Struggling against full length balls. Any help please?

[lelouch]

Hello everyone. I have a strange problem in my batting. I can't play full length bowls properly, although I am very good against short and good length bowls. Against full length balls, my timing is very late and my bat is also not sufficiently close to the ground so the ball goes underneath my bat and crashes into my stumps when I drive a half voley. I get out 90% of the times like this against fast bowlers and my team is not happy with me.

I want to know if some one else had this problem and how they corrected it. Do you have to stretch down to reach for the ball when driving a full length ball like half voley or can you drive it comfortably(without having to stretch down)? I have realised that I don't get enough forward on front foot, so could my problem be because of this. How can I learn to play forward?

I also wanted to ask what is the correct length of a bat, like if a bat is touching the surface and standing straight, then to what body part should it reach. Thanks brothers for readings. Your advice will be very helpful and kind.

 

[Pakhs]

Hello everyone. I have a strange problem in my batting. I can't play full length bowls properly, although I am very good against short and good length bowls. Against full length balls, my timing is very late and my bat is also not sufficiently close to the ground so the ball goes underneath my bat and crashes into my stumps when I drive a half voley. I get out 90% of the times like this against fast bowlers and my team is not happy with me.

I want to know if some one else had this problem and how they corrected it. Do you have to stretch down to reach for the ball when driving a full length ball like half voley or can you drive it comfortably(without having to stretch down)? I have realised that I don't get enough forward on front foot, so could my problem be because of this. How can I learn to play forward?

I also wanted to ask what is the correct length of a bat, like if a bat is touching the surface and standing straight, then to what body part should it reach. Thanks brothers for readings. Your advice will be very helpful and kind.

its almost impossible to answer this question without looking at your dismissals and technique. But in general if you getting out driving the ball (I assume caught) you are either not fully forward i.e your body weight is not going to the ball or you elbow is not pointed in both cases bowl can go in the air.

And if you are missing full bowls in the stamps I would say that its a balance issues try a wider stance and slightly forward upper body (very common technique for international lower order batsman for example Ashwin).

 

[Stewie]

This should be in the my cricket section.

Reduce your backlift. Wide the distance between your feet. Keep your head down. Dont be quick to plant your foot down early or stretch out too far.

 

[Big Mac]

Hello everyone. I have a strange problem in my batting. I can't play full length bowls properly, although I am very good against short and good length bowls. Against full length balls, my timing is very late and my bat is also not sufficiently close to the ground so the ball goes underneath my bat and crashes into my stumps when I drive a half voley. I get out 90% of the times like this against fast bowlers and my team is not happy with me.

I want to know if some one else had this problem and how they corrected it. Do you have to stretch down to reach for the ball when driving a full length ball like half voley or can you drive it comfortably(without having to stretch down)? I have realised that I don't get enough forward on front foot, so could my problem be because of this. How can I learn to play forward?

I also wanted to ask what is the correct length of a bat, like if a bat is touching the surface and standing straight, then to what body part should it reach. Thanks brothers for readings. Your advice will be very helpful and kind.

As [MENTION=142176]Pakhs[/MENTION] said, we'd need to see some video footage of your batting to tell you exactly what you are doing wrong but there are a couple of things I want to hit on first:

1) How tall are you? Unless you are really big then you should be able to get to Yorkers with a normal size bat.

2) The ball going under your bat often suggests that you are either playing balls off the back foot or you are standing too upright. Again it's hard to say without seeing video of your batting but as a general rule of thumb your first movement should be to try and get your weight moving forward when the ball is released. It's easier to go back to a short one from that position but it's difficult to get forward to a full ball if your weight is on your back foot.

Bonus 3) If your team mates aren't happy when you get out then tell them to either help you improve your batting or they can shut up and stop whining.

 

[Big Mac]

When I say get your weight moving forward it's important to stress that I don't mean take a big stride and plant your foot forward. You should just be in a position where your head is going toward the bowler at the moment he releases the ball so you are ready to go onto the front foot. Be ready for the full ball first because if it's short you'll be able to react and quickly get back to play pull and cut shots relatively easily.

And, this is SO simple but you'd be shocked at how often batsman stop doing it but make sure you are watching the ball just before the bowler delivers the ball. If the bowler releases the ball early, it's full. If he releases it later, it's short. Make sure you watch the ball properly and after facing an over or two from the same bowler you will start to pick up on those little cues and they will feel slower because you pick up length earlier.

Don't watch the ball in the bowler's hand all the way from the start of his run up, just start concentrating when the bowler goes into his delivery stride and your eyes should go from the bowler's face to just over his shoulder. This way you don't have to concentrate for any more time than you need to and your eyes don't have to move a long way which makes it easier to pick up the ball earlier.

 

[lelouch]

Thanks guys. Really great advice. Seems like I can fix my problem now. Thanks for all the help.
Can you tell me one more thing. My height is 6 feet, so will a normal length bat suit me?

 

[Big Mac]

Thanks guys. Really great advice. Seems like I can fix my problem now. Thanks for all the help.
Can you tell me one more thing. My height is 6 feet, so will a normal length bat suit me?

Yeah, at 6 feet tall a normal bat should be fine. If you have a team mate who has a long handle or long blade then you can try it to see if it's more comfortable but a regular short handle bat should be fine for anybody under 6'3 or 6'4.

 

[lelouch]

Hmm. Thanks