Batting tips on turf

[cricketersUNitE]

Hey guys,
Got any tips or a good game plan for batting turf?
I open the batting for my school on turf and was wondering if anybody had a game plan for opening the batting on turf?
Thanks

[cricketdrills]

Opening the batting can be quite hard on turf.
It is after christmas in australia so the turf wickets are slow and hold up because of the heat.

Just keep your batting simple,
watch the ball. if its there to hit, hit it.


If the pitch is green, the ball will swing around abit. Having a straight bat is the key for that.

For a game plan:

see off the new ball.
Start off slower and time the ball, dont go hard at it.
in the first couple of overs, dont worry about the field. just keep the ball down and stay in.
and relax, you want to be out there all day

Turf comes on a tad slower than astro turf and doesnt have as steep bounce.

Keep you bat straight and head down, and you will make runs.

[Daemon]

****ing hate astro turf. Random uneven bounce etc etc. On turf wickets I tend to wait more on the front foot and play on the up alot. If I find myself in an awkward position I just leave the ball or play it with soft hands. Worked for me somehow when I used to bat higher up the order. Nowadays I'm stuck at number 10 =/

[cricketdrills]

hahha worked somehow.

yeah playing on the up is a massive no no.


Just gotta get your head over the ball and play straight.

[Daemon]

In my defense the bowlers I used to face rarely swung the ball so playing on the up was easy runs

[cricketdrills]

nice!
hahaha.

i used to open the batting aswell.
but realized that being a hack down at 7 and 8 was so much funner :P

[Daemon]

nice!
hahaha.

i used to open the batting aswell.
but realized that being a hack down at 7 and 8 was so much funner :P

Haha I totally get you. Hated getting out and used to keep thinking about it but now I just come in and get out in a matter of 10 minutes and have a ball of a time in between

[cricketdrills]

True,
hahaha.

[Hurricane]

My top score on grass/turf is 60. While I have 3 centuries on artificial tracks so it is way harder in my opinion. Especially in lower grades where the groundsman does not put in much effort.

Keys to batting on turf

Much like the other posters said - take a look at the wicket. Let the ball go outside off stump and watch the height of the bounce when you do let it go - imagine what shot you would play if you had've hit it. Do this for a few overs.

Don't stand and deliver. You can on an artificial track but it is quite hard on grass because the ball won't zip on to your bat quite as quickly.

Put away any half trackers - these will sit up for you nicely.

Play the ball more along the ground - that way if you mistime it - it won't matter so much.

[Franciscowhite]

Hmmm thanks for sharing the different tips in of batting on artificial grass these tips are quite new some of the tips are old but some typical artificial grass tips are just mind blowing thanks for updating my knowledge..........

[Hurricane]

turf to me meant real grass

[Son Of Coco]

Patience is the key on turf.

Be prepared to play yourself in, and don't play anything you don't have to early on. Turf gets a lot easier to bat on once you've been in for a while.

(Note: I batted at 11 mostly and may not know what I'm talking about, but the one time I batted for a while it seemed easier once I'd been in the middle for a bit of time.)

Commenting as a bowler though, the worst type of opening batsman to bowl to is the one who leaves well. If you can do this you start to dictate where the bowler has to bowl to get you to play a shot, and this can play to your strengths.

If the bowler is happy to bowl there all day then revert to my first comment (about patience).

[Hurricane]

Patience is the key on turf.

Be prepared to play yourself in, and don't play anything you don't have to early on. Turf gets a lot easier to bat on once you've been in for a while.

(Note: I batted at 11 mostly and may not know what I'm talking about, but the one time I batted for a while it seemed easier once I'd been in the middle for a bit of time.)

Commenting as a bowler though, the worst type of opening batsman to bowl to is the one who leaves well. If you can do this you start to dictate where the bowler has to bowl to get you to play a shot, and this can play to your strengths.

If the bowler is happy to bowl there all day then revert to my first comment (about patience).

If a bowler bowls outside off stump all day long he will drop one in short eventually and you can cut it.

I think your advice is good - once you play yourself in it is a lot easier.

I think bowling on grass is a lot different too. On wellington pitches don't even try to bowl a bouncer at least not in my grade - the ball just won't fly through and you will get smoked.*

You must pitch the ball up a yard further than an artificial wicket or it will sit up and just say hit me.

*With one exception I played on a bouncy track two years ago and got hit in the mouth.

[Outswinger@Pace]

Commenting as a bowler though, the worst type of opening batsman to bowl to is the one who leaves well. If you can do this you start to dictate where the bowler has to bowl to get you to play a shot, and this can play to your strengths.

I second that sentiment. Any batsman who can leave well on width as well as length has my true respect. And it's an awfully difficult proposition to the new ball bowler.

From my observation, a lot of batsmen below test level succumb to playing deliveries that they shouldn't and end up getting caught in the cordon. On a lot of occasions, bowlers and pitches are made to look more dangerous than they actually are! A bowler who moves the ball both ways would obviously force more errors, but a batsman with a good idea of where his off-stump is should do well in the top order.

Not sure what kind of matches you guys play, but for the 2-day and 3-day games in our league, most quality openers would look to leave as much as they can for the first 7 or 8 overs. An awkward time when the new ball jags around and the batsman is at his most vulnerable. When the sun beats down and the guy is batting on 20 or 25 odd, life is a lot easier and he can look to capitalise against first-change and spin bowlers.

[Daemon]

Scoring 20-25 by yourself in 7-8 overs is hardly looking to leave as much as possible