Reading Cricket Cub

So you’re a budding cricketer who wants to improve their batting technique? In order to become good at something it’s always helpful to learn a few tried and tested tips. We will be looking at skills that should help improve your game.

Keep your eye on the ball

Keeping your eye in the ball at all times helps to ensure that you don’t get any surprises. The world’s top batsmen try and play the ball as late as possible so that they can make use of things such as late swing or turn.

Back-lift

A batsman such as Brian Lara of the West Indies was renowned for his high back-lift. This meant that he could get plenty of power into his stroke. Depending on the type of delivery it may be wise to adjust your back-lift accordingly.

Footwork

Footwork is an integral part of being either a good batsman or a world-class batsman. This is because good footwork means that in some cases you do not need so much power for big shots. For example, Pakistani Inzamam Ul-Haq was never renowned for his running between the wickets but he always managed to hit big shots. This was due partly to his magnificent footwork which saw him hitting huge boundaries. In addition, from a defensive perspective, it can also help you with your guard.

Timing and Strokeplay

Timing is probably the key factor when it comes to differentiating yourself as a great batsman. If you have a fast bowler charging down at you and fail to time properly, the ball can whiz past you in about half a second. It is therefore essential that you work on your timing. Just imagine that ball hitting the sweet spot of your bat at 95mph? Some people are lucky to have raw talent in timing and stroke-play, if you aren’t then this is something that should be on top of your priority list and something that should be worked on all the time.

Posture

A good posture is instrumental in keeping your body going for years. A bad posture can use up lots of energy which could potentially reduce the amount of time you spend on the pitch, If you are comfortable then you will be more relaxed and focussed on your game.

Practice

All the above are important points that need to be addressed. However, without continuous and consistent practice, one cannot improve. It is therefore recommended to play as much cricket as possible and try and focus on all the elements above. Remember that this will not happen overnight, rather take time so don’t forget to enjoy yourself in the process.

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At its simplest, cricket is a game of bat and ball- willow and leather. However, what is inside a cricket kit is not limited to these. The modern cricket player has a lot of protective wear, apart from cricket clothing. Inside a cricketer’s bag, you will find bats, balls, pads, gloves, clothing and protective guards. Depending on the specialty of a player (batting/ bowling/ wicket keeping), the emphasis on equipment may be different.

Wicketkeepers

Wicketkeepers are fielding specialists. They use the normal protective equipment of batsmen but have specialist equipment- wicketkeeper gloves and pads. The wicketkeeper’s gloves are larger and less padded than batsmen’s gloves- designed specifically for catching. Inside of their gloves, wicketkeepers wear ‘inside gloves’ to reduce friction. The wicketkeeper’s pads are more slender than the batter’s pads so it would not hinder mobility.

All cricketers will have batting equipment as part of their kit. They may also have regulation cricket balls, regardless of whether they are specialist batsmen or bowlers. The basic cricket equipment includes:

a) A wooden bat (made with English willow). The bat has a cylindrical handle and a smooth face and is made to specification of the laws of the game.

b) Leg pads are necessary to protect the shin and knees from damage when batting and are mandatory batting equipment.

c) Batters’ gloves: The gloves that batters wear are more compact, padded and webbing-free when compared to wicketkeepers’ gloves.

d) Red or white balls made with a base of cork, a leather exterior and a seam.

e) Cricket clothing (white or coloured): These consist of a polo shirt (short/long sleeved) and long trousers.

f) Helmets, sun hats or cricket caps: Batters or close fielders do not need to wear helmets, but it is advisable. Batters or fielders can also choose to wear sun hats and cricket caps for protection against the sun.

g) Spiked shoes: Cricket involves running on grass and bare turf sometimes. Spiked shoes are necessary to increase traction. Spiked cricket shoes are not compulsory, however. Some cricketers use basic sneakers with adequate traction.

Protective equipment

Shin guards provide extra protection close fielders- who are near to the striker and risk injury without added protection. Batsmen usually wear thigh guards inside their trousers. Other guards that batters use include arm guards, chest guards and abdomen guards. Batsmen sometimes use abdomen guards to protect the ‘family jewels’.

During the winter- in countries like England and New Zealand, pullovers are often part of a cricketer’s kit- as a matter of course. Batting equipment alone accounts for the majority of a cricketer’s kit. It is easy to glean why cricket is a very expensive sport. Wind-ball cricket- cricket played with a tennis ball- requires much less equipment. Without the necessary equipment in hardball cricket, you risk injury or even death.

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If you are a cricketer and want to improve your bowling technique, especially with your pitching, then there are a few methods you can try.

The line is one important consideration as this dictates how much room the batsman has to play with. As a bowler, you should ideally focus on bowling towards the off stump and really concentrate on bowling in the ‘corridor of uncertainty’. This means that as long as you keep bowling in this region, you will always be putting pressure on the batsman to either play a shot or get caught, or if he misses then he will get bowled or caught behind. It is not easy to bowl a good line but this is something that can only developed with lots of practice.

The length at which you bowl is also very important. Ideally a ‘good length’ is a delivery one which does not allow the batsman enough time to hit the ball for a big shot. It should not be too close to the bat but not too far away either, this means that when the ball bounces it can either turn, or pitch in whichever direction it is required to.

As a bowler you can use the length to your advantage by bowling a various line of deliveries to confuse the batsman. You may want to start with a few short balls followed by a full length delivery and hopefully either get a leg before wicket or bowl him. This is another thing that requires a great deal of practice and can only be achieved once you have absolutely full control of the ball.

Remember, bowling isn’t just about speed. If you are a fast bowler then in order to achieve optimum speed, you need to perfect your line and length first. This can take several years before you can confidently bowl at a quick pace, start off slowly perfecting your run up and building up the power gradually. If you want to look at good line and length then your best bet is to look at Australian bowling legend Glen McGrath who has been one of the finest examples of line and length bowling. Furthermore, don’t forget to look at your run up and try to tweak this so you are confident of getting the right amount of pace and power in your follow through. Some of the world’s best bowlers do this by counting the number of strides so they don’t under or over stretch themselves.

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All the cricket players, no matter if they are presently at the beginning stage of the sport, or they are highly developed professional players, have to spend a good amount of money to get a good-quality cricket bat. There are several varieties of bats available in the market. While a player settle on to choose a bat, they have multiple variety of bat which differ in weights, qualities, durabilities, prices and sizes to pick up from.

In most of the parts a flexible wood which is called English willow are being used to manufacture nearly all the cricket bats. All of these are grand preferences for the reason that the natural humidity which is helpful to pressing throughout the constructing procedure. This gives bounciness similar like outstanding ability to every bat. Generally the cricket bat comes up in many varieties with grades. G1 grade bat is typically considered the premier quality with a direct grain. On this type of bat there will be negligible marking and this is not washed-out. The most practiced and amateur cricketers will usually prefer this grade. The utmost grade is G4 which is regularly washed-out. This bat occasionally enclosed through oil on the face of bat.

Whenever the cricketer is selecting a cricket bat that time it is very essential to match the bat with the size of the cricketer. The majority of the bat comes starting from the size 5 and up to the complete full size. The people whose height is 4′11″ to 5′2″ the starting size is suggested and people those are above 5.9″ the full complete size is suggested.

The weight of the cricket bat should be given next thought. While going to buy your bat you should consider the common rule that is for the stroke makers the lighter bat will be used and heavier bats have a propensity to get attention by Hitters. The most light weight bats are displayed in weights varying from 2 lbs 7 ozs. This light weight bat permits for response moment to the new-fangled ball. The bats of most heavy weight are available in the size from 2 lbs to 10 ozs and more than this. These heavy weight bats are mostly well-liked and accepted all the way through by the hitters of middle sort.

This is the sweet spot on the cricket bat is the location from where the maximum quantity of authority or power comes from beginning to end. Every cricketer has to give the impression for this sweet dot on a cricket bat. This is the point where the cricketer will attain the utmost shot. If you see from the toe, the typical sweet spot is concerning from 4″ to 12″. The cricket player who is able to afford a complete series of shots this common sweet spot is the best.

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