Front Foot Batting - Around the Clock Game (Nets)

DESCRIPTION

The Aim of this game is to make your way around the clock... you do this by having the bowling machine set up to hit the stumps at a medium fast pace.

The batsman starts to try and hit a shot -

• strait
• mid off
• cover
• backward point
• third man
• fine leg
• backward square leg
• mid wicket
• mid on

You can increase the dificulty by asking the player to play over the top or along the floor.

COACHING POINTS

Batting Stance –

1. Feet – Your feet should be positioned so they face down the wicket. Your front foot should not be in front of your back foot (creating a closed stance).
2. Backswing – Your backswing should roughly be between the keeper and 2nd slip.
3. Head / Eye Position – Your head should be level meaning that your eyes are level and that you are balanced. If your head is falling over to the offside then your shots will not be played from a balanced position and you are more likely to miss time the ball

Front Foot Shots –

1. Front Foot Placement – Your front foot placement is very important and you should always try and get the front foot as close to the pitch of the ball as possible.
2. Head Position – Your head is one of the heaviest parts of the body it is important that your head is over the line of the ball and remains level.
3. Body Weight –
4. Hands – Your hands should come through the line of the ball strait to make sure that a good connection is made, if the bat comes through in a curved line then there is more chance of miss timing the ball or missing the ball completely
5. Bat – Try and make sure that the bat comes through as straight as possible and the face of the bat is facing the bowler at the point of contact, if your hand positioning is good then this should come very naturally.

Back Foot Shots –

1. Foot Placement – The initial movement for a back foot shot is your back foot goes ‘back and across (to the offside)’, this is good because it means that you can get on top of the ball and also it give you a little extra time to react if the bowler is quite fast.
2. Head Position – It is very important when a ball is coming up towards your chest or head that you keep your eyes on the ball. To do this you need your head to be as level as possible. Specifically for defensive shots you want your head to be behind the line of the ball so you can see the ball onto the bat.
3. Body Weight – Whenever playing a attacking stroke especially on the off side (back foot dives/cuts) you want your body weight to be going through the line of the ball
4. Hands – Your hands no matter if it is a flat bat or vertical bat shot the hands and bat should come through strait and where possible high to low (flat bat shots).