Every beginner wants to become a great cricket player. There are a few techniques and tips you should know as a beginner to ace at the sport. In cricket, the 3 things which are important are bowling, batting, and fielding. If you want to become a great batsman, here are a few very helpful cricket batting tips for you
15 Cricket batting tips for Beginners
1. Standing Sideways
Always stand facing the bowler with your feet shoulder-width apart. Bend your body with your hips, keeping your back straight. As you hold the bat ready, point your non-dominant shoulder towards the bowler and make sure to keep your eyes on the ball. Your shoulders shouldn’t drop and must be at eye level at all times. If you are right-handed, you stand on the right side of the stump and if left-handed, you stand on the right side of the stump.
2. Hold the bat
Always hold your bat tight and firmly. If you are right-handed, your left hand should be holding the end of the bat with the knuckles facing the bowler and your right hand should be placed above your left hand and hold the bat with 2 fingers and your thumb. Your thumb and the index finger should be in a V position for a better and a tighter grip. The opposite for left-handed batsmen. Make sure your hands are close to each other and the paddle of the bat should feel comfortable in your hands.
3. Distance between the bat and the stump
Draw a line in your turf from the middle wicket. This will help you to make sure where your wickets are while batting. Draw the line using your bat’s end and make sure that the line is parallel to the middle wicket. This line is called a guard line. If you are practising indoors, use tape to draw the guard line.
4. Tapping the bat on the ground line
If you tap on the guard line, this indicates the bowler that you are ready to bat. Do not tap excessively hard on the ground. Make sure your bat is as straight as possible at all times to maintain your body form.
5. While batting
When the ball is coming at you and you have to hit it, always keep your lead leg in the front and swing your bat backward for momentum. While lifting your bat, it should point straight in the air and should come up till your back shoulder. If the ball is low, step forward to hit it and if it is high, step blackboard. Make sure that when you lift your bat to hit the ball, your forearm should line up with your shoulder.
6. Eye on the ball
Always, eye on the ball. If you follow the ball till it pitches, you can figure out the position you have to take to hit the ball. As the ball comes towards you, think about which shot to hit. If the ball pitches at a sweet spot, you can drive to take long shots but if the ball pitches too high or low, take a defence shot. This is one of the most important cricket batting techniques for beginners to remember and follow.
7. Swing the bat downward
Push your bat downward to hit the ball after it bounces. Keep your lead leg in the front and lead elbow facing the bowler. Follow through with your bat to hit the ball as far as possible. This cricket batting technique is the most common and is called a straight drive.
8. Short Pitch
Swing the bat to the side, if the pitch is short. If the ball bounces early, then it is known as a short pitch. Move backwards with your back foot to hit a long defensive swing. Swing the bat to the side like a baseball bat instead of swinging it directly down. This will make the ball go higher and longer. This shot is called a pull shot and will cause the ball to go to the side of the field.
9. If the ball is aimed at the wicket
Make contact with the ball if it is aimed at the wicket. If the ball is fast and low, this means that it is mainly to hit your wicket and get you out. When this happens, you have to hit a straight drive as a defensive shot. But, this shot is not to make runs or score high, but to protect your wickets. Make sure that you hit your ball short by concentrating on the ball.
10. Follow-through
You can refine your skills by following through with your swing. A good follow-through is critical. Make sure you follow through your bat for the whole swing even if you miss the ball. This is done to hit the ball as far as possible. Keep practising so that even if you miss the ball, you do not pop the ball in the air and get out easily.
11. Stay calm
Being nervous during the game can throw you out of focus and off your game. You will tend to make mistakes while nervous. Always practice regulating your breathing and visualize the trajectory of the ball. Try to block out all the excitement and nervousness coming from others and concentrate on the ball.
12. Practice in front of your mirror
Practising your swing in front of a mirror before practising with a ball will make you perfect. This is known as shadow cricket. This will help you see your swing and help to make adjustments to your stance accordingly.
13. Practice batting with a tennis ball
If you want to practice your swing, pitch a tennis ball right in front of you and hit it with full swings. This will make your swings better. Doing the swing will make your bottom hand grip better as your dominant hand will be on the bat.
14. Bat at waist height
Position your bat at waist height before swinging. Keep the bat pointed up or down and parallel to the ground. The exact position does not matter as you should be comfortable with your position and should be able to quickly move. Make sure that the flat surface of the bat is facing the bowler to make a good hit.
15. Teamwork
Make sure to always attend your practice sessions with your team. Drill work and playing with them makes you stronger and prepared for your big game. Always listen to your coach or team members if they give you any input on your batting.
Practice is the key to master anything. Keep practising with the cricket batting techniques for beginners mentioned and become the batsman you wanted to be.
How To Bat
Every cricketer should know how to bat. The important thing to remember about batting is to protect your wickets/stumps. Batting can be perfected by knowing a few simple and important cricket batting basics. Below are some tips you can follow to perfection your batting skills –
1. Perfect your grip on the bat
Place the bat on the ground with its end facing you. Pick up the bat by placing your dominant hand above your non-dominant hand. Put your thumbs in the opposite direction along with your fingers. Make sure you wear gloves for batting and place your thumb in V shape. Hold the bat according to your comfort.
2. Facing the bowler
While batting, your non-dominant side should be facing the bowler. This is done so that your dominant hand pushes the bat with full force to hit the ball far and high and away from the bowler.
3. Feet should be at a comfortable distance
Placing your feet 1-foot separate from one another gives stability to your batting. Bend your knees a bit so that you can run after hitting the ball. Distribute your weight equally on both your legs and look directly at the ball.
4. Alignment
Make sure your toes are in a straight line from the middle stump to your dominant feet. The bowler tries to aim at your wickets and so stand in front of them while covering half of the wicket to protect it from falling.
5. Reading the bat
Hold the bat horizontally away from the bowler and at your thigh level which is perpendicular to the ground. In this position, you can easily make a defensive hit.
6. Swinging the bat
Tap the bat twice on the ground to indicate the bowler that you are ready to hit. While doing this, try to move your strength from your body to the bat and keep your eye on the ball at all times. The strength will help you make a long and far shot.
7. Ready to hit
Lift your bat backward while going in for a hit. This is called a backlift. Choose your direction and strength according to the pitch of the ball. If you move your head or shoulder, you can distract yourself from the ball. That’s why to move your shoulder in front a bit and bend to keep your head and body straight throughout.
8. Move backward or forward
Move accordingly to the shot you wanna hit. Wait for the swing and then move accordingly either by taking a small step back or front. Shift your weight to the back leg so that you get the balance while taking a swing. Shifting weight enables you to adjust to the ball which bounces higher after the pitch and takes a longer time to reach you. Move forward to make a full pitch.
9. Lead shoulder followed by front foot
While making the swing, begin with moving the lead shoulder first and then followed by your front foot. This movement maintains the balance and strength in your body and with the bat.
10. Choose the shot
Decide which shot to take according to the ball. Keep your eye on the ball as it can move straight towards the wicket or sideways. This will help you decide your shot and strength.
Basic Cricket Batting Techniques
Every batsman wants to know the batting tips and techniques to play well. According to players, the most important technique is – Watch ball early, play late”. This means that you should always watch the ball and then decide and play. This will protect you from getting out and help you make some good runs. Here are a few more cricket batting basics for every batsman out there:
1. Focus
As mentioned above, the focus is everything a batsman needs to hit the ball.
2. Decision
Decide on which shot to hit and where after the ball is left from the bowler’s hand. Once you see the ball coming towards you, look at its speed and the pitch. Hold the bat tightly, ready yourself and hit the ball.
The movement of the batsman for a particular delivery to a large extent depends on the type of shot that is being attempted. There are different types of standard shots like the front-foot shots which are played with the weight on the front foot while back foot shots emphasis the weight on the back foot. Front-foot shots are usually played when the ball is pitched up to the batsman and in the later is usually used bowling that is pitched short.
3. Grip and Stance
Grip is the way you hold your bat matters. It should be held in such a way that your wrist has enough space for easy movement.
The stance is the standing position of a batsman before a ball being bowled at him. Feet 40 cm apart, parallel to the crease, shoulder pointing down the wicket and head facing the bowler is described as an ideal stance. When the ball is about to be released, the batsman needs to lift his bat to play a stroke, after which he resumes into position to address the ball once again.
4. Backlift
When the batsman lifts his bat in anticipation of hitting the ball, this action is known as the backlift. It’s a common conception that the bat should be raised as vertically as possible but there are suggestions from coaching manuals that it’s more accurate for the bat to be slightly angled.
5. Forward and back
Depending upon the course of the ball, the batsman usually moves forward or backwards in his attempt to obstruct the ball. A forward movement is usually a front foot shot while the backward movement is back foot. A front foot shot addresses the ball that arrives between the ankle and thigh height.
A back foot shot is used to address a ball arriving between the thigh and head height. The batsman usually steps back and maybe stands on his tiptoes to raise his bat to the height of the ball.
6. Runs
You can make runs from running from wicket to another. While running, you can become runout as there was no protection for your wickets. You can prevent from becoming runout by remembering these points –
Teamwork – always make sure you and your running partner respect and listen to each other. This way there will be one person next to each wicket.
Misfield – do not run if you feel it can be a close call. Do not misjudge and run in confusion. Be clear before you make the run.
Running fast – fast runs helps you gain more runs and gives you the chance to quickly run, turn around, and run back.
Look at the fielder – change your bat from right to left if the fielder is in onside and left to right if it’s on the offside. Do not look at the fielder while running as it will slow down your peace. Always listen to your coach and your team members.
7. Leave
A leave is usually when a batsman doesn’t physically play or interfere with the ball as it passes him. The bat is held well out of the way of the ball. Sometimes, batsmen utilize the leave during the first few balls in order to judge the bowling before attempting to play a shot. However, in case of leaving a delivery, it’s important to watch the ball closely to ensure that it does not hit his wicket, his bat or even his hands. Accidental contact could lead to him getting caught out.
Conclusion
These cricket batting skills can help you to become a great batsman. Keep practising! There are however more complex techniques that include vertical bat shots, horizontal bat shots etc. The next article talks about these detailed batting techniques.
