Batsman more strong on the offside but weaker on legs

Neville YoungCoach, Australia

Is it because most of the bowling is on the off side?

Nazim KhanCoach, Pakistan

Hi Neville,

He faced all type of bowling but simply defense the line middle and leg.Weak area hook, pull,on drive and sweep shots,

Need ur e mail pls.

Cricket CoachCoach

Hi there

i had this problem particulary in younger years and found when on wants to play on the legside they do not move their feet to the ball and try to play around the le with the bat comming in from the side, to try and stop this make sure batsmen steps to the ball with batting comming through straighy. to improve this area you could drop feed on leg stum line encouraging a on drive.

Neville YoungCoach, Australia

I would start by concentrating on the pull and hooks shots, as it may simply be a confidence thing or it may be that he doesn`t step back and across when he get a short ball on that line during a game.

Get him in the nets and use a tennis ball to begin with. Throw the ball down short enough for the pull shot. Make sure to be consistent in your line and length and concentrate in the middle stump. Encourge the correct footwork. ie. First step back and across to the off stump or just outside it with his weight on the backfoot.

Make sure he stands up straight and hits down on the ball and pivots on the back foot draging his front foot around and across so he ends up facing towards where he hit the ball.

This may be a slow process until he can do it consistently. Once he has mastered that, then move onto the hook shot. This time the ball should be just out side the leg stump and aimed at around the armpit height. At this stage don`t worry about him hitting the ball up. Work on getting consistency in him playing the shot. This time his finishing position should be facing fine leg. Once he has mastered this, move the line across to the middle and leg stump and continue to work from there. You can leave it to him to either attempt the shot or let it go, as this is what he will need to do in a match.

Once he has mastered all that, move on to a cricket ball.

For the on drive feed, feed lots of cricket balls pitched well up to the appropriate area, slowly at first and get him to learn how to step with his front foot so it is outside the line of the ball. Let him either block or play the shot. Again this really is a confidence thing as many players are fearful of exposing the "family jewels", no matter how good their protector is.

Some kids will progress quickly while others can take a long time. Your kid sounds like he has some talent that should help him progress successfully. Just keep at it and be positive. Tell him what he is doing right, don`t go into explaining what he is doing wrong when he is practising.

Good luck

Neville YoungCoach, Australia

Great stuff Nazim. You are doing a good job.