Gameplan While Batting

[lower11]

I would like some help formulating a game plan while batting, I have been batting well with a good technique, getting to 20s, but I feel I need a good game plan to convert my 20s into 50s and 100s How would I go about do it.

e.g

0-10 overs, get your eye in
11-20 overs, turn singles
20+ play big shots

Can someone help me how top players do it.

Cheers.

 

[SLA]

Firstly, there is no one simple formula.

The first 20 balls, and the first 10 runs, are often the most dangerous. If you can concentrate really hard on eliminating as many risks as possible until you've got through these, then you've set yourself up for a decent innings. Obviously, in some circumstances you can't do that (coming in with 30 to win off 3 overs etc), but most of the time you can take 20 balls to get used to the pitch and the light. It doesn't sound like this is your problem.

Beyond that point, you need to figure out a way of scoring at the target rate without taking unnecessary risks. The "target rate" will depend on the format and the state of the game, most likely it could be anything between 4 an over and 8 an over.

Treat every bowler as a separate puzzle to figure out. Some bowlers might be hard to score off, in which case it is acceptable to go at less than the target rate, some might be easier to score off, in which case take the opportunity to "get runs in the bank".

The different tactic against each bowler will be different, and depend on what the bowler is doing with the ball and how the field is set. It might be wise to simply drop and run 4 singles an over, or it might be wise to wait for one bad ball an over and smack it for 4. Figuring this out whilst you're out there in the middle is the main skill of batting.


Obviously I have no idea about your batting personally, but in my experience, people who get stuck in the 20s and 30s generally do so for one of three reasons.


a) They have a game plan that only works against a certain type of bowler or a certain type of field. They can often score 20 odd runs before the fielding captain figures this out, and changes the bowling or changes the field. The batsman fails to adjust, and gets out. To score 50s, you need to be able to play most different types of bowling reasonably well, and be adaptable to different field settings. To score 100s, you need to be able to play all types of bowling very well, and instantly adapt to different fields and different bowlers.

I can give numerous real-world examples of this from guys in my club. We have one lad who can't play anything off his legs, another who scores freely against quick bowling but is totally hopeless against spin. Both frequently score 20s and 30s, but neither have ever scored a 50.


b) They lose concentration, and either try to accelerate too quickly, or get "the fear" and become completely becalmed. Try to maintain a positive, sensible run-rate throughout your innings (baring in mind the caveats above).

c) Lack of fitness! This does happen in amateur cricket. After scrambling a load of singles, 2s, and 3s, they're out of breath, and their strength, coordination and concentration decreases as a result and they're dismissed.

 

[lower11]

I think b) applies to me best, if i was a manual car, i would say I bat in gear 1 for most of my early part of my innings, and then go into gear 4/5 straight away, i feel i need to transition a bit better.

 

[SLA]

I think b) applies to me best, if i was a manual car, i would say I bat in gear 1 for most of my early part of my innings, and then go into gear 4/5 straight away, i feel i need to transition a bit better.

So pick a target rate and then stick to it using only lower risk shots as much as possible

 

[TonyM]

'Changing gear' can be difficult and is a great help if you have a 'stats man' around you or your club as this really needs to be done by someone watching your game. In trying to avoid the 'all or nothing' approach its great if you can identify the 'risk / reward' ratio for different shots ie do you know your run scoring shots and your dismissal shots (might be the same, might be different). These will be specific both to you and probably to the type of bowling you face but it just gives you a better framework to work out what is 'lower risk' for you which should help identify gears 2 and 3

 

[SLA]

'Changing gear' can be difficult and is a great help if you have a 'stats man' around you or your club as this really needs to be done by someone watching your game. In trying to avoid the 'all or nothing' approach its great if you can identify the 'risk / reward' ratio for different shots ie do you know your run scoring shots and your dismissal shots (might be the same, might be different). These will be specific both to you and probably to the type of bowling you face but it just gives you a better framework to work out what is 'lower risk' for you which should help identify gears 2 and 3

Tony! Great to see you posting again.