Article - The Process of Batting

There are a number of young (and old) players that rue their dismissal by stating that they lacked respect for the bowler and were dismissed playing a poor shot. To address this problem the following stages can be used in order to overcome this program. These stages provide a format and strategy for the players to make use of to overcome complacency when batting.

Challenge -> Battle -> Dominate

Challenge

The first thing the batsmen needs to do is to get into the contest. A batsmen challenges a bowler at the start of their innings and also when there is a change of bowling. This is perhaps the most critical stage. During this period there is an increased chance the batsmen will be dismissed and must work through this period. The trademark of this period is the fact the batsman lets a lot of balls go and is attempting to score a high number of singles. The transfer to being a battle is when the player starts to feel confident against the opposition.

Battle

As the bowlers attempts to dismiss the batsmen and the batter is attempting to score runs off the bowlers they are battling. In most instances there will be times when the bowler wins the battle (beats the bat / produces a false shot) and times when the batsmen wins (is not dismissed by good delivery / hit a boundary)

In many cases cricketers (and in particular schoolboy players) are not able to move into the final stage of cricket (dominating the opposition bowling attack).

Dominate

The batsman dominates the bowler striking the ball to the boundary and has a feeling they are in total control of anything the bowler delivers to them. Patience is still required but the players is scoring at a good rate. The end point of the batsman being dominant is when the bowler is removed from the bowling attack. The process then begins again!


The rate at which a player is able to move through the various stages of batting depends on their level and the bowling attack they are facing at the time. There are some players who are never able to reach the dominate point while others are able to reach it on several occasions over the course of a season. The most satisfying point for the batsman is when a bowling change is forced from their continual domination of the bowling attack – obviously when this occurs they are back to stage one and need to work hard through the stages again.