Posted on February 1, 2023 at 12:00 AM
Every aspiring batter desires to be the best batter they can be. To reach the top of your game one has to put in sweat, blood and tears. But not all batters are perfect. Few batters like Virat Kohli get drives naturally and others legends like Rohit Sharma might get pull shots organically. But in the modern era, to have a greater chance of being a great player, have as many shots as possible in your arsenal. There is a lot of competition among the players. So having an extra edge in training with tech can be handy. With StanceBeam, you can monitor each shot and its parameters, by which you can master any shot.
Here are a few shots you need to know and how you can improve them:
Drive: This shot involves hitting the ball along the ground, using a straight bat and a complete follow-through. To improve your drives, focus on using a solid base and proper technique, and practice hitting the ball in the middle of the bat.
Image Credits: BBC Sports
How to improve upon it: A drive shot's Ideal impact point should be aligned to the front foot toe, precisely below the head.
StanceBeam provides you with all the bating data that you need. Including the Backlift and speed at impact are essential to improve your drive shot.
How to improve upon it: Have a relaxed body posture and a higher backlift angle so that you can have more momentum for the shot. Keep your front foot where the ball pitches and bend your front knee to play the shot close to your body with a slight horizontal bend and open face making contact at shin level. Complete the stroke letting your batting continue in an arc over your shoulder.
Monitor your backlift for every shot using StanceBeam and increase momentum to add more power to your shot.
How to improve upon it: Focus on maintaining a straight bat, keeping your eye on the ball, and using good footwork to get into position to play the shot. Make sure that your front foot is in line with the ball. Keep your head forward over your front knee to ensure that the ball doesn't go in the air. And keep your hands going through the intended target area.
With StanceBeam you can check your Bat face angle at backlift and follow-through angle to perfect your cover drive.
Image Credits: Sikana English
How to improve upon it: To be able to play well on the drive your balance must be very good at the crease. Make sure that your head is going forward into the line of the ball and that your hands are going through your target area.
With the Smart video feature by StanceBeam, you can now monitor your body position for every shot, which is auto-recorded by your phone whenever you hit the ball.
Cut: This shot involves hitting the ball hard and across the line of the ball, using a horizontal bat and an angled follow-through. To improve your cut shots, practice getting your feet into position and using a clean, crisp action.
Image Credits: BBC Sports
How to improve upon it: The cut shot is played to a short and wide ball. Your back foot needs to go back and across to allow you to get closer to the line of the ball. But don't go too far, as you still need room to extend your arms through the shot. To improve your cut shot, focus on using your wrists to guide the ball through the off side and keep your eye on the ball.
StanceBeam provides you with the follow-through angle which is essential to master the shot. It also gives a wagon wheel which gives you an idea of where you're playing your shots and you can make sure that you're hitting the ball on the off side.
Pull: This shot involves hitting the ball in the air towards the leg side, using a bent wrist and an angled bat. To improve your pull shots, focus on getting your weight forward and using a strong bottom hand to generate power.
Image Credits: BBC Sports
How to improve upon it: The Pull shot is played in a way where the back foot should go back & across to the ball, keep your weight forward & arms extended to their full length to control the shot. To keep the ball on the ground, have a higher backlift provided and bring it down with the ball.
Hook: The hook shot is played with a vertical bat and a flicking motion. Hook shots are almost the same as pull shots but there are a few differences. The hook shots are hit for deliveries that are above the chest level and hook shots are riskier than pull shots as they tend to hit much higher than pull shot. Thus batters are at a higher risk of getting caught out.
Image Credits: BBC Sports
How to improve upon it:It's important to use your wrists to generate the power for the shot. Practice flexing your wrists and using them to guide the ball through the leg side.
Backlift is essential for a good pull and hook shot. Judgment of the batter, point of impact and backlift is critical for a good pull and hook shot. StanceBeam helps the batter in measuring his backlift and point of impact, helping the batter to assess his shots better.
Sweep: A shot played through the leg side, usually with a horizontal bat and a sweeping motion.
Image Credits: BBC Sports
How to improve upon it: Focus on using your wrists to generate the power for the shot and keep your eye on the ball. As sweep shots tend to be difficult, a good technique will help you master the shot. For any shot, backlift angle is an essential metric. So in the case of case sweep shot, backlift angle and point and direction of impact are important.
StanceBeam provides you backlift angle of your shot and with the intelligent video feature and with the 3D simulation feature, you can look at your point of impact and direction of impact. This helps you in figuring out the mistakes made and you can improve upon them.
StanceBeam's detailed insights provide all the bat angles - Backlift angle, downswing angle, Followthrough angle, Bat face angle, backlift direction angle and downswing direction angle, along with the bat angles; it also gives us the time to impact, Power and Efficiency of the shot played. Making it easier for you to assess how each shot type differs.
By practising these shots and working on your technique, you should be able to improve your shot-making skills and become a more versatile player!
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Content from the team with a passion for cricket.