Julian Wood is the PitchVision Coach of the Month.

He was chosen from dozens of nominations across the cricket world for his innovative work with attacking batting and power hitting.

Wood is a former Hampshire cricketer who moved into coaching after he retired. That’s not especially unusual, but he had an experience in America that changed everything.

After working with baseball hitters and hitting coaches in Texas, Wood realised that the techniques of hitting home runs could easily be adapted to six hitting in cricket. If anything, the fact that a cricket bat is 25% larger than the same tool in baseball makes it easier!

As Twenty20 was taking off, Wood found himself sharing ideas with cricket coaches and players in England. They all wanted more power. Before long he was working with professional county cricket clubs as a power hitting specialist, taking baseball hitting into the short format.

In the last year, cricket has begun to progress even faster. So, Wood has not stood still. He continues to develop power hitting but now his philosophy goes deeper. He calls himself an attacking batting specialist and works on more than clearing the ropes. In recent times he has taken cues from the Irish sport of hurling and admitted he has not coached a defensive shot for a very long time.

Wood works with young cricketers at Bradfield College in the UK and acts as a freelance coach to the professional T20 franchises and the ECB player pathway talents.

It’s clear that Wood is not only a passionate, hard working coach but also one who is constantly iterating and innovating to drive the game forward. He is a worthy winner.

Find out more about Julian Wood’s coaching, click here.