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COACHING |
The Oxford Pocket Book of Cricket Coaching Fundamentals of Cricket The Backlift The object of the back lift is to wind up the left arm into the best position to make a stroke in the easiest and quickest way without affecting either the balance or the mobility of the body as a whole. You have three pivotal points in your arm, the shoulder itself, the elbow, and the wrist. Try lifting the bat back first by movement only at the shoulder, then only at the elbow, and then only at the wrist, so that you can decide by which you can make the easiest, quickest, and biggest backlift. (a) From the shoulder only: No, that is slow, stiff and moves the whole body out of balance. (b) From the elbow only: Yes, that is quick and the bat goes well up and it keeps the body well balanced. (c) From the wrist only: Yes, that is quick and it does not affect balance, but it is only a small movement, and difficult by itself. I think you have decided. The easiest, quickest, and biggest backlift is achieved if you lift the bat by bending your elbow. You can then control it without getting your body unbalanced. To get increased backlift, if required, turn your wrist so that the face of the bat is facing squarely at point and the bat will be right up. A combination of these two movements will give a full backlift quickly, without effort, and without the body losing balance or mobility. In fact it is unnatural to bend your elbow and turn your wrist without making some movement of the arm at your shoulder, but let it follow naturally from the other movements. The Stroke The stroke is the same in principle as any other natural hitting stroke. Pick up a stick to hit something and watch the movements of your arm as you hit. Draw your arm back and you will find that your arm is wound up by bending at the elbow and wrist and that the speed and timing of the blow will depend on the straightening of the arm at the elbow and uncocking of the wrist. It is the same if the stroke is made backhanded. The power will depend on three things: The distance that the stick travels in making the stroke. The speed at which the arm straightens, the wrist uncocks, and the hand makes the stroke. The follow-through of hand and stick in the direction that the stroke is made. The cricket stroke is primarily a backhanded stroke with the left arm and works in just the same way, so that it is as well to get those three things in your mind. (a) The distance the bat travels will depend on the backlift. (b) The speed of the downstroke will be controlled by the left forearm and wrist (assisted only by the right hand just before impact.) (c) The follow-through will depend on: · Balance and the transference of the weight of the body on to the foot nearest the ball as the stroke is made and then through in the direction of the stroke. · The turning of the wrists after the point of impact, which will enable the hands and bat to be flung through along the line in which the ball is hit. As the main pivotal point of your arm is the elbow and the bat is swung through vertically beneath your elbow as the arm straightens, you will realize how important it is that your elbow, as well as your shoulder, should point in the direction in which you wish to make the stroke. Your shoulder is the first essential, for if your shoulder is not in line your elbow cannot be, but it is possible to have your left shoulder in line and to drop our left elbow away as the stroke is made, so that it pulls the bat right across the line of the ball. There is something to be said, therefore, for the old maxim ‘keep your elbow up’. Your right hand will follow your left hand naturally into the stroke and is used to reinforce the left in accelerating the speed of the stroke just before the point of impact, so that both hands must follow-through together along the line in which the ball is hit. Ultimately the stroke is made by your hands working in co-ordination, so that once the bodily movements have been mastered to enable your hands to move freely into the stroke, you must get the feel of hitting with your hands. Timing is the art of brining the bat down on to the ball at the correct speed at the point of impact and depends very much on getting the feel of the stroke in your hands. The shorter the backlift the easier it will be to time the ball for a gentle stroke, but power which comes from the length and speed of the stroke will be lacking. Once you have mastered the full backlift, you can use just so much as you require for the stroke, which you intend to make. A short backlift for defence and a full backlift for attack. All young players, however, must first learn to control the full backlift, so that they have the power to attack and can experience the joy of hitting the ball for four. It is easier to adjust your stroke to hit gently after taking too big a backlift by controlling the speed of your stroke than it is to hit hard after taking too little, as any attempt to achieve the necessary speed of stroke from a short backlift may result in a quick jab, which will upset the balance of your body. Co-ordination of Backlift and Stroke The backlift and stroke have been described as two separate movements, but they must in fact be co-ordinated into one continuous and smooth movement. If you lift the bat straight back in the way that had been described, it must pause at the top of the backlift before coming down into the stroke. In this way the momentum of the bat gained in the backlift is lost, and your movements are stilted and unnatural. If you lift the bat back outside the line in which it is to be brought down it can then be swung in a loop to start into the stroke, so that your backlft and stroke can be combined in one continuous movement, which will be smooth and rhythmical and which will give the maximum of speed and control with the minimum of effort. This is the way in which the movements of the backlift and stroke should be co-ordinated, and you will find that you used such a loop to give you one co-ordinated movement when you picked up a stick to hit something quite naturally. The loop must of course be made so that your bat is always brought into position to come straight down into the stroke, and it will automatically come to this position if your left elbow and shoulder are in the correct position for the stroke. The only danger is that you may lift the bat outside the line of the stroke with your right hand, which will retain control and never bring the bat round on to the proper line for the stroke, so that the stroke will be played with a cross bat. This is one of the commonest faults at all times, but it is less likely to occur if you feel that you can really make a natural, rhythmical, and effective stroke with your left hand in control. |
| © Uganda Cricket Association 2009 Lugogo Stadium, PO Box 8346 Kampala,
Uganda |