TROGON CRICKET ACADEMY | LEARN HOW TO PLAY THE COVER DRIVE

If you ask any English Men’s Test cricket fan about who had the best cover drive over the ten years from the mid-naughties onwards, then you can be pretty sure that most of them will pick out Ian Ronald Bell.

The now retired right-hander hit 22 centuries, averaging 42.69 from 118 Tests, and, although small in size, had a cover drive many described as a ‘text-book’. He was so good at playing the shot with perfect timing that opposition captains began to pack the covers to try and prevent his cover drive from producing so many runs. But Ian Bell was such a good player that he was able to adapt his game and find numerous other run-scoring opportunities.

During the summer of 2024, Bell was a batting consultant for the Sri Lanka Test side, and whenever any of the tourists produced a cover drive, television viewers were often given an image of a smiling Bell on the balcony.

Any drive on the front foot is considered a ‘cover drive’ if it goes in the arc between the right of the fielder at point and the left of the fielder at mid-off. Some opposition captains will even leave a gap in the field to tempt batters to play the shot whilst packing their slip cordon as they look to take the edge.

The cover drive can be played off both quick and slow bowlers but always requires some width on the delivery, typically played off fuller balls on a fourth stump line or wider still.

Historically the shot has been hit along the ground but the power of modern-day players has seen an increase in ‘lofted’ cover drives with the ball driven in the air straight over the boundary line.

Although Ian Bell is the most famous cover driver over the past couple of decades in English cricket, other top players who have perfected the shot are Virat Kohli, Babar Azam, Laura Wolvaardt, and Kumar Sangakkara.

The Technique for playing the cover drive:

The cover drive is predominantly a front-foot shot and as such the batter will be looking for a ball that is on or around the perfect half-volley length.

If the ball seems to be swinging away from the batter then they may choose to not play a cover drive for fear of edging the ball into the slips. However, if the swing is not too exaggerated, it could help the batter’s placement in finding the gap in the covers with their drive.

Once the batter has committed to the shot, they will place their front foot out to close to the pitch and line of the ball before stepping into the drive.

As you can see in the image below, the batter has picked up the line and is starting to get into position. He has placed his front foot towards the pitch and line of the ball, with his weight over his front foot ready to hit the ball.

Even if the ball has pitched slightly shorter than a half-volley, if timed right, the ball should still race away to the cover boundary, providing the gap in the field is found.

Looking at the below image you can see the batter is in a controlled position, head over the ball, hitting the ball in the 'hitting zone' beneath is eyes in a balanced and controlled position. At no point (watch the videos) did he try and hit the ball to hard.

There should be plenty of energy in the front knee of the batter when playing the shot and the batter’s head should be forward and in line with the knee.

There are two types of follow through, one is the checked drive and one is the full follow through. You can see both in the two videos below.

How to play the Checked Cover Drive:

How to play the Full Follow through Cover Drive:

The best cover drives will end with a full follow through (in the eyes of many people) of the bat and the player holding the pose for any watching photographers! As mentioned above, watch and learn from Ian Bell, he played the best looking cover drive, technically perfect.

Conclusion

The greatest modern-day batters are associated with the cover-drive so you will be in excellent company when your name is added to the list of players who score runs from the shot.

So, pick up your bat and ask a mate to throw down some juicy half-volleys just outside off-stump as you look to time the ball through those gaps in the covers.

So, spend as much time as you need to perfect this attacking shot as when you get it right in a game, even the opposition fielders and maybe even the bowler may give you an applause!

The pro player we have used for the videos and images uses a Trogon Cricket Grade 1+ English willow bat with our black and white sticker range.

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