Hello to all the Cricketfundas.com’s readers. This week, I am going to talk about the Basic Fundas of Batting and the changes that have taken place in a modern day cricketers’ game. I really hope that this article is very useful for all the budding cricketers and any queries on this topic are going to be answered by me.
In the fundamentals of Batting, there are three basic skills in the game (1) Grip, (2) Stance and (3) Pick Up or Back-lift.
Holding any instrument is known as GRIP. There are two ways of grip – (i) ‘V’ shape grip (ii) ‘O’ shape grip or ‘Axe’ grip. ‘V’ shape grip is used by the artists, painters, students, surgeons and Bidri Craftsmen etc. Any professional, who has to perform a delicate and artistic work, grip the instrument in a ‘V’ shape grip. ‘O’ shape grip is used for strength and hardwork, like using hammer and axe etc.
‘V’ Shape Grip (Above Pic)
O Shape (Axe) Grip (Above Pic)Batting is an art, so the batsman has to grip the bat in a ‘V’ shape for straight and vertical bat game. ‘O’ shape is used for horizontal strokes.
CORRECT BATTING GRIP:
Correct Grip shown in Front-On position (Above Pic)
Correct Grip shown in Side-On position (Above Pic)
- The first finger and the thumb form a ‘V’ shape grip.
- ‘V’ shape is used for straight and vertical bat strokes.
- Top hand holds the bat at the top of the handle, facing back of the palm between the Mid-off to Covers position.
- Most of the Australians face their top hand towards the Point direction.
- Both the hands should be together, in a ‘V’ shape form.
Lower hand, back of the palm, should face the stumps or the wicket keeper.
- Do not hold the bat at the shoulder of the blade.
- Nowadays handle length is 11.5 inches, which is ‘long handle’. An average height batsman should use a 10 inches length handle, which is medium sized.
- Do not leave the handle on top and hold the bat in the middle, which injures the wrist or hampers the drives.
INDIVIDUAL BATTING GRIPS SEEN THESE DAYS:
- Top hand, back of the palm facing Wicket Keeper.
Wicket-Keeper Grip (Above Pic)
- Both the hands are separate.
Separate Hands Grip (Above Pic)
- Lower hands, back of the palm, facing the bowler or side of the handle.
Back Palm Grip (Above Pic)
Back Palm Grip (Above Pic)
- Gripping the bat with a ‘O’ shape form.
Australian Grip (‘O’ shape Grip shown in Above Pic)
- For a Long handle of 11.5 inches, batsmen grip the bat on top of the handle, and cannot control the bat balance, so the batsman grip the bat in the middle or near the shoulder of the blade.
Middle Hand Grip (Above Pic)
Follow the above instructions with utmost care, dedication, determination and interest. Most of the International and First Class deteriorated their performance due to these final basic fundamental batting faults. For Technical experts, there are no bad patches or bad luck. It is very essential to follow the minute details of the basic skills. Train and practice your game with correct knowledge.
PICK-UP or BACK-LIFT:
Correct Back Lift (Shown in Front-on in the Above Pic)
Correct Back Lift (Shown in Side-on in the Above Pic)
- Pick/lift the bat when the bowler is in action. Do not lift the bat when the ball leaves the bowler’s hand or after the pitch. It is too late to judge the ball.
- Lift the bat with top hand, not with the bottom hand.
- Lift the bat with elbow bend, not cocking of wrists.
- Do not take the elbow away from the body.
- Do not move your head up and down.
- Do not lift the bat towards the Gully or Fine-leg. Lift your bat towards first-slip.
Circle Back-Lift (Above Pic)
Baseball Back-Lift (Above Pic)
Gully Back-Lift (Above Pic)
- Lift the bat, facing the blade towards the Point position.
- Tapping is a habit. Do not tap the bat too hard.
Above instructions are very important fundamentals of batting, if you do not learn correctly, the game cannot improve to its maximum efficiency. Correct technique makes your game easier and you can perform with less effort in your strokes and last but not the least the Game looks more graceful.
Correct Stance (Front-on)
CORRECT BATTING STANCE:
- Equal distribution of weight on both legs.
- Weight should not be on the heels or toes.
- Toes must touch the guard-line.
- Both the legs should be shoulder length wider, parallel to each other.
- Knees should be slightly bent.
- Do not bend your back too much.
- Front shoulder should face the return crease of Mid-on, not towards the bowler. It stops the on-side vision.
- Head and eyes should be erect, not tilting one side.
- Elbow should be relaxed, not stiff.
- Head should be straight and not tilting.
- Body should not move up and down in stance.
- Top hand should be resting on the front thigh.
- Keep the bat just near the back leg (near the toes).
INDIVIDUAL BATTING STANCES SEEN NOWADAYS:
- Do not stand on the guard-line.
- Legs should not be too far or too close.
- Do not stand open-chested.
Open Chested Stance
- Do not keep the shoulder or elbow too much on the off-side, it hampers the on-side vision.
- Front toes should not face covers.
- Weight should not be on the back leg.
- Weight should not be on the front leg.
- Do not keep the weight on the bat.
- Do not keep the bat in front of the back leg or front of the toes or too far away from the back leg or back of the front leg.
Between Legs Stance (Above Pic)
This was all about the basic fundamentals of Batting. Next week, I would be stressing on the Fundas of Fielding. There are three aspects in fielding – (a) Catching – Close in catching and outfield catching (b) Pick Ups – sideways pick ups, chasing pick ups, diving, sliding (c) Throws – close in throws & throws from the outfield. So keep following Cricketfundas.com for all the FUNDAS OF THE GAME.