Simon Hughes
'How d'you play fast bowling?' the great Len Hutton was once asked. 'From the other end,' he replied. Opening batsmen have to face a continuous onslaught of aggressive fast bowling, balls will be bowled at them at speeds of over 90mph - giving them less than 0.4 sec to react - and at different heights and angles. To deal with the bowling, the batsman needs to be settled and balanced and have a mental plan for how to cope with whatever's thrown at him.
Upright stance
The modern stance against really fast bowling is an upright position at the crease with eyes level and bat tapping away behind the feet; this is more a nervous habit than anything else. Here Michael Atherton looks poised, which you need to be to face the quick stuff. He's standing with his back foot just on the crease line, which allows him room to take a step back if the ball is short, and still be in no danger of treading on the stumps.
 Just before the pace bowler releases, batsmen tend to make a small backward movement. Like many others, this is Atherton's way of giving himself a fraction more time and also to be ready to counter the extra bounce of the new ball
 The key thing about Atherton's position is balance. Although he has stepped back slightly his head is still forward so he can advance towards the ball quickly, if necessary.
Quick feet
 Brian Lara takes an even bigger step back but, being unusually nimble and sharp, he can afford to. He has a huge, exaggerated backlift – almost like a baseball player's. It enables him to hit the ball hard, but such large, jerky movements also sometimes get him into trouble.
Copyright material reproduced under license from Macmillan Publishers Ltd. London, England
Copyright © Simon Hughes 2001
Click for full terms and conditions
|
