Coaching Tips

How to play the pull shot by Jason Krejza
There was a time when the pull shot was considered unorthodox, and only certain batsmen played it. For Australia, Don Bradman and Doug Walters were once its greatest exponents, but it has now become part of the armoury of most modern-day batsmen. Have a look at Dougie’s pull for six off the last ball of the day to bring up his ton in Perth, 1974-75. Our own Ricky Ponting was famous for his scintillating pull shot, as was England’s Michael Vaughan. The reason it is one of cricket’s more attractive sights is because it can only be an aggressive shot.
Played generally off the back foot, the pull shot resembles the hook shot, but is often played around waist height. Unlike a hook, which is often played ‘off the nose’, a pull shot can actually be played to a delivery that is on off stump. Hence the name. The shot is ‘pulled’ around to leg.
The pull shot is an exciting and powerful shot and its main aim is to score. It is played through the leg-side, anywhere from wide mid-on around to square leg. It can be played along the ground or aerial.
No fast bowler in the world wanted to drop just short to Ricky Ponting as the ball would end up breaking the pickets at any ground in the world. Worth YouTubing!
Here are a few pointers on executing this shot well.

The pull shot is generally played off the back foot, so the ball needs to be short and above the waist to be played effectively. I say “generally”, because some of the best exponents can execute the shot from the front foot. The key is ensuring your stance is balanced, on the balls of the feet, knees slightly bent for power, and ready for anything. The head should be absolutely still as the bowler lets the ball go, as this is the best way to allow you to quickly calculate line and length.
Being a back foot shot, at least for beginners, the initial movement should be the feet getting ‘back and across’ – the back foot moving backwards and toward the off stump, the front foot sliding back to meet your back foot. This helps to get inside the line of the ball and allows your hands to swing across in front of you freely while playing the shot. Remember, head, shoulders and feet all move across in unison. Don’t have feet that retreat while your head stays where it is. Footwork is very important, as it needs to be swift and perfectly executed. You are generally playing this shot to fast-bowlers, so the feet need to be quick and decisive.
At the same time the feet are moving into position, you should be lifting the bat up above the line and height of the ball; this helps keep the ball on the ground. If the bat was below the height of the ball, the bat would have to go from low to high, causing the ball to go in the air. The safest way to play this shot is along the ground, so getting the bat high, and quickly, is a must. ‘Hands to your ears’ is a good cue.
The bat is brought from high to low as you look to hit the ‘back’ of the ball (a hint I got from Ricky Ponting!). Contact with the ball should be as soon as possible, so it can be controlled. This is an aggressive shot, especially if played in front of square leg, so swing hard but don’t swing yourself off your feet!

You must be in control of this shot – otherwise you will be off balance increasing the risk of mistiming it. Swing through the ball with the intention of getting it through the field. Note: the pull shot is generally played with straight arms. By the time you complete the shot, your weight should be transferred to the front foot.

Keep your eye on the ball the whole time. Your eyes should be level and still. You don’t want to have any movement, which will make you lose focus and vision of the ball. This is hard when you are young. You are trying to swing the bat and keep the head still which takes a lot of practice.
On contact with the ball, you should look to roll your wrists to help keep the ball on the ground. This takes some work to get the timing right, so practice it a lot to get the hang of it.
Finish the shot with the bat ending up over your lead shoulder and hopefully, admire the ball screaming to the boundary!

TIP: The best way to practice this shot is to have someone kneel in front of you and underarm full-toss balls at about belly button level. You can hit over and over again into a net and start training your muscles to perform this shot balanced and in control. You can even start by hitting balls off a softball tee – you can do this by yourself for hours.
Good luck and practice hard!
Jason Krejza applies his vast experience working with the world’s best players and coaches to his own coaching. Jason had a history-making Test debut when his 12 wickets for the match against India in 2010 included eight wickets in the first innings. For more information visit www.elitecricket.com.au

How to knock in your cricket bat
Knocking in your Cricket Bat
Make sure your new cricket bat is ‘warne’ in
Just like a new pair of shoes, cricket bats should be worn in before you use them. Except the correct cricket terminology is ‘knocking’.
Knocking in your cricket bat compacts the timber fibres, making it stronger and more resistant to hard and fast blows. The large face areas of the bat like the toe, edges and blade, take the most impact during a cricket match. Without knocking in your bat, it’s very likely to sustain permanent damage.
How to knock in your cricket bat properly
The first step is to lightly oil your cricket bat using a cloth and a Linseed cricket bat oil. Rub it all over with the exception of the top section of the blade. Leave overnight before applying a second light coat. This ensures the bat keeps the correct moisture and helps prevent cracking or splitting.
Repeatedly strike all the surfaces of the bat with a hardwood bat mallet. Start out gently or soften the blows by covering the mallet with a sock and gradually increase the force. The bat should eventually begin to have a rounded appearance after covering all surface areas of the bat several times. Let the bat rest for a few hours prior to taking it for a test run.
Use an old or well-used cricket ball to bounce and if the bat is still gathering marks then repeat the second step again.
Knocking in can be a long process so you may prefer to purchase a bat that’s knocked in and ready for match play.

How to improve your batting;

Bowl your cricket team over with your professional batting skills
When it comes to putting your batting skills to the test, it takes more than athletic ability to score a six. Being a good batsman (or bats woman) requires precision, excellent hand/eye coordination and regular practice.
Improve your muscle memory
The old adage practice makes perfect is key to improving your batting skills. Repetition is fundamental to refining hand and eye coordination. Muscles have memory, so the more you repeat the actions, the more natural the movements will seem.
Master hitting drop balls
A great place to start is by simply practicing to hit balls dropped directly above the line of the bat. Focus on your technique instead of power shots. Once you have mastered hitting drop balls, graduate to having a friend or team mate bowl under arm.
Practice hitting underarm bowls
An underarm bowl will reduce the ball speed allowing you concentrate on precise batting skills. Remember at this stage it’s not about how hard you can hit the ball, it’s about aiming the ball in a certain direction, preferably to avoid any fielders. Overarm bowling requires faster reactions, but it’s more about the correct timing, than hitting it hard.
Switch your techniques
Being able to change up your technique is imperative. If you’re constantly hitting the ball straight, it won’t take long for the opposition to cotton on to your game plan. Being versatile will keep the competition on their toes.
Tee up friendly cricket matches
simulated match conditions can provide an opportunity to work on your batting skills. Get a group of mates together for a friendly game or practice at the local nets until swinging correctly becomes second nature.

How to bowl leg spin
by Jason Krejza

The Grip

Grip is as simple as ‘two finger’s up, two fingers down’. The ball should rest comfortably in the palm of your hand with your first and second finger resting on the seam, which is across your grip, rather than upright and your ring finger tucked up against the ball. Spin on the ball is created by the ring finger and wrist flick on release. The ring finger and the wrist can spin a ball powerfully when they act together.Tip: Practice by spinning the ball to yourself, even trying to spin the ball back to you off the ground. Try to spin it every time you practice. This will help you find the way you do it best and most comfortably. Throw the ball in the air using the leg-spin action and try to make it spin as much as you can. You can use any round object you pick up, like an orange. After a while, the action, and controlling it, comes naturally.The Delivery
At this point, your front arm becomes the single most important part of your body. Reach up high, straight up in front of yourself to lift your body up and really feel a stretch on your side. This will align you straight and in a balanced position. If your front arm is lazy and doesn’t reach high or isn’t straight, you will be lower at the crease and unable to get in a high, powerful bowling position. You can also ‘fall away’ if you don’t reach straight, causing your body to fall to one side and make bowling straight harder.
Reach out towards your target when you start your delivery, almost as if you are trying to bang the batter on the head with your fist. This begins pulling your body towards your target, aligning your shoulders and your body nice and straight.
Pull your arm into your side, almost like a fast bowler does, as your arm comes over to bowl the ball. This keeps your body tall and upright, rather than just falling to the side if you let it flop. Pull it in hard as it creates the power to bowl the ball.
Using the grip and the flicking action with ring finger and wrist, bring the arm over and spin the ball the same way. As you let the ball go, the fingers should naturally straighten or stretch out.
Pivot. As you release the ball, be aware of the way you pivot on your front foot. If you have some momentum up you should be up on the ball of that foot. The back knee then comes through.
Follow through! So many spinners forget to follow through. Spinners are very powerful at the crease and put a big effort into spinning the ball, so follow through to continue your momentum and help finish off your action.
Be ready for the ball to come back to you after your follow through. YOU should be the best fielder when you are bowling, so be ready. This requires a hell of a lot of practice! Go to the nets with someone and use a tennis racquet and ball. Get them to whack your deliveries back to you, just as a batsman might on the field. It’s good fun and is a great way of training to become an awesome fielder off your own bowling.

Tactics
Bowling to a right-hand batter, a leg spinner should look to land the ball in line with the stumps to make him play every ball. Tempt the batsman to hit against the spin. For example, with a right-hand leg spinner to a right-hand batter, tempt them to hit the ball through mid-wicket. This is harder to do than play with the spin; hitting against it can lead to inside or outside edges and the batsman to use only half the bat to hit the ball. This creates opportunities to take wickets and is harder to score from, so it becomes a run-saving tactic too. Don’t give up. Look to bowl the ball full, so the batsman has to play off the front foot; a batter has much more time and has more scoring options off the back foot. Get them playing drives to create chances.
Try and hit the stumps with most of your deliveries. This makes the batsman play at every ball, makes it a risk to play shots and creates a wicket chance with every ball you bowl. Batsmen will look to defend balls that are hitting the stumps, so you are bowling balls that aren’t getting scored off.
Visualisation
Before you even start your run-up, you should have a clear idea of what you want to bowl. Imagine it – picture it in your mind coming up out of your hand and landing perfectly. Visualisation is the key here as it helps mentally prepare you to bowl the ball you want to bowl.
Run-up
You must have a balanced, relaxed run-up that is the same every time you bowl. Not just in a game, but also in the nets or wherever else you are practicing. Consistency is the key here. Your run-up should build up speed slowly as you approach the crease. This is an underestimated aspect of bowling. You want to have built some good momentum as you approach the crease so you can be powerful and not just have to use your bowling arm and shoulder to provide the energy. Use your body, use your legs and use the momentum of your run-up to provide the energy needed to bowl a great delivery.

Jason Krejza applies his vast experience working with the world’s best players and coaches to his own coaching. Jason had a history-making Test debut when his 12 wickets for the match against India in 2010 included eight wickets in the first innings. For more information visit www.elitecricket.com.au