Training drills for finding gaps & soft hands?

[Woodster]

In our club we seem to have great difficulty in rotating the strike, which can be particularly frustrating when a batsman is set and the incoming batsman struggles to get the established bat on strike.

Imo it is a very difficult skill to come in and immediately start turning over the strike, especially with a tight fielding ring surrounding you and some accurate bowling coming down.

Week in week out we continue to discuss this problem but we don't really have any particularly helpful and enjoyable training drills for us to practice putting this right.

Any ideas anyone ?

 

[Goughy]

Its not easy. A tight ring and accurate bowling generally leaves one tried and tested method.

A combination of breaking up the bowlers length and forcing the field back.

Accurate bowling generally means ou know where the ball will pitch. The batsman has to use his feet/bat out of his crease/go deep in thecrease to change good length balls into half volleys or short of a length.

Also the the field needs to have gaps created. The easiest way to do that is to go over the top until protection is moved out there and then find the gaps.

Tight bowling to a ring of fielders is very successful against conservative batting.

The batsman has to be proactive and get the situation how he wants it. To do that he has to force changes.

Basically use your feet and the crease and go over the top and force the field back and that creates the space to milk the bowling.

Line and length bowling to a ring against conservative batting allows the bowling team to dictate proceedings. The batting teams has to change the flow of the game.

Simply, you cant rotate the strike when there are no spaces. Spaces have to be created and batsmen have to be proactive to do so.

 

[Woodster]

Yes I appreciate that tactic and while it may be successful, it also carries a high risk percentage. For new batsmen to come in and go over the top is brave and potentially fruitful, but it does rely on batsmen, possibly fighting for their place, to take a chance that most batsmen won't take on.

Perhaps if the field was a little more relaxed in terms of more gaps around, perhaps the fielding side are attacking a little more, so rather than a ring, they may have 2 slips, gully, backward point, cover, mid off, mid on, square leg and fine leg, so there are opportunites to work the ball into the gaps, but it is still a difficult skill. Soft hands, positive running and the abililty to work the ball into the spaces seem key, but we are short of any really good drill.

 

[Goughy]

Further to that. When I come into bat against a tight ring of fielders against accurate spin or medium pace I am looking to have the field moved back within an over or 2. Basically becasue I dont want them there.

I pick my areas (I generally have 3). I try and murder anything short, anything full and straight I aim to put past the bowler (cant hav fielders there) and anything full and off the stumps I aim to put over cover/extra cover.

I dont care about mi****s as there isnt a fielder there. Im looking for easy runs in 4s and 6s and then for 1s and 2s as the field gets spread.

I dont like being dictated to be accurate bowling. Id recommend players finding a couple of 'go to' shots they can explode into when the ball is in that area.

You need to be able to force the field back and it doesnt have to be every ball, just the right shot to signal intent.

 

[Goughy]

Yes I appreciate that tactic and while it may be successful, it also carries a high risk percentage. For new batsmen to come in and go over the top is brave and potentially fruitful, but it does rely on batsmen, possibly fighting for their place, to take a chance that most batsmen won't take on.

Perhaps if the field was a little more relaxed in terms of more gaps around, perhaps the fielding side are attacking a little more, so rather than a ring, they may have 2 slips, gully, backward point, cover, mid off, mid on, square leg and fine leg, so there are opportunites to work the ball into the gaps, but it is still a difficult skill. Soft hands, positive running and the abililty to work the ball into the spaces seem key, but we are short of any really good drill.

I dont think it is a high risk tactic, though you are right. The second scenario you describe (of an attacking field) is a different proposition to a defensive ring.

Off the top of my head I would practice throwdowns. Rather than deadbat defensive shots I would work on little check drives. They are essentially the same thing but the check drive allows many more singles to be picked up.

The difference between a little punch in the defensive shot and a dead bat can soon be counted on the score sheet.

 

[Woodster]

I dont think it is a high risk tactic, though you are right. The second scenario you describe (of an attacking field) is a different proposition to a defensive ring.

Off the top of my head I would practice throwdowns. Rather than deadbat defensive shots I would work on little check drives. They are essentially the same thing but the check drive allows many more singles to be picked up.

The difference between a little punch in the defensive shot and a dead bat can soon be counted on the score sheet.

Certainly something I myself am culpable of is going at the ball with fairly hard hands, even in defence. I want to try and wait for the ball a little more and deflect rather than force at times.

Yes the check drive is certainly something to work on, and throwdowns is mainly what I use in the week and have recently found it more beneficial than our actual nets. Some food for thought there anyway, cheers Kev.

 

[jonny1408]

I have a good drill for this which I use to practise working the spinners around, when in the nets get some cones and make a gate at either side of the net and tell the batsman that is where the gap is then have a net as normal and the batsman score runs for how many times they work it into the gap, move the cones around as they need to be able to work into more than one gap. Making it smaller will improve your chances of finding the gaps in the match.

Another tip for a game is work out which hands fielders throw it with and if your partner is backing it up try hit it to their weak hand so they have to change round before they can throw. BUT if your doing this make sure you know which hands they use because you could hit it to their left side and find out their a left handed fielder. Or some fielders (like myself can throw with both hands).

 

[vic_orthdox]

Having a centre wicket practice, where there is no penalty for being run-out, is one way of going about it. Helps you realize how, when you both go and soft hands are used, that it's not that hard to make it through. Even just take about 8 of you out to the middle, two are padded up, have four blokes between mid-off and backward point and use throwdowns to get the ball in the area every ball.

Goughy has a point, but different things work for different batsman. The way I am, I'll never be smoking bowlers back over their head early in my innings. Tend to use a lot of glides and soft hands early doors, and jump on anything with width and throw everything at it. Each batsman should have their own individual plan on how to combat it, rather than working on a "team plan". Although the two batsmen in the middle during game day should be communicating to each other what their plan is.