It is (I promise), a well known fact that a large number of problems in a cricketers batting technique can be traced back to his/her grip, stance and backlift. It is the most important building block to a good technique – and should set you up for whatever comes your way. I want to run through some of the potential pitfalls – and how you might be able to overcome them – theres a handy printout – and a grip, stance and backswing video to watch. enjoy!
The basic mistakes can be:
- Holding the bat incorrectly.
- Standing with your feet too close together or too far apart.
- A wrongly positioned backlift – though the most common is none at all.
There are of course a number of different ways to ensure you do it correctly each time – but mainly it comes down to practice – there is a lot to be said for picking up a bat and standing in front of a full length mirror – don’t play any cover drives though, I don’t want to be responsible for the 7 years of bad luck. Consider it homework for the winter!
There are a few things out there that I think would help – below is an image taken from an ECBCA coaching pack – it breaks down in detail the various elements to the grip, stance and backswing – click on it – print it out – copy it (standing in front of the mirror). It’s based on right handers obviously – the same applies for lefties!
Although all of the points are important, once the grip is mastered I honestly believe having a full and straight backswing and a nice steady starting position with your eyes level will help no end.
If you are a more visual person and can think of nothing better than sitting in front of a video for a few minutes, you could do worse than watching this. It is good – it does go over too many points for my liking – just try to copy his shape and backlift and I think you’ll be on the right lines.
[youtube height=”250″ width=”500″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVQFT3-YlXM[/youtube]
Another coaching tip coming soon
Rob Pinnington
