with the bat raised well above shoulder height, and although I think too much can go wrong from that static position, his career performances speak for themselves. Besides, both he and Peter Willey have fine records against the West Indies’ fast bowlers.
Unless I am on a quick pitch and against a genuine fast bowler, I know that I tend to pick up towards the slips, and so I concentrate on whipping it into that Caribbean arc so that I bring the bat down straight.
As in golf, the important thing is to present the club or the bat square and straight to the ball through the hitting area, that is before, during and after contact.
One simple exercise will show you the perfect line of pick-up. Stand at the crease with the bat held normally in both hands. Then take away the bottom hand – right hand for right-handers – and clamp it around the other elbow. Bend that elbow 90 degrees, and the bat will be taken back towards your stumps to give you the proper line of back-lift. Remember that most players bring the bat down on the same line they take it up on, so try to cut down on the margin of error by developing a length of back-lift you can keep under control.
Don’t take it back the same distance all the time, because you should vary it according to conditions. Particularly against the faster bowlers on grassy pitches – Barbados, for instance – I try to play with as little movement as possible when I first go in, and so I reduce the back-lift. Sometimes, although I don’t go as far as Graham Gooch, I will stand waiting with the bat a couple of feet off the ground.
Against the slow bowlers, you can let out a notch or two because presumably you will be looking to stroke the ball around more in front of the wicket than is possible against the quicks.
Whatever your pick-up, it will work so much better if the top hand is in complete control of the bat at the beginning, and stays in charge for as long as possible during the stroke.
So many things in the stance and pick-up are inter-related, but all are important, and none more so than the head remaining still. It is a fundamental basic in all sports to keep the head still, and yet most players forget the elementary point that once the head moves, other body movements are inevitably going to follow.
A good spread of the feet, ensuring proper balance, eyes on the ball and the back-lift in progress.
The best players I’ve ever seen – Allan Border, Barry Richards and Viv – keep their heads rocklike while picking up their bats and playing the ball.
The best illustration I can give is how the best use is gained from a pair of binoculars. You fix them on the target and keep as still as possible, otherwise any movement distorts the image. It is exactly the same with batting, particularly against the fast bowlers when there is just no time to remedy any basic errors made in grip, stance or back-lift.
The other thing about the position of the head is to ensure that both eyes are looking on a level plane down the pitch. I have already explained that if you don’t stand sideways, the pick-up line is almost bound to go wrong.
Because it is so vital that both eyes are used properly against the faster bowlers, perhaps I’ll get a little square on without disturbing the sideways structure too much. In any case, the back-lift will be shorter under those circumstances, and so there is less to go wrong.
BATS AND PROTECTIVE GEAR
Just to round off my advice on the best ways of preparing for the business part of the game – when you actually have to play the ball – let me explain about the weight of bat I use and the different forms of protective gear that are now available.
Until about 1980, I used a normal weight bat, around two and a half pounds; but after trying a heavier one as an experiment, I immediately loved it and those made for me now by the Worcestershire Chairman, Duncan Fearnley, are nearly three pounds in weight.
But again, everyone should find out for themselves what is most suitable. As a general rule, most young players start off with a bat that is too heavy for them, because they are given their first bat when they are growing up.
Only try the heavy bats, therefore, when you have more or less finished your physical development. Undoubtedly, more players nowadays favour the bigger bats, and cricket has followed golf and tennis in this respect.
Racquets now have bigger heads for more power, and golf clubs are designed to hit the ball further. In the same way the bigger cricket bat is so much more destructive than the old-fashioned lightweight ones.
It is not the weight of the bat which is important: it is how balanced the pick-up is which settles which is the better bat, and sometimes I tinker around with one or two extra rubber grips to achieve a better balance.
Usually I have a couple of grips on, but although it can be one, or even on occasions three, it is very rare nowadays that I have to change one of Duncan’s bats. He usually presents them to me at about an ounce or so under three pounds, and then if necessary I vary the number of grips.
At the start of an innings on a quick pitch, I will usually take out the lighter bat when I am not looking to play too many shots; so don’t be afraid to change, even in the middle of an innings. Some players develop superstitions about their cricket in general and their bats in particular, but I don’t go along with that.
I always believe that I can make my own luck. So if I find out any of the opposition are superstitious, I try all the harder to convince them how unlucky they are.
Regarding protective equipment, I only use either a helmet or a forearm guard if the pitch is dodgy, because in normal conditions I reckon I should never get hit if I keep both eyes on the ball. But on a pitch like, for instance, Headingley in 1987 in the Test match we lost to Pakistan, I did use an arm guard and a helmet because of the variable bounce – but that is the exception for me.
It is not because I share the view that a player’s reactions are subconsciously slower if he is wearing a helmet, because the risk of serious injury is reduced. I suppose my dislike of using that sort of visible protection is the same as my good friend Viv Richards, who never ever wears a helmet. It is another way of saying to the bowler that he is not that quick or dangerous, and I will never ignore any opportunity to score a psychological point.
SUMMARY
To sum up my tips on grip, stance and back-lift – anything within reason will suffice, providing that whatever you do that is different from the normal methods, is not detrimental to your batting.
If things start to go wrong, and a string of low scores follow, go right back and re-examine your basics. Often, a tiny little adjustment is all that is necessary, and sometimes the most unlikely people can spot it for you.
All that I have explained so far is to show how simple the game is, once a repetitive method has been found.
Plenty of power from my Duncan Fearnley custom manufactured bat.
SECRETS OF BATTING
I have repeatedly stressed so far the importance of cutting out unnecessary movement, and the time to concentrate
