How to grip the bat

The grip principles are the same for right and left-handers.

For a right-hander the left hand should be at the top of the handle - vice versa for a left-hander.
Check both your hands are fairly close together on the bat, towards the top of the handle.

Form a "V" by pointing your thumb and forefinger down between outside edge and centre of back of bat.

The top hand rests comfortably on the inside of the front thigh (left thigh for a right hander).
And the back of the top hand should face towards extra cover.

The Art of Fast Bowling

The art of Fast Bowling is a very difficult art to master.

I hope this video from Australian cricket bowling coach, Damian Fleming helps you.

You can certainly get more valuable cricket assistance by signing up to our great newsletter.

Cheers,

Justin.

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Australia face life after McGrath !

Bowling coach Troy Cooley is confident Australia have the young bowlers to fill the gap left when Glenn McGrath retires after the World Cup in April.

"We've got a few bowlers that have been in and out. It's a huge chance for one or two of them to step up," he said.

"We'll miss the experience but we're looking forward to the next bowler to try and fill those huge shoes."

Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Bracken, Shaun Tait and Shane Watson were on the sidelines as Australia won the Ashes.

"The headache comes more from a selector's point of view. I'm pretty happy that we've got some good talent there," Cooley said.

Glenn is an absolute role model for any young bowler that wants to enjoy a successful career Troy Cooley Johnson, described as a "once in a generation" player by Dennis Lillee eight years ago, has yet to play a Test but has impressed as part of the one-day squad.

Fellow left-armer Bracken struggled during his first spell in the Test side while McGrath was injured three years ago but has returned with better control and variation.

Watson would have played as an all-rounder in this Ashes series but suffered a hamstring injury playing for Queensland before the opening Test.

Tait is still to build on a jolting Test debut during the 2005 Ashes in England, when he was fast but a little too wild.

McGrath is the most successful seam bowler in Test history, with 555 wickets from 122 Tests, and he also has 342 scalps from 230 one-day internationals.

Cooley believes he has provided a wonderful template for aspiring fast bowlers to follow.
"With his strength of character, the way he goes about his work, the way he prepares himself, he's an absolute role model for any young bowler that wants to get into the game and enjoy a successful career," he said.

As much as it's a sad time, it's an exciting time too because a lot of younger players will get their opportunities Ricky Ponting, Aussie opener Matthew Hayden said both McGrath and Shane Warne, who announced his retirement earlier this week, would be sorely missed.

"Both have had amazing tenacity and longevity; they're both courageous and incredibly positive in the face of adversity," he said.

"The secret to Glenn's performance is just in his consistency. He is totally ruthless in his delivery of line and length. It's so difficult to get on top of him.

"His under-rated skill was his ability to adjust no matter where a batsman stood, to place the ball exactly where he wanted it."

Captain Ricky Ponting said the two announcements marked the end of an era in Australian cricket.

"We're going to be losing two of the all-time greats in a pretty short period of time," he said.
"We've now got to push on in the next few weeks. We've known for a long time that these two weren't going to go on forever.

"So as much as it's a sad time, it's an exciting time too because a lot of younger players will get their opportunities."

Some great tributes about Shane Warne !

Fittingly Warne took the wicket that regained the Ashes in PerthFormer England captain Mike Gatting believes cricket may never witness another spinner like Shane Warne again. Gatting, on the wrong end of Warne's 'ball of the century' leg-break at Old Trafford in 1993, said: "I am still asked about it regularly.

"I suppose I can say that I was there at the moment he first indicated his potential to the wider world.
"Like Ian Botham, he has worked hard and he has played hard. We may not see his like again."

Warne, currently with 699 Test wickets, will quit Test cricket after the fifth Ashes match in Sydney.
Gatting added: "Thanks to him, there are many more leg-spinners in the game.
"People talk about how much he has done for Australia, but he has done an awful lot for the sport as a whole."

Commentator and former Australia captain Richie Benaud said Warne's departure would leave a void.
"People keep telling me there are plenty of leggies down the road, but they're not experienced enough.
"They haven't been given the opportunities - I think there's going to be a big gap," he said.

Warne's former coach and mentor, Terry Jenner, told BBC Five Live: "When he bowled Gatting (in 1993) he rejuvenated Test cricket. He revolutionised spin bowling by his accuracy. He will be sadly missed.
"I remember the first ball he bowled for me when we first met. I issued an expletive, finishing with 'me'!
"I just couldn't believe how much it had turned and spun.
"He was a novice then and there was a lot of water under the bridge before he became the great Shane Warne.
"He had enormous talent and you would have had to have been blind not to have seen it. But the finished product has been awesome."

New Zealand great Sir Richard Hadlee said the sport would not be the same after Warne's departure.
"A lot of batsmen in world cricket will be delighted to learn he's leaving the game, but I think the game will be poorer without him."
"He has been a match-winner, flamboyant and just incredible to watch."

Damien Fleming, a fellow World Cup winner in 1999, said: "He is one of the greatest cricketers of all time and we will never see his like again."

England's Paul Collingwood, who was dismissed by Warne on his Ashes debut in 2005, said: "In cricketing terms he is the ultimate legend. He's probably the best bowler there has ever been on this planet.

Mark Taylor, Australia captain from 1994-99, said the spin wizard's larger-than-life character is key to his success.
"Not only is he a great bowler but he's also a great thinker," he said. "He got a lot of people out with wonderful deliveries but also out-thought a lot."

Former selector Allan Border, who skippered Warne when he first emerged in dramatic fashion during the Ashes tour of England in 1993, thought the match-winner could still play on for several seasons.
"It's just caught everyone by surprise," Border said. "He's in superb touch, he's bowling well, physically he's very well.
"I just got the inkling that he was even considering one more tilt at England in England and that would see him out."
Border was also captain when Warne made his Test debut against India at Sydney in January 1992 and recalled: "There was something special about him, right from the word go."

Former Aussie paceman Geoff Lawson was also surprised by the decision and felt Warne could have broken even more records.
"I thought he still had a couple of years left in him and I thought he was good for a thousand Test wickets," Lawson said.
"Without Shane Warne, Australia would not be 3-0 up in the [current] series.
"They might have won one but they wouldn't have won in Adelaide or Perth without him and if he's going to go out then I suppose it's best to go out on a high."

Australia selector Merv Hughes, another former team-mate of Warne, joined the tributes.
"Whatever you say about Shane Warne it isn't enough," Hughes said.
"There are memories all through his career, most people go through a purple patch and Shane Warne has had a purple patch for 15 of 16 years."

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The Basics of Cricket

The aim of cricket

Cricket is basically a simple game - score more than the opposition.
Two teams, both with 11 players, take it in turns to bat and bowl.
When one team is batting, they try and score as many runs as they can by hitting the ball around an oval field.
The other team must get them out by bowling the ball overarm at the stumps, which are at either end of a 22-yard area called a wicket.
The bowling team can get the batsmen out by hitting the stumps or catching the ball.
Once the batting team is all out, the teams swap over and they then become the bowling side.
Each time a team bats it is known as their innings. Teams can have one or two innings depending on how long there is to play.
The Ashes Test matches are over five days so England and Australia have two innings each to score as many runs as they can.
Whoever scores the most runs wins. But a cricket match can be drawn too.
That happens when the team bowling last fails to get all the batsmen out.

How runs are scored

The fielding team have all 11 players on the field at the same time but there are only ever two batsmen.
Nine members of the fielding team can be positioned around the field depending on where the captain wants them.
The other two members of the team are the wicketkeeper and the bowler.
The bowler delivers the ball, overarm, at one of the batsmen who will try and hit the ball to score runs.
One run is scored each time the batsmen cross and reach the set of stumps at the other end of the pitch.
Four runs can be scored if the ball reaches the perimeter of the field or six runs if crosses the perimeter without bouncing.
Although all 11 players have the chance to bat, the team are "all out" when 10 wickets have fallen as the "not out" batsman is left without a team-mate at the other end of the wicket.
A team doesn't have to be all out for an innings to close.
If a captain feels their team has scored enough runs, they can bring the innings to a close by making a "declaration".
Teams also have a "12th man" who acts as a substitute fielder if one of the first 11 are injured.
However, the 12th man is not allowed to bat or bowl, except in one-day cricket.

Test Matches & One Day Cricket

International cricket is played in two different forms - Test matches and one-day games. Here are the key differences between the two.
The easiest way to tell Test and one-day cricket apart is by looking at the players. In Test cricket they always wear whites, whereas in the one-day game they wear colours.
The most important difference, however, is their respective lengths. Test cricket is played over five days, with each day's play lasting six hours and at least 90 overs bowled per-day.

One-day cricket - as its name suggests - is played on a single day and is restricted to a maximum number of overs.
Traditionally it lasts between 50 and 60 overs, however 20-over cricket has become more popular since the birth of the Twenty20 Cup.
In one-day cricket it's all about who can score the most runs in the same allotted amount of time.
Another key difference is that in the longer form each team has two turns to bat (called innings).
Each innings is over when either ten batsmen are out (all out), or the captain of the batting side declares the innings finished, for tactical reasons.
In one day cricket, on the other hand, the teams bat just once and an innings is over when either ten batsmen are out or all the overs have been bowled.

Byes & Leg Byes

If a legitimate ball passes the batsman without touching his bat or his body, any runs completed are credited as 'byes'.
If a legitimate ball misses the bat but touches the batsman's body, any runs completed are credited as 'leg byes'.
Runs completed off a bye or leg bye, including boundaries, are added to the extras tally of the batting team but they are not credited against the bowler.
In order for a leg bye to be awarded the umpire must deem that the batsman either attempted to play a stroke or tried to avoid being hit by the ball.
If the umpire considers that the batsman did neither of these then a dead ball is called and no runs can be scored.

Cricket Pitch Dimensions

The size of the field on which the game is played varies from ground to ground but the pitch alway stays the same.
It is a rectangular area of 22 yards (20.12m) in length and 10ft (3.05m) in width.
The popping (batting) crease is marked 1.22m in front of the stumps at either end, with the stumps set along the bowling crease.
The return creases are marked at right angles to the popping and bowling creases and are measured 1.32m either side of the middle stumps.
The two sets of wickets at opposite ends of the pitch stand 71.1cm high and three stumps measure 22.86 cm wide in total.
Made out of willow the stumps have two bails on top and the wicket is only broken if at least one bail is removed.
If the ball hits the wicket but without knocking a bail off, then the batsman is not out.

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By – Justin Kelly
http://www.thecricketpitch.com/

The Art of Reverse Swing Bowling

A combination of Shane Warne and Australia's fast bowlers brought England crashing to defeat in the second Test in Adelaide.

One bowling weapon that aided their cause was the same one used so effectively by England 18 months ago.

This time, Brett Lee found reverse swing in the heat of south Australia.

But what is swing? And more to the point - what is reverse swing and how can certain bowlers harness it so potently?

We explain the theories.

WHAT IS SWING?

The cricket ball often moves in the air towards or away from a batsman when a pace bowler is bowling.
It is this deviation most fast bowlers strive for because of the problems it causes batsmen.
Swing is all about aerodynamics, more of which is explained in the next section.
Batsmen are used to facing orthodox swing - which happens when the ball is still relatively hard and new in the first 10 to 15 overs.
However, over the past 20 years fast bowlers have developed a new method of making the ball move in the air with the older ball called 'reverse swing'.
But to obtain any sort of movement, there are a number of factors to consider.

THE BALL

You will often see fielders constantly shining one side of a ball by rubbing it on their trousers.
The rubbing helps to maintain a smooth, shiny side while the opposite is left to deteriorate through normal wear and tear.
In simple terms, the aerodynamics of bowling means the shiny side travels faster through the air, while the rough side acts as a brake, pushing the ball in that direction.
But other factors also play a part too.

SEAM POSITION

The conventional grip for the seamer
The stitching around the centre of the ball is called the seam, which acts as a rudder for faster bowlers.
All fast bowlers grip the seam vertically, with the middle and index fingers on either side, with the ball resting in the third finger and thumb.
The straighter the seam when the ball is delivered, the greater the chance of swing, especially when the ball is older with one shiny and one rough side.

IN AND OUTSWING

To move the ball in an orthodox fashion away from a right-handed batsman, the rough side of the ball will be on the left side with the seam angling towards second slip.
And it is the other way round for inswing - the rough side is on the right with the seam pointing towards an imaginary leg slip.
Both deliveries also require a subtle change in seam grip too.
This generally happens when the ball is relatively new but tends to stop after the ball has lost its shine and hardness.

WHAT IS REVERSE SWING?

Once the ball becomes older and more worn, it will begin to move in the opposite direction to where it would usually swing with no great change in the bowling grip.
For example, an outswinger's grip will move towards the batsman in the air while an inswinger will move away from the bat.

The grip is all important bowling reverse swing
All this tends to happen very late on in the delivery, making it difficult for the batsman to pick up the changes in the air.
Not every single bowler can obtain reverse swing - the ball needs to be propelled above 80mph or thereabouts to make it move in the air.
Former Pakistan international Sarfraz Nawaz was the founder of reverse swing during the late 1970s, and he passed his knowledge on to former team-mate Imran Khan.
It was Imran who schooled bowlers Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, who brought the art to the cricket world's attention during the late 1980s and 1990s.
The dynamic duo managed to make the old ball swing a considerable distance at pace in both directions, a skill few bowlers can master.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

There have been plenty of theories about why, but here's the simplest explanation from former England bowling coach Troy Cooley:

"Reverse swing is all to do with the deterioration of the ball and the seam position in flight.
"As the ball becomes rougher, it will take on a different characteristic as it deteriorates.
"So if you present the ball as an outswinger, the ball has deteriorated so much on the rough side that it takes on the characteristics of the shiny side.
Which means a natural outswinger will become an inswinger and conversely, an inswinger into an outswinger."

WHEN DOES THE BALL START TO REVERSE?

Since reverse swing favours the older ball, it will usually start to move around the 40-over mark.
However, England's bowlers last year were able to make the ball reverse after just 15 to 20 overs. Lee found his reverse swing in Adelaide on the 30-over mark.
But how can bowlers manage to do this so early in the innings?

Wasim Akram brought reverse swing to the public limelight
One theory could be the ball. In England, Test balls are manufactured by Dukes, while in Australia and the sub-continent the Kookaburra brand is usually used.

Like footballs, each manufacturers' cricket balls are different. Some have more pronounced seams while others deteriorate slower, all of which have an influence on how the ball will move in the air.

Another theory is how some players are able to rough the ball up faster than other teams.
In England's case last year, Harmison and Flintoff both banged the ball hard into the pitch.
While their fielders often throw the ball back to wicket-keeper Geraint Jones on the bounce from the outfield, all of which contribute to the deterioration of the ball.

However, nothing has been scientifically proved - but batsmen the world over know what to expect when the ball starts to get older.

"Best Aussie Test win ever" - Shane Warne

Shane Warne said Australia's great victory over England in Adelaide was the best Test he has ever played in.

Warne, with 142 Test caps, took 4-49 on the last day as England collapsed to 129 all out & Australia wrapped up the match to go 2-0 up in the series.

"Once we'd run Ian Bell out and got Kevin Pietersen out, the belief was there then that we could cause an upset," said Warne.

"It was a fantastic effort and this is the best Test match I've played in."

Warne, who now has 694 Test wickets, returned his most expensive figures ever in the first innings, 1-167.

Some observers thought they saw signs of decline in Warne and fellow veteran Glenn McGrath in that first innings.

But Warne never looked better as England collapsed from 69-1 to 129 all out, while McGrath finished with figures 2-15 from 10 overs.

Australia skipper Ricky Ponting also said it was the best Test match he had been involved in and was full of praise for his star spinner.

Ponting said: "To turn this match round was an amazing achievement, although everybody in our dressing room thought we could win.

"There were a lot of media who didn't think we could win, but we've shown just how good a team we are and answered a lot of our critics.

"Warne's 4-40 was exactly what we needed. We knew if the scoreboard wasn't going anywhere this morning we could put England under some pressure and that's exactly the way it worked out.
"We've got a couple of days now to get home and freshen up and hopefully we'll play some better cricket in the third Test in Perth." said captain, Ricky Ponting.

Australia coach John Buchanan was critical of England's tactics in the latter stages of the second Test.

"From our point of view things worked out beautifully," he said.

"England didn't really take the game to us at all, we weren't attacked and they let us bowl to them."

Remember that you too can learn to bowl like Warne, when you sign up for FREE newsletter at

- www.thecricketpitch.com

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Let me know what you think about this great Aussie victory !

Australian Cricket Team

The Aussie lads have hit back at their critics with an outstanding display of first class cricket in the ICC semi final against New Zealand overnight.

Superstar veterans, Glenn McGrath & Australian Captain, Rick Ponting are back to their brilliant best.

Look out South Africia in the final !

Please feel free to let me know what you think !

Cheers,

Justin.