There is much more to hitting a cricket ball than just swinging the bat, in fact- far from it! Batting is a
whole body activity- from moving to hit the ball using the legs to- swinging of the bat and arms.
As you lift the bat behind first to generate force and then bring it forward to hit the ball, a lot of muscles
are at play. Posterior deltoids, pectorals, anterior deltoid, biceps and triceps are some of the muscles
that work at optimum to provide a smooth forceful swing. Also to be noted is that different types of
strokes recruit different muscles. The transfer of body weight to every shot is important. Transfer of
body weight occurs either onto the forefoot or onto the back foot to allow rotation of the body for
horizontal straight shots. The spine and core muscles have to be able to control this rotation to avoid
knee, foot and shoulder injuries.
Some key pointers for batters to improve your game and reduce the number of injuries are as follows:
- Use compound movements: Train your body with compound movements instead of single
muscle isolated strength training. Training with compound movements will help you to maintain
stability while you bat and yet give you the mobility that you need. - To progress with training or not: This is a dilemma that has no clear cut answer. Your body will give you the inputs but you will have to pay attention and heed. Gradual progression with enough recovery is ideal.
- Frequency of training: This depends on the intensity of your training but ideally 3 days a week with enough recovery days built in are recommended.
- Know your body: To know your strengths and weaknesses in terms of muscle strength, mobility and stability are essential to coach and train the right way.
Follow these guidelines to train well by understanding your body and bat away! Prevent injuries by
paying attention to the muscles at play but if injured, don’t despair. See a sports physiotherapist who
understands the biomechanics of cricket to get you back to playing as soon as possible.
Some all-rounders have an inborn ability to change the game on their day. They can be brutally dangerous once they get going. We all know how Maxwell, Afridi, Symonds were like at International level! Well, we got to see almost a similar sort of perfomance at the local level where in Akhtar Shaikh simply dominated with the bat while also contributed with the ball to help his team win the match.
Played at the MIG Cricket Ground in Bandra, Namrata Motors won the toss and elected to field first. Batting first, Route Mobile did an excellent job with the bat as they notched up 192runs with the loss of 6wkts in 20 overs. Even though their top order failed to give a flying start, it was their middle order bats Ajinkya Belose and Tanush Kotian who resurrected the innings back. Carrying the positive momemtum left behind by ajunkya and tanush, akhtar shaikh who came in at no.7 changed the script of the game in a span of 20-30 minutes as he scored one of the fastest fifties in Mumbai this year. Akhtar remained 59* off mere 17 deliveries which included 5 fours and 5handsome sixes at a staggering strike rate of 347!
Defending a total of 192, Route Mobile restricted Namrata Motors to just 125/8 in 20 overs. Tight bowling along with discipline showed by the bowlers helped them win the match by 67runs. Chinmay Patil with 2/12 in 3 overs was the pick of the bowlers while Akhtar Shaikh also chipped in with good bowling figures of 2/18 in 3overs. Dinar Gaonkar also took 2wkts. It was a match where Route Mobile dominated from start to end while all-rounder Akhtar Shaikh was declared ‘man of the match’
CRICKETGRAPH
Cricket has seen free flow of cricketers from the cricket playing countries to India.
The recent example of 16-year old Josh Lam flying from Brisbane to Mumbai to hone his batting skills against spin bowling is an unequivocal evidence that India is the land of spinners and the preferred choice for any non-subcontinental cricketer to master the art of batting against the spin. Lam, who is also an off-spinner himself, chose the Achievers Cricket Academy in Mumbai that is headed by Subramanian Doraiswamy and Ashok Kadam. After undertaking sufficient research about the Achievers Cricket Academy, he chose the academy to improve his batting skills against the spin bowling.
As per Subramanian aka Subbu, “Initially Josh was not that comfortable batting against the spinners, but after a couple of sessions, he broke the shackles and started playing aggressively against the spinners. His aggression came in the form of sweeping the ball and dancing down the track without any fear. Naturally a backfoot player, Lam took some time to adjust to the spinners but he looked at ease against the medium pace bowlers”.
Since he was in the land where the production of world’s best spinners takes place, he decided to learn more about the off-spin. Josh is a strong boy which allows him to bowl his off-spinners at a good pace. The coaches in the Achievers Cricket Academy worked on his wrist positions and showed him variations which were effectively added by the Brisbane-lad to his repertoire.
Both Subbu & Ashok Kadam worked closely with Josh over 3 weeks to help him improve his batting and bowling.
After the India trip, Josh Lam seems to be well-equipped with both, bat and ball, to face his counterparts back at home in the club matches.
This video is a demonstration of how to play back foot drives while batting.
Back foot drives..it is usually played to a short delivery pitched just outside the off stump bouncing between knee and waist high.
The shot can be played anywhere between mid off and covers..
Head, shoulder and back foot move back and towards the line of the ball
The front shoulder dips slightly and The back foot stabilises parallel to the popping crease.
____________________________________________________________________
Sumeet Khanna is an active cricketer, playing at top divisions in MCA.
He is a MCA Level O certified coach. Apart from coaching at few clubs in western mumbai, he contributes to cricketgraph regularly to help the cricket community at large.
This year’s cosmopolitan shield tournament has witnessed some great performances as well as some fabulous matches. The players have performed really well and they have also worked upon their fitness to extract the best out of themselves.
One of the recent matches of Cosmopolitan which were played on 10.12.17 witnessed some exquisite performances too. Played at the western railways cricket ground between Young Parsee CC and Kridangan Cricket club, Kridangan CC won the toss and elected to field first. Right handed opener Praful solanki gave one of the finest starts of the tournament as he scored a flashy 135 off mere 88balls (16fours, 3sixes). Praful also got an in-form partner in Megh Adhvaryu who scored 2back to back tons in Kanga and continued his stellar form in this tournament too. Left-handed Megh scored a beautifully destructive 153 off just 99balls which took the game away from the opposition while also stitched a 243 run stand with the elegant Praful Solanki for 2nd wicket. This is not the first time, Praful and Megh teamed up to create a big partnership, they have done this earlier in Kanga too. It was on the back of their strong batting, Young Parsee scored a mammoth 466/4 in 41 overs. Kridangan in reply ended their innings at 76/6 and handed over a big win to Young Parsee CC by 390runs. It was a match dominated by the young Parsee players where in Praful and Megh stood out all the way till the end.
Another player who has been a revelation of sorts in Cosmopolitan Shield is the Young all-rounder Rohit Singh. Left handed Rohit Singh in his debut season of Kanga league representing Prabhu Jolly cc in D division impressed all with his all-round cricket. In five innings he scored 180 runs with 3 fifties and also took 11 wickets giving away only 82 runs. But that was not all, Rohit came out with another fine all-round performance in the Cosmopolitan tournament too. Representing Merry Cricketers and coming to bat at no.4 position he scored 32 runs in his side’s total of 202. Rohit also helped while defending this score with his nagging & accurate bowling as he took 5/24 in 9overs which helped his team beat Shahpur Spencer cc by 14 runs. Rohit was well supported by Viren Dathia ( 52 runs) & Adesh Karangutkar ( 31 runs & 6-1-15-2) both Students of M.D.College.
CRICKETGRAPH
One of the best leg-break bowlers of India and also one of the most experienced bowlers of Mumbai cricket who was picked up by the Rajasthan Royals in IPL at the age of 41 purely on the basis of talent in 2013- Pravin Tambe keeps on raising his class with his effortless spin bowling. Even at this age he is giving young players a run for their money and one of his recent exploits came in the Purshottam Shield Tournament ’17 where he single handedly ran through the batting line up of Muslim United to fetch his team a great win.
Played at the iconic DY Patil ground in Nerul, DY Patil team won the toss & elected to field first since they have a strong bowling line up. Their decision to bowl first seemed to be spot on as they restricted Muslim United team to a paltry score of just 78/all out in 25.1 overs. Only 3 batsmen managed to score in double figures as the rest of the batting line up crumbled against the wily spin of Pravin Tambe. Slow left arm spinner Iqbal gave good support with 3wkts but it was their right arm legbreak bowler Pravin Tambe who stunned the opposition with amazing bowling figures of 7/57 in 10.1 overs. Pravin showed his vast experience and variety with the ball to bundle out the opposition to a low total.
DY Patil who have a strong batting line up too chased down the score comfortably in mere 10.2 overs with the aggressive Aman Khan remaining unbeaten on 40* off 22balls. DY Patil won the match by 8wkts and it was surely the veteran spinner Pravin who stole the show with his class bowling. Also Pravin Tambe who was declared the ‘best bowler’ as he had taken 7wkts in the finals & overall 15wkts in the Police Shield Tournament just a few weeks ago is certainly looking in very good form!
CRICKETGRAPH
All-rounders are always special as they possess a god gifted ability to perform well both with the bat as well as with the ball. On their day, they can single handedly life their teams to commanding wins and hence they play a very pivotal role in cricket.
The month of November had some great performances with the ball, with the bat but all round performances are very hard to come. After a intense shortlisting for November rankings, Cricketgraph has finally come out with the top 5 for the month Of November 2017.
Joint 5th- Rakesh Naik- 3/12 and 90 off 156balls, Esplanade Liberals vs MB Union CC, Kanga League ‘17
Rakesh Naik had a good season of Kanga this year and he continued his form vs Esplanade Liberals at Cross Maidan. His team MB Union CC bowling first restricted Liberals to just 114 in 32.4 where in left arm spinner Rakesh Naik was the pick of the bowlers with 3/12 in 9 overs. In reply his team MB Union declared their innings on 300/5 where Rakesh was the 2nd highest scorer with a gritty 90 off 106 deliveries (9fours, 2sixes). Eventually, with the help of his all-round show, MB Union CC won the match on 1st innings.
5. Rishi Shah- 96 & 3/23, IES VN Sule vs SVIS Kandivali, Harris Shield Tournament‘17
Winning the toss and electing to bat first, SVIS team lost couple of early wickets and were seen in bit of trouble but then Rishi Shah took complete control of the game and smashed 96 runs. Rishi was seen in good form and ensured that his team reaches a respectable total of 244/8. What’s more he also helped his team successfully defend the total as he took 3/23 with the ball too which helped SVIS win the match by 79runs.
4. Sujit Nayak- 53 & 4/76, Parsee Gymkhana vs CCI, police Shield Tournament ‘17
Two old prestigious teams of Mumbai namely the Parsee Gymkana and Cricket Club of India clashed against each other at the Parsee Gymkhana ground in Marine Lines where in CCI won the toss and elected to bowl first expecting the pitch to support the bowlers. Parsee Gymkhana with two tons from their batting line up scored a decent score of 367/7 in 70 overs. From the bowling side it was the experienced Sujit who was the pick of the bowlers with 4/76. Chasing 368, his team did a good job where in contributed with a solid 53 with the bat too but his team eventually fell short of 20runs. Even though his team lost the match, Sujit was a really bright spot in the team.
3. Salman Khan- 51 & 5wkts, MIG CC vs Islam Gymkhana, Police Shield Tournament ‘17
Even though in this match his team lost the match and above that his perfomance was dwarfed by Sumit’s back to back double hundred but not many know that Shoaib had given a great perfomance in the same match. MIG CC notched up a mammoth total of 472/8 in 70 overs where all the bowlers of Islam Gymkhana were thrashed for runs but it was their off spinner Shoaib Khan who bowled really well as he went on to take 5/140 in 19 overs becoming the pick of the bowlers. Islam Gymkhana were all out for just 248runs but Shoaib once again chipped in with the bat too at the middle order scoring a fighting half century!
2. Pratham More- 107 off 70balls and 4/39, Yashodham High School vs CNMS, Harris Shield 2017
Harris has always been a platform which gives opportunities to talented prodigies to play at their fullest. Pratham More is one such kid who has showed a lot of promise for his age and looks set to progress leaps and bounds in cricket. The left-arm orthodox spinner is also a proper all-rounder and is a must have for any team. Quite evident from his current form where he took 6/10 in 7overs in the 1st match a just below this match and followed it by a stunning all-round show in the second. In this match against CNMS, Yashodham high school were made to bat first and they managed to score a good total of 198/6 in 34overs. All thanks to this young lad Pratham who single handedly took his team towards a respectable total with his towering century scoring 107 off just 70 deliveries (14fours, 2sixes). CNMS were restricted to just 125/all out by Yashodham boys and Pratham contributed with the ball too in the same match as he bagged 4wkts to make it a complete all-round perfomance!
and Finally at no.1……..
1. Ayush Bidwai- 57 and 5/39, Fatima High School vs Bhadra High School, Giles Shield Tournament ‘17
Played at the Young Zoroastrian Club, Azad Maidan, it was a match between two promising teams namely Fatima High School and Bhadra High School where in Bhadra school won the toss and elected to field first. However, Fatima High School showed their mettle with the bat and proved Bhadra that bowling first wasn’t the best of the decisions. Fatima High School notched up a very healthy total of 458 where in all-rounder Ayush Bidwai provided a crucial contribution with the bat at the middle order scoring 57 off just 43balls (7fours). Defending a total of 458, off spinner Ayush came up with excellent bowling figures bamboozling the batsman with his spin taking 5/39 in 10 overs which eventually helped his team win the match by a big margin of 345runs.
CRICKETGRAPH
Rajvardhan was only in 3rd standard when his potential was identified by Mr. Pravin Gogari who then started bringing him at the DSC ground at an early age. Initial days were good and so one day Pravin sir motivated him and gave him an opportunity to lead as a captain for a tournament when he was just 8 years old and under his captainship they won the match. Raj scored 69 runs in the first match.
Later with the help and guidance of Shri Dilip Mhambre, Raj got admission in one of the most reputed school for sports- Vidya Mandir School (VPM). During this period he met the most respected cricket coach Vidya Paradkar (mentor of Zaheer Khan, Ajinkya Rahane, Hasib Hamid amongst others). Vidya sir identified his potential as a pacer and started his training towards it. His mother, Mrs. Pooja Rao also took lots of effort to take him every day by local trains from Dahisar to Chruchgate (i.e. Cross maidan) during rush hours. Initial days were not that great as an achievement, but eventually due to the vision of Vidya sir he started showing results on the ground.
Raj played Bhaskar Trophy (under 12), 2016. Also Giles shield and Harris shield are been played by Rajvardhan under the guidance of school coach Mr. Shridhar Pathare. His first Giles shield was in 2015-2016 where he took 11 wickets in all. They finished the league as runner ups. Raj’s second Giles shield was in 2016-2017 where took 8 wickets in all. Rajvardhan also got selected in MCA under 14 in April, 2017 summer camp in the Sachin Tendulkar Gymkhana Team, Kandivali. His team was a runner up. He scored 50* and 5 wickets in all. In 2017, Raj got an opportunity to play Worli Cup from the team Dadar Parsi Club (DPC) lead by Bhosle Sir and in Harris shield in 2017, he took 2 wickets in 2 matches.
His consistent run with the ball continued and finally his refined perfomance what he is actually capable of came off in the third Giles shield in 2017-2018 which is still going on. In the first match he took a stunning 7wkt haul while giving away just 20 runs in 6.1 overs and in the second match he took 5 wickets for mere 7 runs with 1 maiden & 5 overs. In his first match which was played at the United Cricketers ground against Children’s Aid Society, Rajvardhan completely ripped though the entire batting line up as he single handedly troubled the batsman with his impressive pace, line and length. It was his bowling spell which helped his team win the match in a commanding fashion by 363runs. The 2nd match which followed for Rajvardhan was equally impressive as this time he helped his team defend a low total of 145runs against the promising Ryan International School. Right arm fast bowler Rajvardhan came up with another match-winning bowling figures of 5/7 in 5 overs which restricted the opposition to just 32runs all out and eventually winning the match by 113runs.
Not only has Rajvardhan showed genuine potential as a pace spearhead who can make you win matches single handedly on his day but he has also displayed consistent progress in the last 2years. Also with the line and length coupled with the discipline at which he is bowling, Rajvardhan looks poised for a bright journey ahead in cricket.
CRICKETGRAPH
It was almost a match where only 2players did the maximum damage to single handedly steer their team to a commanding win. Played at the LIC Ground, cross maidan, Gokuldham High School and St. Rocks school took on each other where in St. Rocks won the toss and elected to field first with an aim of restricting this team to a low total.
Their decision to bowl first somewhat backfired as Gokuldham boys notched up a very big total of 400/7 in 45overs. Right handed opener Roneet Thakur simply looked amazing as he scored a stroke filled 111 off just 90balls (15fours, 2sixes) to solidify their innings. Ronit looked really confident against the bowlers and played some great shots while on the other hand Khush Jain also scored a fantastic ton scoring 101 off just 82 deliveries (12fours). Khush as always looked promising as he did some great running between the wickets while also smashed some elegant cricketing shots while Vedant, Mitra and Vineet also gave crucial contributions with the bat.
Chasing a big total of 401, St. Rocks succumbed to the pressure of chasing against a good bowling attack of Gokuldham. All-rounder Khush Jain completely owned the day as he was also the pick of the bowlers with impressive bowling figures of 4/21 through his off-spin. Ronit Thakur also chipped in with the ball as he took 2/16 to make it an all-round perfomance. Gokuldham boys won the match by 307runs and it was certainly these two boys who stood out in the match. Also khush seems to be in great form as this perfomance came just before he took a 5wkt haul along with 34runs in the last match he played.
CRICKETGRAPH
The month of November witnessed some fantastic cricket. November was also a great month with rigorous cricket tournaments like Kanga, Police Shield, Times and Giles shield being played in full flow. There were some extra ordinary matches as well as some exquisite bowling spells which invented our faith in Indian Cricket that ‘Yes the cricket of India has a promising future ahead’
There were a lot of good bowling spells in November in different moments under different pressure situations and hence it was difficult to shortlist. Eventually after a grueling session of selecting the top 5, we came up with this 6 spells which literally stood out in November 2017.
Joint 5th– Badrey Alam (Right arm fast)- 7/22, Parkophene CC vs Karnataka Sporting Assn. , Young Comrade Shield Tournament ‘17
Played at the Cricket Club of India (CCI) in Mumbai, the police shield tournament witnessed amazing performances right from its opening day and one of the best came out from this talented fast bowler Badrey Alam who rattled the opposition with his genuine fast bowling. Parkophene Cricekters won the toss and elected to bowl first in order to restrict CCI to a low total.
Their decision was spot on as they bundled out CCI boys in their own turf for just 51runs in 17.5 overs with only 2players managing to get in the two figure mark. The bowler who destroyed the batting line up single handedly was this right arm fast bowler Badrey Alam Khan who came up with exceptional bowling figures of 7/22 in 9overs. Badrey bowled consistently in the right areas with the right amount of pace which reaped excellent rewards for him. In fact over the years he has proved that he can lead the bowling attack as a reliable 1st seamer for any team he plays for. Badrey was also supported well by Sagar who took 3wkts. Eventually his team chased down the score in style and won the match by 9wkts, all thanks to badrey!
5. Soham Sabnis (Right arm fast)- 7/11, St.Francis vs Gokuldham High School, Harris Shield Tournament ‘17
Played at the Bharat CC, St. Francis who batted first were hardly aware about the storm which was about to hit them. Fast bowlers Soham Sabnis came up with awesome /bowling figures of 7/11in 7overs(2maidens). Soham at a very young age displayed pace and bounce coupled with good line and length which was nothing but impressive. In fact it was the brutal spell of Soham which restricted St. Francis to just 33all out which his team chased down and won by 10wkts!
4. Yogesh Dicholkar (Left-arm spinner)- 8/24, Matunga Gymkhana vs Taki CC, Kanga League ‘17
The man who bagged 33wkts in Kanga this season continues to amaze us with his spin as he has consistently been a genuine wicket taker. His last outing was at Dadkar maidan on 26th November where his team Matunga Gymkhana were all out for 123. Even though defending a low total, their spin spearhead Yogesh came up with match winning bowling figures of 8/24 which restricted Taki CC to just 112runs all out and win a thriller of a match.
3. Aryan Dalal- 7/13 (Left-arm Spinner)- All Saints High School vs Singhania High School, Under 14 Ghantali Cup
There is no denying the fact that this boy has been proving his mettle since a very young age that he is made for the bigger things in cricket. Aryan continued to impress at the All Saints Ground vs All Saints School as he took a fantastic 7/13 including a hat-trick which made them all out for mere 48runs. His team Singhania eventually chased down the score in just 7overs and won the match by 9wkts and it was Aryan who stood out in that match once again.
2. Anzar Mirza- (6/8, Right arm fast), Abhinav Vidya Mandir vs Anjuman Islam, Harris Shield ‘17
India has always been in a shortage of genuine pace bowling talent and when such young kids perform like this, it just renews our hopes that India has a lot of talent in every nook and corner.
15yr old Anzar Mirza who is looking so promising with the ball in the Harris Shield is surely showing his mettle with the ball. Anzar’s youthfulness and energy is almost the same as Bangaldesh’s Mustafizur Rehman or Pakistan’s Mohamad Amir who all are young fast bowlers. Fresh from 6/17 in the 1st match he played against St. Joseph, this time his team Anjuman Islam clashed against Abhinav Vidya Mandir, Borivali at the Oval Maidan where in Anjumam Islam won the toss and elected to bat first. His team Anjuman Islam notched up a healthy total of 259runs. However, the opposition were unaware on what was about to come as fast bowler Anzar literally ran through the entire batting line up with one of the best bowling figures of this season as he took 6/8 in 10.1 overs which restricted Abhinav Vidya Mandir to just 72runs. The zone which Anzar was in and the line and length at which he was bowling was really impressive for his age which eventually helped his team win the match by 187 runs.
And Finally the No.1-
1. Daksh Aggarwal 11/35 (Left-arm spinner)- 11/35, Goregaon SC vs Sunrise SC, Kanga League 17
Have we ever seen a cub threatning a group of lions? Sounds a bit funny, isnt it? But Kanga League almost got to see a similar case when a 16yr old boy attacked like an adult predator against a team consisting of players bigger than him in every aspects. Played at the GSC, Goregaon SC elected to bowl first and restricted sunrise SC to just 77runs, 16yr old prodigy Daksh Agarwal caught everyone’s attention as he came up with match winning bowling figures of 7/20 against a team which had players almost between to 23 to 30yrs of age. It’s always tough to physically and mentally cope up against players who are bigger than you in terms of age and fitness and Daksh troubling the opposition with ease was simply commendable as he was the youngest player in that match. Goregaon in reply declared their innings on 143/8 in their 1st innings.
Sunrise SC were again given the trouble as they were almost all out at 58/9 before the end of the game’s play in the 2nd innings. Daksh’s attack with the ball continued as he took another 4wkts for just 14runs in 14overs (7maidens) taking his tally of bowling figures to a stunning 11/35 in 27overs (10maidens) in the match. Goregaon SC won the match comfortably but it was this young bowler Daksh’s perfomance which raised the eyebrows and became the talking point of the match.
CRICKETGRAPH