Tips/advice much appreciated!! Confidence with the pull/sweep

[bigmitch]

Hey everyone, yes I am a newbie

I am also a tall 16 year old and fancy myself as an opening bat.

My favourite shot would be the off drive, I like to cut and also have a relatively good eye for defence.

However, I seem to lack confidence playing the pull shot off bowlers who can work up some genuine pace, particularly left armers from around the wicket, even if I know they have a tendency to drag it down the leg side.

Against spin, I'm not assured in playing the conventional sweep off a full ball on the stumps, I tend to miss or top edge it. I think this may be due to me not getting low enough and in a good position. Otherwise I back my footwork to play straight against the spin, but I feel like I need a release shot to turn the strike over.

Again, my biggest struggle would be left armers bringing it in from around the wicket, if it angles in to me I lose confidence and therefore shape, and a full one with a touch of inswing is often enough to knock my off stump over.

Advice and tips on these two shots in particular would be very much appreciated!!! Thanks guys

 

[Fred Tetanus]

You may well "fancy" yourself as an opening bat but I would suggest that if all the deficiencies you are describing are true then you would be better off fancying yourself as a number 9 or 10. My suggestion would be to reassess where you're going as a cricketer because if you can't master the basics then you won't be opening much more than bottles of water for the real batsmen.

Best of luck all the same though and do report back with your progress.

 

[Daemon]

You may well "fancy" yourself as an opening bat but I would suggest that if all the deficiencies you are describing are true then you would be better off fancying yourself as a number 9 or 10. My suggestion would be to reassess where you're going as a cricketer because if you can't master the basics then you won't be opening much more than bottles of water for the real batsmen.

Best of luck all the same though and do report back with your progress.

lol, wac

 

[bigmitch]

Good point, I guess I made it sound pretty bad re: getting bowled easily by left armers, it doesnt happen nearly as often as I made it sound - more in the nets.

My style is the pretty traditional 'play in the V' early and if runs are needed quickly I'm not suited to the middle/lower order, so I was looking to build confidence playing cross-batted 'release' shots.

Thanks for your advice - very helpful

 

[Burgey]

If you play the cut shot well then you ought to have a lot of the basics for the pull and hook shots in your set up. The back and across foot movement is essentially the same for all three. It sounds like it's a fear/ confidence thing. If you get a chance, have a look in a full length mirror at how your feet move for the cut shot. If it's back and across to about off stump then you're probably doing it right.

Then I'd get in a net with your full kit and a chest pad on and have someone throw shortish balls to your body at you. They don't have to be quick to start with. Work on getting the foot movement right and on making decisions based on the length and line of the ball - do you defend off the back foot, pull, hook or cut it? Get in the habit of making decisions, then as you progress speed up the throws as your confidence grows.

One other thing. If you're going to work on your back foot game, make sure as soon as you see a ball that's short, your hands go high and you play down on it. That way you're cutting, defending or pulling the ball from high to low and the default is to play it down rather than scoop it up. It improves your ability to control your back foot shots immeasurably. If your folks can afford it, get a regular spot at a private tuition place where they can work on specific weaknesses and give you some tips based on your individual game.

Good luck with it mate.

 

[indiaholic]

I got comfortable on the backfoot when I changed up my trigger movement to something similar to what Ponting uses. The combination of a high backlift combined with the ability to quickly transfer weight on to the back foot really helped. Hope you find a solution. Good luck!