How To Play The Back-Foot Drive And Defense Properly

From: Ian Canaway www.CricketSecrets.com The back foot drive is an attacking shot which is played to a ball which has pitched short of a good length and which will probably bounce around stump high. You should try to hit the ball between mid on and cover and along the ground. Main Points Take your normal batting stance with your eyes level and remember to always stay relaxed to help you react quicker to the delivery. Once youve judged that the ball/delivery is suitable for a back foot drive, take your backswing and step backwards simultaneously. You should now have an established and well balanced base with your weight fairly evenly distributed over both feet, ideally it should be slightly forward on the front foot. Initiate your down swing ensuring that you bring your bat down straight (remember the drill with the two stumps?) and move your front leg backwards at the same time. Increase your bat speed into contact with the ball and swing it down and through the line of the delivery, keeping your elbow high and keeping control of the bat with your top hand. Try to follow through naturally, stay relaxed and well balanced at all times during the shot. Dont try to hit the ball too hard, use the pace of the delivery to maximise the shots power.

Make sure you're behind the ball when playing the back foot defensive

The Back-footed Defensive The back foot defence is a defensive shot, which is played in response to a ball of a good length or slightly shorter which is most likely to bounce and hit your stumps or come close to hitting them. You want to aim to just block the delivery and have it drop straight to the ground. The main set up points are similar to those above so I wont go through them again just for the sake of it! The major differences are that you need to SLOW your bat speed into contact with the ball. You should swing your bat down and into the line of the delivery and aim to contact the ball beneath your eyes, remembering to always show the full bat face to the ball. Again try to stay relaxed and well balanced. Having a relaxed grip with your bottom hand will help you drop the ball to the ground and not pop it up in the air. Common problems: The most common problems I see are that a batsmen is not getting into line with the ball and so might an edge to the wicket keeper or slips. A good tips to improve getting into line would be to initiate a trigger movement (a small foot movement) prior to delivery to help get the feet moving, which in turn should help you get into line.

Some batsmen have more than one trigger movement depending on their style and technique. I do two; I move my back foot about a few centimetres backwards and towards off stump and I move my front foot about a few cms forward, this helps me get into line and respond to a delivery quicker. Another is playing with an overly strong bottom hand which can cause you to get caught. Try loosening your bottom hand or holding the bat with just your thumb and first two fingers in training to keep the ball on the ground (remember to keep your top and elbow high).

The Square Cut Uncovered

From: Ian Canaway www.CricketSecrets.com How To Effectively Execute The Square Cut For Maximum Runs Scoring Potential The square cut is another shot which you should try to add to your batting armoury, as it will allow you to play aggressively to balls delivered shot outside your off stump which you wouldnt be able to drive.

Can you play the square cut?

It is an aggressive/attacking shot played off the back foot to a ball which has been pitched short of a good length (a short delivery) and is passing wide of off stump. You should aim to hit the ball square of the wicket ideally between point and gully, always aim to hit the ball between the fielders and into the gaps. Main Points To play the square cut start from your normal batting stance, stay nice and relaxed, with your head still and your eyes as level as possible. As the bowler is about to bowl take your backswing, and as you see the delivery is going to be suitable for a square cut move your back foot, back and across towards the off stump. Move your weight onto your back foot and establish your base of support over it. Bring your bat down and across the line of the ball towards the off side, increasing your bat speed into contact, from a high position to lower one. As you hit the ball roll your wrists over the ball to keep it down. Follow through the shot naturally and stay relaxed and balanced. Common problems: The most common problem is getting caught out at point or gully by not rolling the wrists or not playing from high to low. Like most shots, you need to isolate it in the nets and practice with throw downs hitting the ball down (low) and along the ground. Another problem is lacking the ability to hit the ball in the gaps and instead hitting it to fielders, the best way to improve your shot placement is to use targets in practice to hit the ball between. Advanced tips: Try playing a late cut. To do this you need excellent timing, as you need to wait a fraction of a second longer before hitting the ball. You should aim to hit the ball behind gully towards third man (be careful if there are slips in place).

How To Play The Forward Defence

From: Ian Canaway www.CricketSecrets.com The Most Important Shot Youll EVER Learn When you first start to learn how to play cricket one of the first shots you will learn is the forward defence, its a fundamental shot which is the foundation of your batting and should be mastered to help reach you potential, as you cant score runs when you are out and sat in the pavilion.

What's not quite right with this forward defence?

The forward defence is the best way to protect your wicket from accurate deliveries which you cant score off, as you need to remember your primary aim as a batsmen score runs of every delivery if possible. The forward defence is simply a defensive shot which is played in response to a ball which you cant score runs off or where it would be very risky to try and hit for runs. Usually itll be of a good line and length that will hit or come close to hitting the stumps. Main Points Take your backswing and step forward with your front leg to make a comfortable stride towards the pitch of the ball. Try to establish a strong, well balanced and relaxed base/stance, over the leg which has stepped out towards pitch of ball and you should have a bent front knee. Bring your bat down to ball using your top hand to control the movement, speed and direction of the bat. Slow down your bat speed into contact with the ball and keep your top elbow high. Aim to contact the ball under your eyes and play the ball with the full face of the bat. Always remember to play the shot with your bat against pads (your front leg) so that there is no gap between the two which the ball could pass through. Common problems: There are a number of common problems, which with good practise can be easily solved e.g. Having a gap between you pad and bat. To help solve this have a friend pr coach watch you play the shot to identify whether this is a problem for you. If it is, get in a net and have throw downs and consciously practice getting your bat next to your pad. Ensure that you try to get your foot out towards the pitch of the delivery. Playing with a strong bottom hand, causing the ball to pop up in air. If you are doing this, try loosening your grip on your bottom hand and control the bat with your top hand. Practise with a tennis ball and try to make the ball drop dead and not bounce off more than a meter from the bat, this is quite hard with a bouncy tennis ball! Not bringing the bat down straight from high position in backswing, so causing the bat to come down at an angle and not through the line of the ball, which will result in you missing the ball. To help solve this, put up a set of stumps as normal, then remove the middle stump. Now stand closer to the stumps than you would normally and practise your backswing, bringing up and down between off and leg stumps, youll quickly find out if you backswing is straight or not.

Advanced tips: Try playing with soft hand, whereby you loosen you grip slightly with both hands, not so much that the ball will cause the bat to move in your hands, but just enough to ensure the ball drops straight to the floor. If you try the tennis ball drill above youll get the hang of it pretty quick. This also helps have the effect of causing the ball to drop quicker if you edge it and will often hit the floor before reaching the slips. You can also try angling your bat to defect the ball away for a single to fine leg or third man, almost becoming a leg glance.

Can You Play The Pull Shot?

From: Ian Canaway www.CricketSecrets.com Heres How To Play The Pull Shot Properly As you begin to learn how to play cricket one of the core shots you should aim to master is the pull shot. This is a very effective attacking shot and when played correctly can produce spectacular result.

Twenty20 Day Night Cricket

Key Points The pull shot is played with a crossed bat and is an aggressive back footed shot. It should be played to a ball which has been pitched short, on or outside leg stump and will pass over the top of the wickets. To play the shot, start in your normal batting stance as you would any delivery and play the shot in response to the appropriate delivery, e.g. short and on/outside leg stump. Take your backswing and step back and across towards your off stump with your back foot and establish this as your base of support. Bring your front foot backwards naturally, ideally keeping it on the ground if possible to help your balance. Bring the bat down and across the line of the ball, increasing the bat speed into contact with the ball, hit the ball in front of you body (your body needs to be behind the line of the delivery). You are aiming to hit the ball between midon and fine leg, between any fielders who may be in the area. Roll your wrist over the ball as you contact it, so that it goes straight to ground; the face of the bat should end up pointing down to the ground. You can also bring the bat down from a high position and finish lower; this will also keep the ball down. Finish the shot with a natural follow through, staying relaxed and balanced. Common problems: 1. The most common problems are hitting the ball in to the air and getting caught out. 2. Miss timing the ball and not hitting the ball effectively or where you want it to go. 3. Misjudging the delivery and playing the pull shot to and inappropriate delivery.

To help solve these, firstly practice in the nets rolling your wrists over the ball in practice and aim to hit it along the ground every time, dont be tempted to hit it in the air. If the ball is on the ground youre not going to get caught. Perfect practice is the main key to improving your timing of the shot; the wicket, bowler and weather conditions will all influence how the ball reaches you, so youll need to adapt and adjust accordingly for the circumstances. To help place (hit) the ball where you want it to go, set out some target cones and get a friend to give you some throw downs and practice hitting the ball through the targets (along the ground). If you are playing the pull shot to the wrong type of delivery you need to think about your shot selection and redefine in your own mind which balls you should be pulling and which you shouldnt. The more you play and the better you practice the easier it should become.

The Sweep Shot and Reverse Sweep

From: Ian Canaway www.CricketSecrets.com The sweep and the reverse sweep are two batting shots which are not commonly used, especially the reverse sweep which is rarely used. However both shots can be used in certain batting situations and are an effective way to score runs and keep the score board ticking over. There is a high element of risk with the sweep shot, so good judgement and excellent timing is essential. Avoid playing the sweep and reverse sweep early on in your innings especially to straight deliveries, as it is not a good idea to play it until you have your eye in and know how the pitch is playing and what the bowler is doing. As for example, if the ball stayed low it would be quite easy to misjudge and get out LBW or bowled which you definitely want to avoid, so be patient and play yourself in first. The sweep and reverse sweep are both cross batted shots and should ideally be played to slow deliveries which are of a good length and not too full. To play the orthodox sweep shot, first wait for the ball to be released before making any movement DONT PREMEDITATE THE SHOT! Once you have determined that the ball is there to play the sweep shot to, move your front foot as far down the wicket towards the pitch of the ball as you can. As you are moving forward bend both knees simultaneously so that you whole body is low down, let your back knee touch the ground to act as an extra base of support. Try to stay balanced and relaxed. Bring the bat down from the off side and across the ball towards the leg side and aim to hit it either in front of or behind square leg. You can roll your wrists over the ball as you hit to help keep it on the ground. Aim to have your arms fully extended when you contact the ball. To play the reverse sweep, get in to the same position as for the orthodox sweep, however this time, bring you bat down and across from leg side towards the off side, so you are aiming to hit the ball through the gully area. This shot requires very good coordination and timing as you have to twist the bat round so that the bat face faces the off side at the point of contact without altering your grip. Common problems: Premeditating the shot- deciding to play the shot before the bowler has bowled the ball. Wait until the ball is released from the bowlers hand before deciding to play the shot. Playing the sweep too early in the innings before getting your eye in. Wait until you are set and know how the pitch is playing and what the bowler is doing before attempting the shot. Trying to hit the ball too hard. Good timing and technique is better and more effective as you need to reduce the risk as much as possible. Playing the shot to deliveries which are either too full or too short, so good judgement of length is required. Remember that the sweep and reverse sweep are quite hard shots to master and carry quite a lot of risk, so make sure that if you intend to use them, practice the shots in the nets and in training to get a feel for the shot and so you know when to play it; so that when you come to use them you are confident and skilled enough to do so.

The Square Cut Uncovered

From: Ian Canaway www.CricketSecrets.com How To Effectively Execute The Square Cut For Maximum Runs Scoring Potential The square cut is another shot which you should try to add to your batting armoury, as it will allow you to play aggressively to balls delivered shot outside your off stump which you wouldnt be able to drive.

Can you play the square cut?

It is an aggressive/attacking shot played off the back foot to a ball which has been pitched short of a good length (a short delivery) and is passing wide of off stump. You should aim to hit the ball square of the wicket ideally between point and gully, always aim to hit the ball between the fielders and into the gaps. Main Points To play the square cut start from your normal batting stance, stay nice and relaxed, with your head still and your eyes as level as possible. As the bowler is about to bowl take your backswing, and as you see the delivery is going to be suitable for a square cut move your back foot, back and across towards the off stump. Move your weight onto your back foot and establish your base of support over it. Bring your bat down and across the line of the ball towards the off side, increasing your bat speed into contact, from a high position to lower one. As you hit the ball roll your wrists over the ball to keep it down. Follow through the shot naturally and stay relaxed and balanced. Common problems: The most common problem is getting caught out at point or gully by not rolling the wrists or not playing from high to low. Like most shots, you need to isolate it in the nets and practice with throw downs hitting the ball down (low) and along the ground. Another problem is lacking the ability to hit the ball in the gaps and instead hitting it to fielders, the best way to improve your shot placement is to use targets in practice to hit the ball between. Advanced tips: Try playing a late cut. To do this you need excellent timing, as you need to wait a fraction of a second longer before hitting the ball. You should aim to hit the ball behind gully towards third man (be careful if there are slips in place).

Spin Bowling Tips

From: Ian Canaway www.CricketSecrets.com

Learn How to Become a Master Spin Bowler

Overview

Introducing Spin Bowling Tips, the only specialist guide which focuses on the science and art of spin bowling and how to master it. The ebook itself it 130 pages long and wonderfully illustrated with over 100 colour photographs and figures to show you exactly what you need to do to become a well rounded (and respected) top-class spin bowler. It aims to teach you how to master all the core deliveries and variations every spin bowler should know. For example the 5 leg spin and the 6 off spin variations (and the more subtle variants). Here is a sample of what youll learn: The most important skill in spin bowling and why your mates will envy you for it. How to bowl the doosra, flipper and googly, like the all time greats Warne, Kumble and Musaq. How to get the ball to drift in the air using the Magnus Effect to take more wickets every match. Little-known tactics to use against different types of batsman and in different match situations. 16 tried and tested drills to practice and re-inforce your new found tips and techniques for maximum results. And a whole lot more In addition you also get: 1. A Fitness, Strength and Conditioning Guide (focussed on Spin Bowlers) 2. Field Placement Notes (for different match situations) 3. Author Interview MP3 Spin Bowling Tips will allow you to fast track your spin bowling career by empowering you with the tips and techniques used by only the most experienced and battle hardened spin bowlers. It will teach you how to confuse and baffle almost any batsman. It is recommended for any spin bowler who wants to get ahead of the game and be recognised for their mastery of the craft. Bonuses 1. One free e-mail consultation with the author Menno 2. Free updates for 6 months

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