Cricket’s evolution never stops. The techniques used in cricket batting shots now were not present from the start. It appeared during the process of learning from each failure. In those days of uncovered pitches, the defence tactic was devised to ensure survival. Similarly, everything would have had a first time, which has become the fundamental aspect of playing cricket.
When it comes to cricket batting shots, they are created based on the scenario. It is a quick technique that allows the batter to determine when the ball is bowled in a matter of seconds. To have the run-making component, one definitely needs excellent shots in his or her arsenal. Without competent shot-making, the sword is useless.
Let’s take a look at 9 proven cricket batting shot selection tips below.
Why is Cricket Batting Shots Selection Important in Cricket?
There are several sorts of cricket batting shots and cricket batting tactics in cricket. Everything from the name to the striking technique, footwork, and intentions varies from stroke to shot. When a batsman takes the striking position, the goal is to score runs while avoiding losing one’s wicket.
Line and duration of deliveries vary. Furthermore, the field layout complicates batting. To score runs, batters use various strokes including defensive shots, aggressive shots, and inventive or unorthodox cricket shots.
The choice to play a certain stroke is influenced by a variety of elements such as the length of the ball, the landing place of the delivery, and even its direction. There are different types of shots such as straight drive, forward defence shot, sweep shot and reverse shot, pull shot, and much more.
Each player has their own way of selecting the best shot for themselves. Choosing the best shot style for yourself is important in cricket as it will determine your strengths in the game. Therefore, always choose the shot that makes you comfortable and brings out the best of your skills
Top 9 Tips for Cricket Batting Shot Selection:
Time the ball:
Making contact with the ball at the right time is the essence of good timing. This increases your chances of striking the ball in the middle of the bat, allowing you to put more force behind the ball without swinging the bat as hard.
The more often you can time the ball in this manner, the more runs you’ll be able to score, and the fielding side will have fewer chances to get you out. Batting in specific ways will help you better time the ball. A solid batting technique can assist you to get into favourable positions from which to play effective strokes, whereas a weak batting technique will hinder your ability to respond to the ball.
Watch the ball carefully:
One must keep an eye on the ball in order to know how soon we must respond and go towards it. We can swiftly pick up the line and length of the delivery by observing the ball and moving our feet accordingly by watching the ball.
You should keep your eyes on the ball if you want to hit it correctly from the centre of your bat. It’s quite difficult to strike a moving target while you’re not looking at it.
Also Read : How to bat in cricket for beginners?
Transfer weight into the shots:
You need to produce a force on the ball to smash it to the boundary, and if you move your weight forwards into the ball when you strike it, you can generate a lot of force without swinging the bat as hard. This advice is especially useful for front foot shots, which demand us to advance forward towards the ball.
The straight drive, cover drive, on the drive, square drive, and front foot leg glance are the shots where this suggestion will be most useful. There are two methods to transfer your body weight into the ball. The first is to advance your front foot along the field, and the second is to get your head forward and over the ball.
Understand the pace and pitch:
As a cricketer, you need to pay attention to and respond to the pitch’s pace and bounce, as well as the speed at which the bowler delivers the ball. If you’re facing a spinner, you should also try to figure out how much spin the pitch has and any changes it may have.
You will begin to change the tempo of your movements and strokes to fit the conditions as you get more familiar with the pace and bounce of the ball. The more at ease you get with the environment, the easier it will be to time your shots.
Drop ball drill:
The drop ball drill is an excellent approach to improve your front foot stroke timing. It’s one of the drills I often recommend since it’s so easy to execute and doesn’t require any special tools. You’ll only need a bat and a few balls, as well as someone to drop the ball for you.
This drill may also be used to practise progressing down the wicket to a spinner. To do this, have your partner step away from you before dropping the ball. In this variation, you should go fast down the pitch and attempt to strike the ball after the second bounce.
Practice with a thinner cricket bat:
Many professional players would commit a portion of their practice session to bat with a stump, or a thinner version of a cricket bat, rather than utilising their actual cricket bat for the whole session. AB de Villiers is one player that does this on a regular basis.
Batting with a thinner item like this during practice demands excellent hand-eye coordination as well as solid timing if you want to make consistent contact with the ball. If you want to incorporate this into your own practice sessions, I recommend getting a partner and asking them to give you some throw downs as I described above. Request that they toss you 20 – 30 balls and that you play a strong solid shot to each of them.
No Foot Movement drill:
No foot movement drill practise will help you improve your timing by training you to play the ball later, as well as your head position and how you transfer your weight into the shot. If you want to do this drill, find a partner and make sure you have enough area to bat while keeping the space as flat as possible.
Repeating this technique throughout practice sessions and making it more difficult by confronting faster bowling will get you used to moving your head towards the ball. In other words, if you can train yourself to move your head towards the ball, your feet will follow suit when you bat properly.
Play the ball late:
If you asked a group of professional batsmen what the secret to batting was, I’m sure many of them would say you need to learn to see the ball early and play it late.’ Seeing the ball leave the bowler’s hand and rapidly determining the line and length of the delivery offers you a significant edge.
The faster you can accomplish this, the more time you have to respond to the ball with the ideal stroke. The trick to playing the ball late is to let it come to you and strike it once it gets to you, which is commonly referred to as ‘playing the ball under your eyes.’
Real-time practice:
There is no way to enhance your abilities unless you spend time with the bat in your hand and smash balls on a regular basis. If you want to become an excellent batter, I recommend training your batting for at least an hour every week and participating in as many cricket contests as possible. If you have the time to practice for more than one hour each week, do so.
Every bit of extra practice will put you one step ahead of the competition. The more you practice, the more your batting method’s rhythms and motions will become embedded in your muscle memory, meaning you won’t have to think about your technique as much when you’re at the crease.
Conclusion:
I hope these cricket batting shots selection tips and workouts have given you some fresh ideas on how to enhance your batting shot selection. Improving this aspect of your game can help you become a far more effective hitter, therefore it’s well worth the time spent on practice fields. The batter must recognize that, while they play a variety of cricket strokes, some of them are not natural to them.
Batters must adapt their tactics based on ball length and other delivery factors. Thus, extrinsic learning is the art of striking a certain shot in an uncommon scenario. Furthermore, a lot of practice will teach you how to correctly time the ball on a variety of various surfaces and against different sorts of bowlers. You’ll discover what works and what doesn’t through trial and error.