This article was sent in to miCricketCoach by Indian reader Bijoyaditya Mukherjee. Bijoy entered the PitchVision Academy competition and was selected as the winner with this article on the back and across movement.

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We all know the adage against pace: “Get in line with the ball, and don't back away!” This is the seldom understood, 'back and across' trigger movement.

Let’s take a closer look at its intricacies; you may come to share the same respect I have for this humble friend of batsmen.

A trigger movement is an instinctive movement, the feet in particular, as the bowler releases the ball, so as to generate momentum and aid in the 'unweighting' process.

The late Bob Woolmer described it as; “"Moving your back foot back and across towards off stump; then transferring your weight back on to the front foot as the bowler releases the ball; then making the final movement, having judged length and playing the appropriate shot."

To better receive the ball of course! What I mean is to be in a balanced position to watch the ball and then instinctively go forward or back as per the length. All this, while maintaining access to the ball by preventing the front foot from going across and closing off the body.  

As the body prepares to receive the ball, an instinctive hunching of the upper body causes it to lean over to the off side. This means that the body needs to push out a foot towards the offside to regain balance.

This may manifest as the front foot or the back foot going across to the off stump.

The former is the 'forward press' trigger and the latter the back and across movement. The forward press causes the batter to play across the line to straighter deliveries in an attempt to play around that front pad. Whereas going back and across allows direct access to straighter deliveries and allows for a game plan based more around playing straight.

The back and across movement also allows for the player to be prepared for 'chin music' in advance.

The trigger opens the player’s hips up and puts him in a better position to get behind the line and defend their body against short pitched bowling. Add to that bending the back knee and you are able to duck and weave instinctively. This is because bent knees mean a wider base and a lower centre of gravity. This stable base resists toppling when subjected to ducking or weaving.

Taking a step back and across also allows you to break up the act of getting a good extension to the half volleys into two steps. First a step back, then a small but efficient step forward to get the front foot beside the ball. By the time the ball is driven, the feet are wide enough apart so as to allow for a large hitting area. Just try to drive a half volley keeping your feet together, you will see what a small “hitting area” feels like.

1. You are really good on the off side but keep getting hit on the pads to balls that are straighter.
2. You are naturally uncomfortable to short bowling
3. You tend to get too closed off as you watch the ball and need to open up a little.
4.  When you feel you need more balance as while watching the ball.
5. You keep pulling the ball straight up in the air. This of course might just be poor shot selection.
6. You want to focus on playing straighter.
7. You feel you are a little slow in facing the quicks.

1. Lift the bat to a ready position. Do this and your centre of gravity doesn’t shift awkwardly while going back and across. You end up nicely balanced at the end of the trigger.
2. Move the back foot back and across and transfer weight back onto the front foot .This puts your upper body in the right position to go forward or back.
3. Transfer weight forward but don’t take a stride with your front foot or else you will again be playing around that front pad.
4. At the end of this step, try to end up ever so slightly lower than your stance. This ensures bending of the knees.

All said and done, if you are playing well both on the offside and the onside and are dealing with the short ones, then don’t fix what isn’t broken. But if you need a little help to push your game to the next level, this trigger move might be well worth a try.

Lower order batsmen can be more than an annoyance. They can cost you matches if you can't bowl them out.

It should be easy. These are the guys with the worst batting skill and the lowest average. Yet strangely some very good bowlers to top end players just don't have the knack of firing out the tail. They repeatedly beat the bat and look like doing it any moment, but somehow the wickets don't materialise as quickly as they should.

Bowling to the tail is a skill

For me a key element is the way the lower order play. Each batter is different of course, but the tail rarely bat properly for any length of time.

You can essentially split most into two groups:

• Blockers. Those with a good defence but little or no shots.
• Hitters. Generally swiping the ball over deep midwicket .

There is a third group who are probably not genuine tail-enders but worth mentioning; the nudgers. These are the players with a decent eye who can play the ball into unusual places, such as stepping back and hitting over the slips.

The common element is that all these three types are not playing orthodox attacking batting strokes. You may get the odd one, but generally the way they play is different.

That means you have to bowl differently too.

For me, this is the key to why some bowlers are better at getting tail-enders than others.

Generally there is one magic way to get tail end batsmen out.

This may not seem to be a revelation, but sometimes with all the planning and working out of proper batsmen's weaknesses we forget a simple truth: If they miss, you hit.

Most batsmen in the bottom 3 will be unable to withstand a bowler who is bowling at the stumps 6 balls per over. So the default plan should always be to bowl a line and length that ideally hits the top of the off stump (although middle and even leg stump should be fine too, just hit them).

In most cases this is all the advice you need. However, sometimes the plan will fail. For example, the big swinging number 11 may come off and hit you for a few boundaries. What happens then?

It's important to be flexible in your plan but to keep applying common sense. So in our big hitting example, I would still encourage the bowler to aim at the stumps, but perhaps with a very full length to stop him getting under the ball.

You could also block off his big shot with deep fielders and leave a gap through square cover to get him playing in an unusual area. This tactic of leaving a gap in the field also works for the blockers. Even the most stonewall of defenders would find it difficult to resist a half volley from an off spinner with an open off side field. The more shots they play, the more likely they are to make a mistake.

The final tool at your disposal against the tail is mental pressure. If the lower order are in, there is a good chance that the game is either in the balance or they need to save it by blocking out. Either way, they will be feeling that pressure as they come to the crease.

You can add to this pressure in subtle ways. Placing fielders close in, especially short square leg and silly mid off, puts an awareness of fielders in a batsman's mind. The batsman may get nervous and push too hard at one, or they may try and hit the field back with some lusty blows. Either way, you are on top.

It also helps to have a wicketkeeper who can keep the chat up. A few well chosen comments to your team mates about technical weaknesses of a player don't even need to be directed at the batsman but just enough to be in earshot. Anything that puts a seed of doubt in the mind of the player should be enough. Just avoid sledging; there is no place for going that far in my mind.

Whatever your plan, make sure you keep it simple and aim at the stumps as much as possible. This will give you the highest chance of success against the tail.

image credit: www.a-middletonphotograph y.com