This article was originally published in January 2008. I have added some key points to it so have decided to republish it today. Please leave your feedback.

It was a league match and we had just taken a wicket. A kid of about 15 came out looking nervous, as they often do. I reckon it was one of his first senior games and he looked like a fish out of water.

He was small for his age anyway but this was exacerbated by the wide framed men that stood around the bat. Our spinner was on and they were like sharks circling their prey waiting for him to make the slightest mistake.

He scratched around for a while and we soon came to the conclusion he was not going to last long. That was until he got a half volley on leg stump. He unleashed one of the finest on drives I have seen, the ball racing to the not insignificantly long boundary in a blur.

It's a scene that you can see at every level of cricket all over the world.

Why it is that seemingly 'weak' players like that kid can hit the ball so hard?

The paradox of timing

We all know that timing is the key but that's not as simple as it sounds. We use the term often and mean something simple: a shot that appears effortless but flies off the bat. Yet understanding the myriad of factors that go into it is more difficult.

This complexity comes with dealing with the paradox of batting: Timing is about the production of power yet the harder we try and hit the ball, the less timing we have.

How can we make the whole thing simpler?

A simple guide to timing the cricket ball

The first step to understanding the science is to think of timing as a result of other factors rather than a factor in itself. The good news is all of these factors are in your control to some extent or another. Here are all the factors I can come up with based on research and experience.

I would love to hear more suggestions if you have them.

Geoff Boycott is right. Good technique is important when it comes to timing. When I think of technical discussion I remember the likes of Fred Trueman on Test Match Special moaning about a loss of the proper way to do things. In fact 'correct' technique is based solidly in real life physics.

Take Newton's third law of motion. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction:

• Leaning into the shot makes the ground push back generating force through your body, into the bat and finally the ball.
• A high backlift allows a longer downswing which produces more force.
• Rotating your shoulders (vertically for straight bat and horizontally for cross bat) with your arms extended creates a longer lever and more force.
  

Here is an example using a back foot drive. Note the high backswing and rotation at the shoulders:

Bob Woolmer and Tim Noakes takes these biomechanical facts a little further, saying it is the hands working together in a straight line that generate timing:

• The top hand controls the backswing (which is why a light bottom hand grip is coached).
• Both hands work together in the 'strike zone'.
• The bottom hand takes control at the moment of impact and during the follow through to generate power.
  

This is outlined in their book like so:

You can see the path of the bat from sideways on is controlled by both hands together, making the bottom hand (and arm) just as important when it comes to timing the ball.

If you bring the bottom hand in too strongly, too early or at a different angle from the top hand your timing will be upset.

However, if you make sure both hands work together as long and as straight as possible, all your shots will be better timed.

Ed Smith talks about this as snapping the wrists at the point of impact: Transferring power between top and bottom hand as they work together.

Coaches know how to make this work. Find yourself a good coach who can develop you with a technique that is effective.

However, all the technique in the world is irrelevant if you can't use it. This is where other factors come in. The stuff Boycs doesn't talk about very often.

It makes sense on a practical level. The harder you try the less you time the ball.

This could be because your shoulders are too tense or you are lifting your head as you throw yourself into the shot. All movements like this are unnecessary and act as a 'leak' to the amount of power you can impart on the ball.

Learning to relax at the crease is a simple way to improve your timing. It can be as simple a trick as checking where you have tensed up as the bowler is running in and to let that tension go. Being able to do this, according to Roy, puts you in 'the zone' where you are relaxed and playing each ball on its merits.

This is easier said than done but Roy's book is a good place to start. Sport psychologist James Hamilton also has a nifty trick to all you to relax and focus while playing.

Tricks are all well and good, but mental preparation takes practice. As long as you buy into the principle I believe it's worth it. I have seen a direct effect on my own game. Have you used any techniques to improve your own batting? Let me know.

• Match play - Games where the result matters in some way.
• Simulated match play - Practice sessions that have been setup to simulate the pressure of game situations.
• Technical work - Working with a coach either one to one or in a group situation with the purpose of improving any technical aspect of your batting.

I say useful because often I see players messing around in the nets having a bit of a bat and a gentle bowl. I don't think this would be anywhere near as good a way to develop your game.

 

 

 

On the diagram above you can see power sitting between speed and strength. As power equals speed plus strength this makes sense. However there are degrees between each factor too.

• Fast movements (weight training, plyometrics, medicine ball work)
• Body awareness (balance training, core training, technical work. Mobility work)
• Sprint training (interval training, sprint drills, fielding drills at pace)

It is this combination of efficient, mobile movements performed at speed that must give the greatest crossover to batting. To have fast hands you must train fast, to be able to train fast you must have a good base of strength and mobility. For me, everything links back to the basics.

Image credit: kev747