Cricket: Ian Bell - Defending Against Spin

Ian Bell was famous for having the best cover drive in world cricket.

Batters should always be looking to score runs. When a bowler delivers a half-volley, it should be scored off and the best way of doing this is by playing the cover-drive.

Watch this drill to see how you can coach your players to drive like Bell!

A forward defense is played to a good length delivery. It's a defensive type of shot and therefore the amount of runs scored from it is irrelevant

Can be done in pairs/ groups of three. One batter, a feeder, and a wicket keeper. 4 incrediballs or cricket balls are recommended, as they have a seam to spin ball. 4 good quality feeds eachPlayer feeds from one knee, throwing ball under arm as a leg spinner, with the key being a looped feed. (If players can’t spin it, a slow looped feed is sufficient). Feeder aims to land ball on a full length, on off stump. Batter looks to play ball straight, through zone 1, to be marked out from between the stumps to cover as shown.NB – Left hander’s will still score through same zone, and should ideally be grouped together.

PROGRESSION

Make target area smaller, if playing to square of wicket, make target straighter.Introduce points scoring system.Bring in Zone 2 (different scoring area for length balls)Change length of feedIntroduce coming down wicket.

Played to a length ball pitching on or around line of the stumps

Can be done in pairs/ groups of three. One batter and one feeder minimum required. 6 tennis balls per pair/group.

Feeder looks to feed the ball around middle stump, using an underarm 'bobble' feed. Already down on one knee in sweep position, batter looks to play orthodox sweep shot (shot number 1), aiming for the line indicated on diagram.