out/ 41

3rd Match:
Batting 2nd
LBW, very unlucky/ 22

4th Match:
Batting 3rd
Run Out/ 9

5th Match:
Batting 2nd
Not Out/ 84*, big improvement

6th Match:
Batting 2nd
Not Out/ 61*

Bats:
Gray Nicholls Powerbow, Strauss's bat
Gray Nicholls Millenium

 

[Simbazz]

I really like to try to play like many people...

When batting i love Blackwell, as many people know, and have given me grief over time ive been here.

Also i like Gilchrist Just made a sig in my thread! And also i really like Andrew Flintoff

I just like the mental side of Gilly.... and the way Freddie plays....Blackwell is just someone i aspire to due to him being similar to me

 

[Vcassano]

It should be noted that the comparisons I made between Pietersen and my batting style only stretches far as the technical side of batting, not the mentality! I bat very cautiously, like Cook.

 

[embi]

Lol good thread, someone had to make it in the end. I'm assuming this thread is also about tips on batting?

I'm still developing my batting. I didn't get alot of experience this year (2 matches), I try to get my fast bowler friend round so I can practise against him

 

[ZoraxDoom]

I'm a terrible batter. Can put the bat in front of ball and bat for taking up time, got a decent forward defensive. But am a terrible driver. My bottom hand stays loose as my sir says (Although he still believes I grip it too hard), but my top hand is terribly weak and the bat always turns in my hands. I am fantastic at the pull shot though. And a decent late-cutter too. I likeplaying un-orthodx shots such as paddle-sweeps, late cuts, reverse sweeps (Though I have yet to middle one to date) etc. I like a lighter bat, even though mine is a bit too heavy for me. I like using my feet to the spinners, but my bat is just too heavy to take a big swing with. I usually do my best with a lighter bat, hence my success in tape-ball cricket as a batter...

But I am looking forward too tips. From what I learned last class, I am adjusting my stance a bit so I play straighter, and am just going to focus on reading the ball from the hand, picking it up early, and putting my head behind the bat...

 

[Vcassano]

I'm a terrible batter. Can put the bat in front of ball and bat for taking up time, got a decent forward defensive. But am a terrible driver. My bottom hand stays loose as my sir says (Although he still believes I grip it too hard), but my top hand is terribly weak and the bat always turns in my hands. I am fantastic at the pull shot though. And a decent late-cutter too. I likeplaying un-orthodx shots such as paddle-sweeps, late cuts, reverse sweeps (Though I have yet to middle one to date) etc. I like a lighter bat, even though mine is a bit too heavy for me. I like using my feet to the spinners, but my bat is just too heavy to take a big swing with. I usually do my best with a lighter bat, hence my success in tape-ball cricket as a batter...

But I am looking forward too tips. From what I learned last class, I am adjusting my stance a bit so I play straighter, and am just going to focus on reading the ball from the hand, picking it up early, and putting my head behind the bat...

My main advice for driving, over than of course watching the ball all the time which is always appropriate, is to point your toes in the direction where the drive will be going.

On this page there is a video guide to driving by Thorpey which is well worth a look.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/skills/default.stm

In terms of batting I am a complete opoosite to you; as well as being a driver I play rigid cricket shots by the book, so no reverse sweeps and the like. It's not that I can't do them it's just that its not in my character to do so. I'm more Atherton than Afridi .

 

[Simbazz]

The main thing about batting is getting you head over the ball so you can see if it swings or spins

When facing a seamer, quick bowler usually.... i check his hand and try to pick out what kind of ball he's bowling, and then i watching till it bounces and then make a quick decision, but when batting most batmen will talk about just backing you own game and not thinking too much, that means that when your out there your on auto-pilot and its soo quick that your body acts quicker than your brain.

I love batting, bowling is a chore, but batting is where the easy stuff is, im lucky as i come in just as spinners are introduced usually.

I love practising against the quickest of bowlers as Confidence, Technique and understanding of the ball types all come into place quickly as you have no time to think about it!

If i had to put a player to me id say i would be someone like Sachin, lol no were near as good as the man, but the mental side of the game, if the runs are drying up, i dont panic, i just back my shot selection to get the board going again, but when the time comes i can go out and hit boundries....

Id say my character helps the team, aswell as captain i love slip fielding as im usually among the banter if you have a team full of stiffs and non-confident charcaters it would be boring, same when batting, if the bowlers are just coming in bowling and walking away without any words being exchanged it would be boring

 

[JikJak]

all i can suggest to any starting batsmen is block the straight ball, anything straight block it

 

[ZoraxDoom]

I like Batting too when I am tired. Otherwise bowling is much more fun.
I can drive, it's just that the bat turns so much in my hands. I have weak wrists...very weaks wrists...

 

[JikJak]

Im very good at facing spin bowling which is why i come in 4th and play through when the spinners come on to bowl, tips for spinners would be to wait until the ball has spun, wait for the bounce and stand back onto your back foot read to pull, cut or drive on the back foot, it they bowl a flighty loopy ball or one thats quite full get to the pitch, but make sure you are covering your wicket, so 'dance' down the wicket and get fully over the ball so that the ball cannot escape past you and you be stumped.

 

[Simbazz]

When batting against the spinner JikJak said the back foot shot is vital, Make yourself tall and let the bat push the ball, dont try to over minipulate it if your not strong enough, just merely get it away!

I love playing against the spinners as some of them are real hot heads and get mad if they get smacked about, so i make it my aim to make em have a break down If they get mad they start flighting balls and bowling balls which dont bounce and if that happens these are so easy to dispatch as a spinner doesnt get swing, although a good spinner can impliment drift but it isnt much. WATCH the ball, always look at where its pitching and try to get over it so skying it or top edging it is out of the question!

 

[JikJak]

also i would like to add that there could be a bit of dip so the ball will pitch shorter being dragged down by the spin so watch out for that

 

[MUFC1987]

I got reasonably confident with my batting towards the end of last year. I struggled at first to get my feet moving. It was weird, because I could attack and use my feet well, but as soon as I tried to defend, my feet didn't move, leaving huge gaps as you can imagine. I put in a trigger movement with help from my friend who I coach with and it has improved. The problem is that I've had very little opportunity to attack, i.e. batting in the tail when wickets have tumbled ahead of me. I seem to have gone from OK when attacking, but poor when defending, to good when defending, but struggling to take advantage of poor bowling when it comes, which is something I really have to work on.

 

[Simbazz]

If your gunna come down the wicket, your first stride has to be big and bold and correct! If your first stride isnt correct you will find that you dont get to the pitch of the ball and your basically waving good bye as your stumped a mili second later! Take one confidant stride towards a six