LBW Victim

[Hurricane]

Hi there,

Just want to get some advice on my lbw problem. Any ball at middle stump will hit me on the pad.
If the ball is pitched outside off stump I have a winner of a defensive system. I put my bat and pad together and cover any movement of the ball either towards slips or back in towards the stumps.

But when I use this technique for straighter deliveries I get into trouble. If the ball cuts in a little bit it gets me on the pad - and I am dismissed. I also have trouble getting my bat around my front pad.

The options I have considered are:

1) Opening up my front leg and just aiming to hit the ball with my bat when the ball is aimed at middle stump. But keeping my bat and pad together.

2) Putting my bat in front of my front leg and just playing the line of the ball. This would be awkward and would take a lot of practice.

Both of these techniques worry me - as I live in fear of getting a ball like this
YouTube - Agarkar Bowls Kallis with an Absolute Brilliant Delivery

Are there typical reasons why people get out for lbw all the time?

 

[Son Of Coco]

Where do you take guard? Sounds like you get too far across your stumps during the delivery.

 

[Kylez]

Personally think you may be planting your front foot down to early in the same spot every time, which is around off stump by the sounds of it. You would be fine when the ball is delivered in that area but when it's a straighter delivery you might be playing around your front foot because it's already been planted.

Try puting your foot an ich away from where the ball is pitched when driving the ball. If it's wide of off stump then plant it outside off stump, if it is excactly on middle stump then make sure you foot is around middle and legish. Or it's slightly on the legside then put your foot just outside leg to play the on drive or straight drive.

Make sure you coming forward when your doing this aswell. Don't just plant your foot sidewards, make your your foot is in the right place and your also coming forward to the full delivery.

 

[benchmark00]

You shouldn't be attempting to try and get your bat 'around' your front pad. That suggests that you're trying to play the ball too square on the leg side. Instead, you should always be aiming to show close to 100% of the bat and playing it through straight mid on. This way your head won't fall over and get inside the line of the ball, which causes you to play the wrong line because your body weight is moving away from the ball.

If that doesn't work, do a Mal Loye and slog sweep that ****:

 

[Kweek]

yes, idealy in your foot positioning it might be better to have your front foot a bit opened up, this way you create a bit more space for your bat and can adjust to a ball on midstump easier, this might take some time to adjust to, but i've found it very helpful for myself

 

[Hurricane]

Where do you take guard? Sounds like you get too far across your stumps during the delivery.

I take guard on leg stump. But I do get too far across the stumps you are right.

The general consensus seems to be to not plant my front foot so far across - basically opening up my front leg somewhat. And to hit the ball towards mid on.

I will do some practice on this.

 

[Seanyjb10]

You have trigger movement no? Start with a open stance and bat on middle and leg (2). Shorten the trigger and try not to plant the front foot so you can play forward or back.

 

[vic_orthdox]

If you are playing across your pad like that, it is likely that your head is outside the line of the ball.

Make sure that you stand very straight and that your eyes are level in your stance. Try moving "towards" the ball, rather than across the crease.

 

[Hurricane]

I thought I would give an update. I have worked on my lbw problem all season. It has been slow progress with 2 steps forward and one step back in different games. But the option I went for is putting my bat directly in front of my pad when the ball is at the stumps. I get beaten now a lot in games with the ball passing by the outside edge of my bat. I also get cleaned bowled and caught behind in the nets with balls that pitch on middle and hit off stump. But these deliveries don't come along too often. I have averaged 19 for the season. Which is pretty crappy I guess but it is what a typical batsman in my grade averages. Our top batsman averages 29.

I have been watching TV closely and a lot of international batsman do put their bat in front of their pad to avoid lbw problems.

That is my update.

 

[Daemon]

You're probably planting your front foot down too soon somewhere around middle and off, as soon as you see a pitched up delivery. Move your head towards the ball first, before your bat and before your foot. It helps considerably because the rest of your body will tend to follow. It also helps knowing the bowler. If he's swinging the ball into you, try taking a leg stump guard.

 

[hanery]

The First Option is more viable compared to second one so play with up front leg and focus to hit the ball when the ball is coming towards middle stump and keep bat and pad together.

 

[Hurricane]

The First Option is more viable compared to second one so play with up front leg and focus to hit the ball when the ball is coming towards middle stump and keep bat and pad together.

More international players do option 2 if you watch them closely.

 

[Dan]

IMO, head position is much more important than foot position - if your head goes towards the ball, your foot will follow to maintain balance. Basically, maintaining a balanced stance with eyes level, chin to shoulder, and then moving your head towards the ball should allow you to get into the correct position to play the ball.

For the straighter ones, making this movement should allow the front leg to open up slightly - enough the play the ball under your eyes - but not enough to leave a giant 'gate' through which to bowl you.

Playing with your head over the ball is key, the feet should follow.

 

[IRS927]

Hey, hope your problem has worked out, I have taken middle-stump guard for the first four years of my cricket and now switched to leg stump,
Putting your bat in front of your pad is not a bad idea, I have done that with success and also managed to play the balls wide of the stumps, it is all about getting the movement of your feet right,

But the main fundamental is that you do not want your right eye (if your R/H batsman) and left eye if you are L/H batsman to ever be further out then off stump, take a pole or something and put it in the line of your right eye and make sure it never crosses off stump, also you may want to re-assess your guard based on your the shots you have, middle-stump is mostly for power hitters, strong leg sided players who are big heavers and slog sweep well,

It is not suitable to batsman who like to drive a lot,
Middle-stump is a very dangerous guard, and if you take middle it is important you open up a little bit, good luck!

 

[OhhhhMattyMatty]

First things first, is your name Ricky Ponting by any chance?

Batting is a complex art, which can be made very easy. If you are willing to put the hours in, you can become a very good batsman very quickly.

Before even contemplating stance and trigger movements and head position, just get someone to throw the ball to you at various speeds and just keep hitting the ball over and over and over back to them. Front foot, back foot, doesn't matter, just learn to hit the ball in the middle and learn to bring the bat through straight consistently i.e. 90 times out of 100 coming out the middle, front or back foot.

When you can do this, you will suddenly find batting is a piece of ****.

After a while you'll find you know exactly which sort of deliveries you should go back to and which you should go forward to and which balls are out of your hitting zones i.e. the ones you should leave or cut, depending on the match situation.

Worst thing you can do is try and change your technique mid-season, because I assure you every time you play in a match you will go back to what you normally do, as your brain is trained to perform that way. Regardless of what you tell yourself, you won't do it! You have to practice repeatedly good technique and good habits, over and over.

 

[IRS927]

Your right about the batting becomes easy after putting the hours part, over the last four years I have put in a few thousand hours in very good company and from absolutely nothing,
And I have been deeply involved with this game for a long time and I have learnt from very knowledgeable people, so yes I am no Ricky Ponting but I do know what I am talking about,

For the last three years I have trained on average four-five hours a day and believe me you name it I have tried it every type of bat-lift, trigger, technique, side-on, open chested whatever, you name it I have tried it,

But you know the biggest mistake I made, the one very good point you made about just getting really good at hitting the ball first both front and back foot without thinking about all the other BS, that is the one thing I did not do, and which is why I struggled, it is a see ball hit ball game, so yes you are right about that, that is something I never did, I never thought it was important to watch the ball, today I have learnt the hard way and I never went very far, now it is coming to me because I did not give up

Today I have gone past the stage where I think about my bat coming straight or my head position or any other stuff like that, I have a whiplash effect in my batlift, which picks my bat up almost from third man or even wider but it comes properly in the end, today I do not think about these things, Today I am focusing on the performance aspect.

But as far as the complex part goes, It is the ones who find a simple method to find it easy, It is as simple as you make it, you judge the length / line and simply hit through the line as close to the body as possible, that is all, easy to explain and easy to train but it takes a lot of pain to master as I am sure you know!
But batting is about keeping things simple not making it sound like astro physics,

 

[OhhhhMattyMatty]

The Ponting comment was a whimsical quip at your original problem, which sounds very similar to Ponting's recent problems!

I'm not saying it's easy to become a good batsman or that being able to hit the ball cleanly guarantees results. But until you can give yourself a 90+% chance of hitting the ball cleanly and with sound technique, you are never going to produce anything consistently.

Too many people think about run scoring and hitting the ball hard, and batting technique should not be based around those things. You play good cricket shots, the runs come as a result.

Without watching you bat for a few deliveries, I wouldn't like to give a conclusive problem solving solution, but I say learn to hit the ball well and then look to change or re-build a technique. You can't re-build anything on dodgy foundations. Otherwise, just go out, have some fun and don't expect amazing results long term.