Batting Strategy For 2 Day Cricket

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ginger_ninja

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Hey all,

I want to know what your general mental batting strategy is when you go out to bat in a 2 dayer because recently i have been playing in a high division and i am opening the batting and i have made quite a few low scores. It seems the harder the try to get out of my bad patch of form the worse it gets.

For eg: 2 weeks ago i tried to be assertive in playing my shots but just fished at a ball outside off stump and was caught at slips, so i tried to counteract this the next match and played very conservatively, like leaving balls outside off stump etc. I batted well for 25 overs or so then got a jaffer (which u r gonna get sooner or later) but only made like 15. I obviously want to make big scores because i have made big scores playing in a lower division and i can bat, but it just seems i am lacking a plan against good oppositions.

What's your general strategy, do you block out your first 10 overs and then start playing your shots etc.?

Thanks
 
ginger_ninja said:
Hey all,

I want to know what your general mental batting strategy is when you go out to bat in a 2 dayer because recently i have been playing in a high division and i am opening the batting and i have made quite a few low scores. It seems the harder the try to get out of my bad patch of form the worse it gets.

For eg: 2 weeks ago i tried to be assertive in playing my shots but just fished at a ball outside off stump and was caught at slips, so i tried to counteract this the next match and played very conservatively, like leaving balls outside off stump etc. I batted well for 25 overs or so then got a jaffer (which u r gonna get sooner or later) but only made like 15. I obviously want to make big scores because i have made big scores playing in a lower division and i can bat, but it just seems i am lacking a plan against good oppositions.

What's your general strategy, do you block out your first 10 overs and then start playing your shots etc.?

Thanks
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First of all, speak to your captain about your role in the side, and why you've been picked. You might find your captainly is perfectly satisfied with you making 15 off 25 overs (or occupying time).

If so, at least you'll know what the foundation is to build from, and what you need to be doing to get selected. From there, start working on your game, basic things, like not missing out on the balls that are too straight, getting off strike. Putting away loose deliveries. The basics of batting. Blocking balls into gaps for singles etc etc. This stuff all takes time to develop properly. But don't expect to go up the grades and be hitting bowlers off their line and length.
 
First of all yes talk to your captain he might be happy with you just using overs up and rotating strike, if he wants you scoring more you have too play in the "V"s and getting the ball off the square picking up regular singles and waiting for the ball to be bowled in your hitting zone. With your weak stop you need to leave them until you practice them at training. I hope this helps
 
"Block out the first 10 overs" is some of the most useless advice I've ever gotten as an opening batsman. It's right up there with the meaningless "value your wicket" and the ubiquitous "play straight". The best seasons I've had are ones where I've gone out there with an aggressive attitude. It won't work every game, but it's a far better tactic than survival on these decks.

Sure, look for the singles, but you get to play on some pretty small grounds and with the bounce these pitches have, look to hit boundaries. Be it first over, or 25th, if I get a ball I like the look of, I'm going to try and dispatch it to the fence. With balls outside off, you're probably nicking the one that isn't quite there to drive, but would be on a turf wicket. No easy way to deal with these, leaving can be dangerous if it nips back, but if you go after it really go after it and don't try to keep it on the ground. I see a lot of batsman get out trying to drive the ball that isn't quite there, better to go over the top than smack it straight to cover.

The above works well enough for me.
 
_Blackhawk_ said:
"Block out the first 10 overs" is some of the most useless advice I've ever gotten as an opening batsman. It's right up there with the meaningless "value your wicket" and the ubiquitous "play straight". The best seasons I've had are ones where I've gone out there with an aggressive attitude. It won't work every game, but it's a far better tactic than survival on these decks.

Sure, look for the singles, but you get to play on some pretty small grounds and with the bounce these pitches have, look to hit boundaries. Be it first over, or 25th, if I get a ball I like the look of, I'm going to try and dispatch it to the fence. With balls outside off, you're probably nicking the one that isn't quite there to drive, but would be on a turf wicket. No easy way to deal with these, leaving can be dangerous if it nips back, but if you go after it really go after it and don't try to keep it on the ground. I see a lot of batsman get out trying to drive the ball that isn't quite there, better to go over the top than smack it straight to cover.

The above works well enough for me.
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SO i shouldnt value my wicket??
 
ginger_ninja said:
SO i shouldnt value my wicket??
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I'm saying that the phrase "value your wicket" is useless and patronising. Players don't walk out to the middle with the intention of getting out or making a low score. We all want to make as many runs as we can and no one means to get out.
 
_Blackhawk_ said:
I'm saying that the phrase "value your wicket" is useless and patronising. Players don't walk out to the middle with the intention of getting out or making a low score. We all want to make as many runs as we can and no one means to get out.
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"value your wicket" means more than just not getting out.

It means making the right decisions on when to play big shots and when to defend, reading the game situation and knowing how to react to it and having a tempo to your innings that reflects all of these.

Of course no one means to get out, but throwing your wicket away by making stupid decisions that can be avoided is a waste of your wicket, and you only get one.

Never seen anyone make a hundred sitting in the pavillion. Ever.
 
CricketBox said:
"value your wicket" means more than just not getting out.

It means making the right decisions on when to play big shots and when to defend, reading the game situation and knowing how to react to it and having a tempo to your innings that reflects all of these.
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My point is that no one goes out there to make wrong decisions. We all try to do the best we can and sometimes we make mistakes. I also dislike it because it's a cheap way to put back the poor performance of a player on his shoulders, rather than a coach recognising the player may need some assistance, better training or is perhaps out of his depth at the position or side he's in.

The other one I hate is when someone says; "don't get out". Well thanks for that riveting piece of advice because you know, I was going out there to kick over my stumps but I've reconsidered now you said that.
 
_Blackhawk_ said:
My point is that no one goes out there to make wrong decisions. We all try to do the best we can and sometimes we make mistakes. I also dislike it because it's a cheap way to put back the poor performance of a player on his shoulders, rather than a coach recognising the player may need some assistance, better training or is perhaps out of his depth at the position or side he's in.

The other one I hate is when someone says; "don't get out". Well thanks for that riveting piece of advice because you know, I was going out there to kick over my stumps but I've reconsidered now you said that.
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having played club cricket for a long time i have seen so many dumb decisions made by batsmen just makes u wonder if they are using that thing between their ears sometimes....
 
_Blackhawk_ said:
My point is that no one goes out there to make wrong decisions. We all try to do the best we can and sometimes we make mistakes. I also dislike it because it's a cheap way to put back the poor performance of a player on his shoulders, rather than a coach recognising the player may need some assistance, better training or is perhaps out of his depth at the position or side he's in.

The other one I hate is when someone says; "don't get out". Well thanks for that riveting piece of advice because you know, I was going out there to kick over my stumps but I've reconsidered now you said that.
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So any coach telling a player to "value your wicket" is only doing so the blame can be shifted to the individual player for poor performance?

So when a player plays a poor shot due to a poor decision and gets out, it's the coaches fault and not the player?

What about those players that make bad decisions because they don't listen to their coach?
 
ginger_ninja said:
having played club cricket for a long time i have seen so many dumb decisions made by batsmen just makes u wonder if they are using that thing between their ears sometimes....
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I would say that 90% of wickets are the batsmen playing a stupid shot, going too hard or playing at a ball they don't need to.

How many times do you see a bloke try to smother a ball they have to play and block the ball, and get out. Never.
 
The objective of batting is to make runs. I'll agree that most times you get out, you're going to be playing a shot with the ultimate objective of scoring runs. That's cricket, but you can't simply block out 80 overs either.

Thinking like this leads to analysis paralysis within batsman. Don't play that short ball because I don't have to, don't drive that full one because I don't have to, don't try and flick that one down leg because I might snick it to the keeper. Before you know it, you're 8/65 off 72 overs because no one wants to play a bloody shot!

The madding thing about batting, is that it's possible to play the right shot, to the right ball and still get out.
 
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The longer you bat, the more balls you hit.
The more balls you hit, the better your eye and timing gets.
The better your eye and timing gets, the better you hit the ball.
The better you hit the ball, the less likely you are of going out.
The less likely hood of you going out means you hit more balls.

Not going out there with to try to hit every ball for 4 is not about batting for survival (although sometimes the game dictates this) its about practice. Yep. Even when you are batting on a Saturday, you're practicing, learning and being patient. Why do we have bowling machines? Not so you can stand there and slog and beat your chest. Its about hitting as many balls as possible in a short amount of time. I heard an Australian cricketer (can't remember who, I think it was Mike Hussey) who said that he would have nearly 10,000 throw downs a week. Some were on the bowling machine, some were the coaching staff, he joked that even his wife has done it at times. Its irrelevant who is throwing it, its about hitting the ball as many times as you can and seeing the ball and timing it, learning to bat as long as possible.
 
I think you are both right, batting is a combination of doing both getting your 'eye in' and also taking initiative to score runs and take the odd risk. A good innings requires a fine balance between them both unfortunately its to much of an ask for most batsmen.
 
If you want to get good at anything, do it 1 million times. I can't argue with that.

I have to say I don't agree with the sentiment that the longer you bat the better your timing and eye get. Your skill doesn't depart you from Thursday night to Saturday afternoon. I use to think like that, I use to participate in the pre match batting warm up to "get your eye in", but since I stopped thinking like that and doing the batting warm up, I feel much more confident at the crease and I'm having some of the best form of my career.

I know it goes against a lot of conventional thinking, but that doesn't worry me.
 
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