How to Batting Against Fast Bowler | Cricket Tips for Batting Against Fast Bowlers

in cricket, a fast bowler can change the pace and outcome of a match. A typical fast bowl usually ranges from 85 to 90 miles per hour and can induce tricky spins once the ball bounces off the ground during the bowl. The fastest bowl recorded was by Pakistan's Shoaib Akhtar, whose delivery was clocked at 100.2 miles per hour to England's Nick Knight in the 2003 Cricket World Cup. How is a batter able to achieve success against a fast bowler?

  


Footwork
   1. A batter's footwork is key to a good at bat. A fast bowler's pitch may have an odd spin and come off of the ground at an unpredictable angle, so do not commit to a specific direction right away as you may be able to do against an average-speed pitch.

 Eye Contact
   2. Although a fast pitch may be difficult to follow throughout, the most crucial spot to see is where the ball strikes the ground. Depending on where the ball comes in contact with the ground, the pitch may be a high bouncer, short pitched, good length, full pitched or a yorker, where the ball first bounces very close to the batter's swinging area. Seeing the ball well is a plus in batting, especially when facing a fast bowler.

Level Bat
         1. If a pitch is coming in faster than normal, the batter will have less time to bring the bat around. Keeping the bat about waist level is proper as the batter will have time to level the bat in the direction of the playing field and enough room to generate some power in the swing. Hitting an offensive shot against a fast bowler can be done.

Off Pads Through the On-Side
         2. This is a style of batting in cricket that may help against fast bowlers. As the batter, you must let the ball come to you. At the last instant, turn the wrists to the opposite field (left field for a right-handed batter, and right field for a left-handed batter). Let the angle of the bat do much of the work as this batting technique can easily find the gaps in the field.

Defense Shot
There are typically two types of defense shot in cricket: the forward defense and back foot defense. Although the forward defense may work against a fast bowler, it is more effective against a bowler who specializes in spinning his pitches. The back foot defense is more effective against fast bowlers, as the speed of the pitch will do a lot of the work if contact is made. The keys here are to keep the bat straight and down, and to hold the bat with soft hands to enable it to be moved up or down depending on the location of the pitch. In the back foot defense shot, the batter should not follow the ball especially against fast bowlers, but stay in line and protect the wickets behind him.

Tips For Best Fielding | Cricket Fielding Tips

When fielding during cricket there are many things to think about and consider depending on where you are fielding. This brief article will look at a few essential cricket fielding tips which you can incorporate into your game to improve your fielding.

Where ever you are fielding you should always be on the balls of your feet so you can react and change direction quickly. If you are caught flat footed you'll be slower off the mark and potentially give away more runs.

Try to anticipate where ball will go; you can do this by carefully watching the batters shape and movements. This may be a little difficult at first but after a bit of practise will become second nature and you'll react much quicker to any shots coming your way and field better as a result.

When you are fielding close to the boundary and have to throw from the deep, try to aim your throw just above the keepers head and the ball should drop nicely in to his gloves, provided you have a relatively strong throwing arm.

When catching close to the wicket, such as in the slips, gulley or short leg, make sure you stance is correct with your feet shoulder width apart or slightly wider. Spread your weight evenly across both feet, resting lightly on the balls of your feet, with your knees flexed. Keep your hands together, close to the ground with your fingers pointing down. Keep your head up with your eyes level and stay alert.

When catching the ball in close, watch the ball all the way into your hands, allowing the ball to come to you; don't try to snatch at it. 'Give' with the ball as you catch, cushioning the impact. When catching in the deep, try and catch the ball at eye level and cushion the ball into your chest.

The ball can come to you at any time so it is really important you stay alert and awake so you can stop that vital run or take a match winning catch.

These are just a few cricket fielding tips that you can incorporate into you game; there are many more cricket fielding tips for specific aspects of fielding. However these are the general cricket fielding tips I've found to be the most useful.

Cricket Batting Tips | Cricket Batting Tips-Foot Work | How to Batting Most Important Tips

When batting in cricket it is essential to have excellent footwork. As good foot work is the basis for achieving excellence in cricket and is the foundation for good batting technique.

Foot work is absolutely necessary as all successful strokes start with effective batting footwork.


If you watch great cricketers like Brian Lara, Michael Vaughn, Ricky Ponting, Sachin Tendulkar, all of these amazing batsmen have outstanding footwork, often when these types of cricket players don't perform it is simply due to lack of footwork.

Good footwork allows you to time the ball well and place the ball in gaps. It gets you in the optimum position to hit the ball, so you can hit it where you want and with ease.

If you have been struggling to play a particular shot for some reason it could be due to poor footwork causing bad timing and body positioning.

With faster bowlers it is even more essential to have excellent fast and precise footwork, so that you can get into a balanced position, in-line with the ball, so you can play the ball with control.

Getting quickly into position through footwork therefore is very important.

The more you practice your footwork against both fast and slow bowlers the easier you will gradually find it. Many players do what we call trigger movements just before the bowler releases the ball, this helps get the feet moving into position and into line much quicker and easier, especially against faster bowlers.

Next time you watch a game of cricket on TV watch the batsmen's feet really closely as the bowler is about to deliver you'll see these small 'trigger movements'; small foot movements, which help the batsmen get in position and inline early.


As a batsman it is absolutely necessary to develop your foot work and foot movement, as all excellent strokes start with effective and efficient footwork.

Cricket Catching tips | How to Catch Tips

Everyone's heard the phrase: 'Catches win matches'. And you found out whoever told you that phrase whether it be your coach or your Dad, were right. Cricket is about scoring runs and taking wickets, that's how you win. So what's the most common way batsmen get out? Caught. If you drop em you don't win - that's pretty much it.

So in my next cricket tips blog I'm going to cover the basics on catching.
There's two different types of catches - outfield and infield catches. The only main difference is that outfield catches are higher and require some distance to be covered, whereas infield catches are flatter, faster and require little/any movement at all. However, there is a similarity between catches and that is the positioning of the hands (the most important body part involved in taking a catch - good idea not to forget that). Here are some things to remember:

1. Relax - Keep your hands 'soft'. This will help in preventing the ball caning the palms of your hands which normally result in some sort of excruciating pain and a dropped catch.

2. Give - Give with the ball. As the ball enters your hands it isn't a good idea to just leave your hands where the ball is going to land - this also means pain and a dropped catch. What you want to do is to reduce the amount of force the ball has on your palms, so by bringing the arms towards the body during the catch, you aren't going to feel the full force of a flying cricket ball.

3. Fingers - One of the basic principles of catching. For low catches below the chest, the fingers are pointing down when in its cupped position, whereas the fingers should point up for those catches above the chest.

4. EYES ON THE BALL! Coping one to the face isn't something nobody enjoys. Enough said.