TROGON CRICKET ACADEMY | LEARN HOW TO COME DOWN THE PITCH
When a batter advances down the pitch at the bowler you can often hear a short intake of breath from fielders as well as spectators due to the anticipation of something big about to take place!
Will the batter look to loft the bowler back over his head into Row Z and add six runs to their score or will that same batter end up looking very stupid after being deceived in the flight and stumped before they have barely turned back?
An example of the latter came in the 2004 England versus West Indies Test series when Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff goaded Tino Best into charging spinner Ashley Giles with his famous shout of "mind the windows Tino".
Predominantly an attacking move, any time a batter comes out of their crease, they are opening the door to a potential stumping, but the rewards can be too great to resist as a powerfully struck shot to the boundary can put pressure onto the bowler and the fielding side.
Traditionally, players have only come down the pitch to spin bowlers, but with more players looking to score off every ball, pace bowlers are now also aware that batters may well be walking at them by the time they deliver!
Make no mistake about it, coming down the pitch to any kind of bowler is considered to be an event in itself! The norms of previous deliveries - ie a good length, go completely out of the window.
By advancing down the wicket, the batter is giving themselves less time to assess the pace, line and length of the ball.
However, they are also mitigating the risk of the ball moving off the seam, spinning off the wicket, or swinging through the air.
If a bowler sees a batter coming down the pitch, they may well elect to bowl a delivery out of reach (although still within the playing regulations) looking to have the batter stumped.
A batter may choose to advance if the pitch is showing signs of wear and tear. By meeting the ball close to where it pitches, any uneven bounce should be less threatening!
There are two main technical options to consider when coming down the week, 1 is keeping the ball on the ground, the 2nd option is going ariel over the in-field. We are going to look both these options
Option 1 - The Technique for keeping the ball on the ground
In order to maximise the play, the decision to come down the pitch needs to have been made before the bowler releases the ball. Therefore, it is key that the batter offers no clue to the bowler of their intentions. As you can see from the image below the batter is still in their stance as the ball is released. When facing a spin bowler batters can make the decision to advance down the wicket when and if the ball goes above their eye line once the ball has been delivered, this shows them the ball has loop and is their trigger to advance.
If choosing to advance, the batter will typically be looking to get to the point where they can play a drive from a half-volley.
Traditionally, when coming down the pitch to spinners, the batter will be looking to be ‘light on their feet’ so they can react to any unexpected variations from the bowler - ie change of pace, line, type of delivery.
The head of the batter should remain in line with the ball and be facing forward into the shot, with your weight over your front foot.
The first step down the wicket should be a short pace with the front foot which is then followed by the back foot placed inches behind. This then allows the front foot to make a large extension to near the pitch of the ball and to follow the line of the delivery if required. As you can see from the next two images, the front foot and back foot.
The batter will need to make a swift decision over which shot to play. Remaining side on, with head and eyes still, they can either go through with an attacking stroke or elect to defend at their feet so as to eliminate the opportunity of a close fielder or bowler affecting a run-out in their follow-through.
The batter may also choose to use their pad or ‘wear the ball on their body’ as they are so far down the wicket that it is highly unlikely that they will be given out lbw, but a quick decision needs to be made - in the image below the batter has decided to play an attacking shot and ready with his footwork.
If choosing to go through with an attacking shot, look to lean forward and allow a full follow-through of the stroke, while keeping your head over the ball aiming to keep the ball down and piecing the inn-field. As you can see from the next two images the batter has got to the pitch of the ball and has played an attacking shot along the ground, his head is still and his weight is over his front leg and he has connected with the ball below his eye-line in the 'hitting zone'.
Option 2 - The Technique for hitting the ball over the in-field
The above video shows the professional cricketer now aiming to hit the ball over the in-field for either a 4 or 6. You can see the technique is almost identical up until the point of ball connection, where instead of keeping his head down over the ball to hit along the ground, he raises his head in a controlled manner at the point of connection to hit the ball over the in-field.
As you can see by the image below, at the point of connection he has already started lifting his body in a controlled manner.
At no point did the batter take his eyes off the ball and try and hit the ball to hard, this is a controlled shot where he is looking to hit the ball up.
The above image shows the finished position with is follow through and body position.
Conclusion
Running down or advancing down the wicket is a wonderful option for all batters. You are taking the control away from the bowlers and truly messing their line and lenght up and you are signalling that you are prepared to take the game to the fielding team, but it doesn't happen without practice and keeping your head as still as possible + as mentioned above, you need to make contact with the ball, if you don't get to the pitch or get beaten by the bowler you should be far enough down the pitch to use your pads to block the ball and not be LBW.
So, get into the nets and start practicing following these guidelines with some throwdowns and perfect the 'coming down the wicket'.
