i meant - go to this*

Hiya Vish..some older guys used to tell me a good way to practice batting is to put a ball in a sock and suspend it from the ceiling.Then practice your cricket shots by hitting the ball in the sock.You can vary the height of the sock to keeps things interesting.I must admit i never have done this but apparently it helps sharpen your reflexes,improves hand eye co ordination and gets you hitting all the way through the ball.

What i tend to do is shadow bat,working on getting my feet in the correct technical positions to play each shot.Also i have a one to one with a coach and if possible round up some guys for an actual net.

Whats your situation?...Tell us a little about yourself..you sound knowlegeable and keen.

CP

Vish,

I recommend you buy a batting tee. They don't cost much and they are a very good coaching aid. A drill I do is setting up different zones with some cones such as mid on, mid off, cover and extra cover and practice hitting the ball off the tee through these zones. I practice this drill for an hour everyday and probably hit about 50-100 balls through each of these zones. The purpose of the drill is to get your feet moving to the pitch of the ball and also to help you keep your head over the ball as well as making sure you watch the ball.

Hope it helps you!

Leachy

The batting tee is a good idea. There are a couple of things to remember when you are hitting a stationary ball off a tee:
1.Take about 4 seconds at the completion of each shot to go through a checklist in your head BEFORE MOVING OUT OF THE SHOT. Say to yourself: 'Front knee bent' ... 'Head over the ball' ... 'High front elbow' ... 'Hands finish in front of face'. By holding your finish position you will learn it quicker!
2.At the completion of each shot, REWIND the bat back into your starting position. This will help with your bat control immensely!
3.Always work your front shoulder towards the ball. Sometimes if you are aiming to hit off a tee through cone targets, you might just play a straight drive at each target, rather than turning your shoulder and playing the appropriate drive in each case. Have a crease with centre marked out and make sure you move from this spot each time. When you rewind, return to your EXACT starting position each time.
Good luck Vish!
JH

Hey guys,

Thanks for your replies.

Well CP.. I am an Indian, 16 years old..have been playing cricket for the last 5 years but most of it has been with the tennis ball in Beijing. I have learnt all my cricket watching T.V. or videos on the internet. I have never been trained by a coach or any other cricket for that matter. Recently i shifted to Finland, where cricket is on a rise. I joined the Helsinki Cricket Club and am currently taking part in an indoor tournament with 10 other teams.

The club doesnt really train in the winters, they consider the tournament has training itself because its not considered that important. The main t20 and 40 overs tournament will be starting from around April.

I havent had the best of starts to cricket in my life, not enough opportunities i guess.. but i have learnt a lot on my own...i am a big fan of Sachin Tendulkar and his batting has influenced mine in a lot of ways..

I dream of playing for India someday...but thats far away..i just want to keep on improving my cricket for now..

I am a decent bowler, with good line and length and out swing but i need more pace..and somehow develop an inswinger...

Batting wise i havent been able to perform well till now..but i believe in my batting....i know all my mistakes..it's just that its really hard to correct them while batting in a match....and thats why i want to be able to train...

Leechy and John

thanks for the idea of the batting tee..i will surely consider it.....but i am not sure if it will help...technique wise i am not that bad...but what i need to practice is ..for example..leaving good balls...or leaving wides..i am often found chasing those balls...or facing fast bowling...i know there is no real substitute for a bowler bowling at you..thats why i think a batting tee will be pretty good..

hi guys..i have another question...i have heard from lots of people that weightlifting can also be damaging at my age..is it true? I am 16.......is lifting weights 3-4 days a week a good idea? if i wanna increase my pace?

Not true at all vish. Who told you that?

well i heard from this friend of mine...(whose friend bowls at around 135kph...and said that).....but it makes sense doesnt it? fast bowling requires fast hand rotation..which depends on the fast twitching fibres and all you mentioned in your article?... how much of pace comes from the muscles?

anyways..

have my 3rd indoor match tonite.....hope i do well.....will put an update about how my match went over here ...

Yea my friend told me that and i told vish. Even i couldnt beleive him completely but i think it could be true. i mean he said you need to be loose if you want to be a fast bowler and if u do weight liftin then you get all crunched up. he told me that at this age (15) i shouldnt do much weight lifting and i should just take it easy. he told me i could start doin dat in like a couple of years. but i dnt think ill stop.
When why friend was 17 he could owl aroung 136kph and he played against the Zimbabwe National Team. he had a chance ot join the Indian cric team but den i dntknow wat happened. I need to know what he told me is true or not and i also wanna know why. just like vishal. he told me dat i should just jog and stay fit and healthy.

You do need to be supple and flexible to be a good fast bowler that's true. You also need excellent technique in your action and good genetics.

You also need to be strong and getting strong means training with resistance in the right way. Bodybuilding style training can make you less supple if you do it the wrong way, but training to become more athletic is the key. That means training that is relevant to the cricket pitch. See my articles here and here for more information.

Train right and the results will come.

Those articles surely help...well i didnt post update for previous match because it didnt take place...now next one is tmrw...hopefully that one takes place..and ill try to put up vidoes or pics if possible

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCcfNZlyp_Q

i am the guy who faced the first ball...foot movement sucked..but i am happy that i atleast know that..cuz the shot was pretty satisfying at that point of time....will try and get a proper video of me practicing.