Great Video. I am an adult (former Baseball player) learning cricket. Have done some net sessions and feel good but could you maybe do a more expanded video on how to get each of these grips? Like how to pick up the bat to achieve each grip with the camera closed in the hands? Thanks again and love the video
Thanks for your comment Andrew, we will add this to our list of content, have a look at the photos in the video, as these give you a close up of how the bat is held with reference points.
Nice analysis. I just feel the parents are getting more and more dumb nowdays by sending kids to coaches as young as 5 or 7. About the grip it comes naturally when a kid picks up a bat the first few times in his life and starts hitting the ball. Then he learns the rules of cricket and what he needs to do to keep batting. The grip and style of batting also develops when he sees people batting on tv for first time or a few more. Then he learns the defence technique from a dad or a coach. This eventually builds up after joining proper cricket after 10. Therefore whoever says that you MUST have this kind of grip is an utter nonse TEACHER. The people in this video have made a nice video by talking bout different types of grips and could be used as an adult when you not happy with grips and want a change. Kids should be told to go by what comes natural to them. Remember Malinga is a different bowling technique altogether. Great research In Form Cricket, hoping to talk to you guys sometime in Sydney, Australia.
At a young age it's all about high volume, learning how to swing the bat so it becomes natural. Definitely agree. Thanks for your comments, and taking the time to watch the video.
Great thinking Varinder, really like the idea, and a skill that looks easy by the pros but is actually quite difficult! I'll add it to my content list.
Nothing wrong with having a bottom hand grip, just make sure that in order to hit straight and through off side, the bottom hand palm isn’t touching the grip of the bat. And make sure to get front elbow over the ball when playing with a vertical bat. 🤘🏼
Hi Kuda. Makes more sense to have a slightly open face then a closed face when wanting to smash sixes. When using a horizontal bat (eg pull shot), a closed face will be pointing towards the ground. So open face slightly, remember to not lean back, and keep your front shoulder pointing towards the ball, otherwise you’ll slice the ball and it’ll go no where. Good luck
Thank you for your comment Sanyam. There’s no problem with having a gap (eg Williamson has it), the only problem is if your bottom hand palm is touching the grip. If it is, then it’s hard to A) swing the bat straight, and B) hit off side, straight and through leg side. If your palm is touching the grip you’ll naturally swing over to leg side. So you can hold the bat as hard as you like in your fingers (first two fingers next to thumb) and thumb, DON’T hold hard with last two fingers, as this will impact swing of the bat. Hope this helps
Thanks! I have a question - is it recommended to change the batting grip depending on delivery? That is, if the ball is short, have one grip - and if yorker, then a different? Considering I do have time to change the grip during the flight of ball...
Hi Rudra, thanks for your comment! What generally happens, is when you see the ball short, you bottom hand grips the bat harder, in order to swing across your body, and hit the ball to the leg side. If a yorker is bowled, people tend to try and open the face of the bat to glance the ball down to point or third man. Batters do adjust their grip dependent on format of the game (usually more open face in 1 day cricket), and also where the short boundary is. For example, if the short boundary is on the off side, batters would open their grip, to be able to hit straighter balls to the off side, using a slice. Hope this helps.
I keep swingimg hard at the ball no matter the length,,I cannot even rotate strike and I just go for the boundaries as I have a strong bottom hand grip.please help
It's common Kuda, when you grip the bat really hard with your hands you want to swing and smash the ball. You can still have a dominating bottom hand grip, but if you have your bottom palm on the bat, the swing of your bat is heavily impacted. So maybe try to hold the bat hold in your bottom hand fingers, and don't have your palm on the bat, otherwise every shot will be across your body to the legside. Good luck.
i think successful batsmans premeditate and change their grip after judging length.nearly all top playes at the moment are predominantly bottom handed eg kohli,smyth and abd.they use bottom hand when hitting sqare and onside. some players like sharma and dhoni change top hand grip while going aireal to counter twisting face of the bat offcourse premeditated, more like golf.
Thanks for the comment Shri. It’s true batters change grip dependent on many factors. In shorter format, many slightly open grip to help get elevation or to be able to glance yorkers through point. Also, batters naturally grip onto the bat harder (with bottom hand) when hitting to leg side. The challenge is to make sure the middle of the bat is looking at the ball on contact for as long as possible, to increase your margin of error for hitting the sweet spot.
Power hitting comes from the strength in your legs and core, like boxing. So spend some time making sure you are strong in your core and your legs in order to be able to swing the bat quickly, and have a sturdy base.