Cricket coaching, fitness and tips - PitchVision Academy

Cricket Show 37: Fast bowling length and different batting grips

PitchVision — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 11:08:09 +0100

Ian Pont makes his return this week, answering a question on fast bowling length. David has rain stopping play and Kevin hits the gym. We also answer your questions on:

Skill work in the off-season
How a fast bowler can lose weight and improve his run up.
Different grips for batsmen

As discussed in the show, you can find out more about fast bowling in the guide to fast bowling here and Ian Pont's 'How to bowl faster'.

You can download the show onto your computer by right clicking on the link below and choosing "Save Target as..."

You can also subscribe to the show for free. You can add the feed to iTunes (or any podcast catching program).

The show is available to search for in iTunes. Just look for miCricketCoach in the Sport section.

Avoiding the Pietersen folly: Shot selection against spin bowling

PitchVision — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:44:56 +0100

The biggest talking point from day one of the 2009 Ashes was Kevin Pietersen's horrible shot selection to get out when well set. This pdf file from The Times explains the shot in all its gory detail.

If such a fine batsman as Pietersen makes mistakes like this, what chance does everyone else have to get it right? The answer is: More chance that you might think.

Playing the angles

Pietersen is blessed with talent and unfailing confidence. Club players with much more limited skills (and less confidence to go with it) can follow a more conservative approach, yet still find ways to score safely.

This approach is based largely on picking the shots and scoring areas that are least likely to get you out. To find out what they are you need to understand what angles the spinner is using to try and take your wicket.

Let's take a look at each shot and when the best time is to play it.

Driving

Front and back foot drives are the safest shots in most circumstances because you are hitting with the full length of the bat rather than just the width (as with cross bat shots like the sweep).

Driving can be done from in the crease, or moving down the wicket to turn a good length ball into a half volley that can be driven.

If the ball is turning in (off spin to a right handed batsman); the best areas to look to score are between mid off and midwicket. If you keep an open body position with your hips towards the target area the swing of the bat can be straight. It's safe because you are accounting for the ball turning back into you (playing with the spin). You can see the scoring area in red here:

Driving wide on the off side is more dangerous because you are playing against the spin. The classic off spin dismissal is 'through the gate' between bat and pad when trying the drive through cover or squarer.

For the ball turning away, the danger changes and so does the scoring area.

Now you would look to drive from straight to cover. The wider the line of bowling, the wider you can direct the ball safely:

It's worth noting you do not want to drive too square unless you are taking risks. The squarer you drive the less of the face of the bat is shown to the ball and the greater the chance of an edge.

Flick and glance

The flick of the legs is really just an extension of the drive shots. You get in the same position, simply closing the face to direct the ball on the leg side. As a result, it's also a safe shot to an over-pitched delivery. The glance is played to a better length ball and so goes finer. The area for all types of spin is shown in red here:

It's easier to play these types of shots to the ball turning in, especially if the line is too straight meaning all that needs to be done is to help it on its way. Balls that are turning away can also be flicked and glanced although to do it well it's important to only play the shots to balls going down a leg side line.

Cuts and pulls

Short deliveries can be cut and pulled as would be done to a medium pace bowler. The shot is cross bat, but is safe if the ball is poor enough.

It's easier to pull the ball that is turning in towards the bat and easier to cut the ball turning away. For example a ball on an off stump line from a leg spinner could be late cut as an improvisation as you are just helping the ball along the line it is going. Late cutting an off spin delivery on the same line would carry a greater risk, especially of getting bowled.

Sweeps

If you are tied down by a bowler and having trouble using your feet the next option is to use the sweep shot. As Pietersen will tell you, it is more risky purely because you are hitting across the line of the ball.

The safest ball to sweep is the one on or just outside the leg stump. You can help the ball turning in on its way with the spin or get inside the line of the ball turning away and strike it square. This shot will usually go finer.

If the ball is straighter you can still sweep but the risk increases, especially with the ball turning away. The more off side the line of the ball the squarer the ball should be hit to be safe.

Anything outside off stump is probably best left alone unless it is turning back onto the stumps and you need to improvise.

If you are hitting out and you need to hit boundaries you can use the slog sweep, getting the front leg out of the way and hitting between midwicket and square leg. This not recommended against spin turning away (especially a wide line; better to go inside-out in this case). However, there is less risk against spin turning in or balls that pitch outside leg stump. Either way, this shot is a calculated risk and carries a high chance of getting out caught.

The scoring areas for the fine sweep (yellow) sweep (red) and slog sweep (green) are shown here:

Decide your best options

The main point of all this is to suggest that every batsman has a number of options against spin. The sensible way to play it is to decide which option is safest and stick to the plan depending on conditions/match situation.

Image credit: www.a-middletonphotograph y.com

Scoring areas images supplied by PitchVision - Coach Edition. Available to purchase now for clubs, schools and cricket centres.

For more technical tips and unique batting drills on playing spin, check out Gary Palmer's interactive coaching courses. Gary is a coach with over 20 years experience teaching players to become first class cricketers. For the first time he has put his drills online, only at PitchVision Academy.

5 Ways to deal with big match pressure as well as Ashes cricketers

PitchVision — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 09:32:30 +0100

Is there anyone in cricket with more pressure on them than the players of Australia and England at the start of an Ashes series?

It's certainly far more stress than you or I have experienced as cricketers (unless you happen to be MS Dhoni). However, even club players feel pressure situations: Finals (maybe even on TV), league deciders and even the local derby where you play out your own mini Ashes-style rivalry.

What can club players and coaches learn from how the Ashes cricketers deal with pressure?

1. Don't leave it to the last moment

One really common mistake with big games is to fail to think about them until the days before the match. Dealing with pressure situations starts long before that.

As you will learn, the best players all deal with pressure by knowing what is best for them. This may well vary a great deal: Graham Gooch was the eternal net and fitness man while David Gower could score runs without a jog or a net.

The only way you can know what works for you is by trying things out. You may find a net before the game focuses your mind for example. Some people need 10 hours of sleep a night to feel rested, others can get by on 7 or less.

All this means thinking ahead. When are you likely to have a high pressure match? How far back can you go to start laying the foundations of feeling calm under pressure?

2. Do be ready

Once you know what works for you (something that can take months or years to establish), the next step is to start preparing as soon as possible.

For most of us, we need to practice. Club cricketers with jobs or school rarely get enough time to practice fully, but every session you put in becomes an investment in the 'bank'. That training is usually skill based (either developing new ones or honing existing ones). The key is not to waste preparation time by just 'going through the motions' like having a hit in the net and going home.

Some people need less preparation than others. They may feel ready without a lot of practice as they are more confident in their skills. For example, a player who has just retired from first class cricket but has decided to turn out for a local team on Saturday to keep a bit fit. They would have little fear of the opposition and a lot of confidence in their ability to perform with the minimum of practice. For them the investment was made years ago at a higher level.

It's also important to remember the 'support' preparation too:

Suitable nutrition
The right amount of sleep
A fitness plan suitable to your needs (including recovery work like foam rolling and swimming)

3. Do work under pressure

Assuming your preparation has gone well in the months and weeks before your big game, you can start your build up to the match by simulating some pressure in practice.

The easiest way to do this is to bat in the nets under a game situation. Have a normal net but with the following changes:

Set the game situation. It could be any point in the game, don't automatically set a slog target (12 runs in 4 balls).
Bowlers set their field and bowl in 6 ball overs.
Someone acts as an umpire and judge of runs scored/wickets taken
Keep score and find out who 'wins'

Extra pressure can be added by forcing players to run when they hit it, putting close fielders in (if the net is double sized) or saying 'when you are out, you are out'. You can also incorporate practice games (in set scenarios) instead of nets with enough players

4. Do focus on success

Our minds are wired in funny ways. It's been proven that thinking about success makes you more likely to be successful than thinking about failure.

That may seem obvious, but we tend to think and worry about failure more than we focus on success. Our imaginations often think about what could happen if it all goes wrong. To counter that it's important to consciously spend some time thinking about success.

One really simple way to do that is to write down exactly what is would be like to have outstanding success.

If you were an Ashes captain you might write a fake newspaper report detailing how your team won 5-0, every game by an innings. Sure, it might not be realistic, but the higher the success you think about the more likely any success will come about. So even if you end up winning the series on the last day in a hard fought 2-1 win, you still have reached your aim of winning.

The point is not to try and plan for a massive victory, but just to imagine it. The more positive thoughts you have the less negative ones you have time for.

4. Don't ignore your tension

Coaches all over the world tell their players regularly to relax; don't try and bowl too fast or hit the ball too hard. The reason is that trying too hard make you tense up and instead of hitting or bowling better, you get worse.

Under pressure this tension is even more likely to come out in hunches shoulders, gritted teeth or a tighter grip.

When this happens to you, take a moment to let the tension out. If you are a bowler stand at the top of your run and make an effort to relax: face and shoulders especially. As a batsman you can try the technique outlined here. This conscious effort will let the tension out and allow you to focus on smooth, flowing movements that are efficient rather than leaking energy through tension.

5. Know your role

Finally, it's important to know what your job is on the day of the big game. If you are unsure speak to the captain to find out.

If you are a bowler the captain may turn to you when you have a lot of runs to play with and tell you to get the wickets at whatever cost. On another day he might want you to keep it tighter. Batsmen may be told to stay in and build a platform or increase the run rate.

It's important to remember that your role be something you don't like: Bowling into the wind uphill or reigning in your attacking batting to save a match. Nevertheless, as long as the team benefits you must try hard to ignore your ego and work hard for the team. A good captain will always pat you on the back if you did what he needed. Sometimes a bowling analysis 1-36 can be just as important to victory as 5-67, even if it doesn't look it.

image credit: Hopkinsii

How to reduce injuries by improving posture

PitchVision — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 14:23:58 +0100

What's worse than having a bad cricket technique?

How about a dangerous technique?

Chances are you know someone who plays with niggles in the shoulder, hip or back. Chances are it is caused by improper technique. Injury rates are up massively in recent years but it's not because players have stopped trying to bat and bowl with proper technique, it's because their bodies are not letting them.

As most players have some kind of issue like this, it's worth knowing what to do about it whether you are a player yourself or you coach players who want to reduce preventable injuries.

Why is posture to blame?

Posture is linked directly to good technique. For example, a fast bowler with weak core muscles due to a life spent sitting (driving, working at a desk, etc.) may be stiff and unable to keep his hips and shoulders lined up. This twists the spine, causes the action to be mixed and increases the risk of injury.

The bowler may react to his 'core' weakness by doing crunches or other abdominal exercises. On the surface this makes sense. Train the abs and the core gets stronger. The problem is that you can't improve the stability of your spine by moving it (as most ab isolation exercises do).

Instead of getting better, our bowler is stuck in an endless loop of playing, soreness and recovery. In the long run it may lead to stress fractures. Poor technique caused by poor posture.

And batsmen don't get away with it either. As they bat and throw the same way round they can develop an imbalance in strength and flexibility between the left and right side. This also causes injury.

How to improve posture

What our example bowler and batsman really needs to do is teach his (or her) hips, lower back and abdominal muscles to work together to keep the spine happy while the arms and legs do the job of executing your skill.

This is not done by isolating core muscles. Just like the cover drive or the bowling action, you need to learn to move the whole body with balance and coordination. In other words: it's a nervous system reflex action that you need to teach yourself to do without thinking about.

How you do this will depend greatly on the individual, but there are some general guidelines to making sure your posture is sound both when standing still and playing cricket.

Firstly, stretch every day. Both active stretching through mobility exercises (see chapter three here) and static stretching. If you are less mobile on one side of the body, spend more time working on that side. It only takes a few minutes and can be done at home as well as before or after play.

Secondly, if you are doing strength training (which all cricketers should be), you need to make sure you focu on movements over muscles. Aim to balance out the pushing (such as press ups or bench pressing) with pulling (like chin ups), Knee dominant (like squats) with hip dominant (like deadlifts). Always include single arm and leg work, especially if one side is weaker than the other.

However, if you are a coach, you will find you have little control over these elements in your players. The good news there is something else you can do, which is probably more important.

Technique work

Above and beyond stretching and strengthening is technical work, however, this is not the technical work of making adjustments to your bowling action, or learning how to perform a new shot.

This technical work is all about teaching your body to move as one coordinated unit whatever you are doing: running, throwing, bowling or hitting.

This can take a major rethink as to how you approach training. Traditional gym work has often been about isolating muscles or getting a sweat on. Traditional nets have been about working on specific cricket technical points. All these elements are important but useless if you have the postural imbalances we have discussed.

The solution is to spend time working on postural technique. Simple exercises can teach you how it feels to make your body work as one unit. Done without weight (or in the chop/lift case a very low weight) the focus is on having an upright spine and letting the hips work with the rest of the body rather than resist it:

Deep squat. Toes pointing forward. Lower in 8 seconds, hold for 2 seconds rise in 8 seconds. 10-15 reps.
Lunge. Feet in line. Lower in 8 seconds, hold for 2 seconds rise in 8 seconds. 10-15 reps.
Chop/Lift. See here for more details.

If you are used to hard work it may feel odd to do these movements in slow controlled ways. Remember the key is to rewire your postural nervous system, not feel the burn. They can easily replace an existing workout or be used in a comprehensive warm up before doing cricket skill work.

The take home point is that we all have some kind of postural imbalance (cricket is a one sided game). Using stretching, strength work and CNS technical work you can help to bring posture back from the brink in you or the players you coach.

image credit: zoonabar

Ask the readers: What would increase your mental toughness?

PitchVision — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 09:17:06 +0100

How often do we hear of top players with ability but without the mental strength to fight through?

To me, this demonstrates how cricket, at every level, can be a game of confidence. Technique, talent and fitness are important, but without the ability to ride success and shrug of failure it's all worthless.

With that in mind my question to you is:

How mentally tough are you and what would you like to learn about to improve it?

In my own experience as a club player, I used to have very low confidence on the cricket pitch. I pride myself on my technique and performance as both a batsman and a wicketkeeper. I wanted to play the perfect game every time I pulled on the whites. If I made a mistake (even a small one like missing a ball down the leg side) I would consider than game 'tainted' by my imperfection.

As you can imagine, this only made me play worse. It wasn't a technical issue, it was a mental one.

Then I learned two simple techniques to put mistakes out of my head and start focusing on my success. The improvements in self-confidence also lead to a dramatic jump in my consistency, particularly in my wicketkeeping.

I ended up as player of the year for my club 2nd XI.

Now I want to know your experiences. Have ever had similar issues on the field? Are you experiencing them now? What types of problems are stopping you from reaching your potential as a cricketer?

If you reveal your problems, I promise I'll do my best to help you solve them. I have been through it myself, have helped others in similar situations at club level and covered sport psychology in my degree course so I should be able to at least point you in the right direction.

How to leave your mental toughness story

You can participate and get assistance (if you need it) by leaving comment in the box at the bottom of this article. If you are reading the article in an email or RSS feed click here to go to the comments box.

If you prefer, you can email your comments by going here and filling in the comment form. These comments will come directly to me and remain anonymous.

Finally you can send your comments to me via twitter. You can DM or @micoach me.

I'm fascinated to hear the experiences club players in their mental game, whichever way you prefer to contact us.

image credit: www.a-middletonphotograph y.com

Now it's even easier to become a better cricketer

PitchVision — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 09:13:54 +0100

As you know, this site is driven by our dedication to making you a better player, coach or both.

How do we do that?

It starts with the miCricketCoach pages. Several years worth of free articles, video and audio covering every aspect of improving your game.If you are not already getting the newsletter, you can get it for free every week here.

It also means our online cricket coaching section: PitchVision Academy Courses. An area we are constantly working on making better and more relevant for your needs.

Just recently, PitchVision Academy has gone through an upgrade meaning now you have:

More exclusive online coaching resources; including Mike Brearley on captaincy, Gary Palmer on Twenty20 and David Virgo on youth development.
Upgrades to existing courses. For example, Derek Randall has brand new fielding drills and loads of video content. If you are currently enrolled on a course make sure you check through it again. Chances are there will be something new.
A slicker design that looks even better and makes it easy to search for what you want (including by coach and by coaching category).

We are not stopping there though. We have new courses coming very soon including spin bowling, wicketkeeping, batting against spin bowling and swing/seam bowling (with some more big names in the mix).

If you have not tried a PitchVision Academy course yet, now is the time to take the plunge and start improving your game today. Click here to visit the Academy.

Cricket Show 36: Your questions extravaganza!

PitchVision — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:04:11 +0100

David reports on another victory and finally nabs a victim while Kevin does his best after being crook all week. We dedicate this week entirely to your questions on cricket coaching this week including:

How to avoid 'closing off' with a trigger movement
Tactics and techniques for facing left arm fast bowlers
How heavy do you need to be to bowl fast?

You can download the show for free onto your computer by right clicking on the link below and choosing "Save Target as..."

You can also subscribe to the show for free. You can add the feed to iTunes (or any podcast catching program).

The show is available to search for in iTunes. Just look for miCricketCoach in the Sport section, it's free to download.

Laws of Cricket: Pitches and playing areas

PitchVision — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 08:18:37 +0100

This edition of Laws of Cricket, in association with the International Institute of Cricket Umpiring and Scoring, covers some more tricky questions of the Laws.

Many times on the pitch (and after the game) we have come to discuss whether a controversial situation should be allowed or not. There are precious few players with a deep enough understanding of the laws for our arguments to be resolved, but many times it's the players who also act as umpires. Now we can consult a team of expert experienced umpires for the answers to those tricky questions.

You can submit your own questions to the umpires here.

Unplayable pitch

"We played a game on a very odd pitch - a real ‘sticky wicket’. It did nothing to assist the quicker bowlers – quite the reverse in fact but, with the spinners operating, it was a different story. The ball did the most extraordinary things, sometimes appearing to hold up on the surface, then shooting along the ground, at other times turning ‘square’. Both sides reckoned this pitch was unplayable, but the umpires wouldn’t change it. Why?"

'Unplayable’ is not the same as ‘unreasonable or dangerous’, which are the only criteria the umpires use in deciding whether play can continue. You imply that no-one was likely to be injured because of what the pitch or the ball were doing. Umpires consider whether there is an ‘obvious and foreseeable’ risk of injury. On this pitch, it seems there was no such risk!

Law 7.4 The pitch (Open Learning Manual Page 24)

Sweeping

Sweeping means the removal of debris from the pitch by means of sweeping with brooms and brushes.

Under the Laws the pitch must be swept clear of debris before it is rolled - to prevent any damage caused by debris being pushed into the surface by the action of the roller.

The pitch should also be swept at every interval, except drinks - the groundsman will usually ensure that the creases are re-marked then, too.

Law 10.2 Preparation and maintenance of the playing area (Open Learning Manual Page 28)

Fear of success: Do you recognise the signs?

PitchVision — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 11:29:55 +0100

In 2005 the England cricket team won the Ashes in dramatic fashion. They were hailed by some a heirs to the world title with a young side of talented cricketers ready to take on, and beat, the world's best.

What happened was indifferent form culminating in a 5-0 whitewash at the hands of the very Australian side they had beaten less than two years before.

What happened? Perhaps it was a fear of success: A genuine problem that is hard to identify but can hold back cricketers and teams at every level of the game.

Do you recognise the signs in yourself or your team?

What is fear of success?

Most cricketers play to win. Even in the friendliest village or park game we want to take wickets and score runs. However, some players are sabotaging themselves without realising it.

Players may say to themselves; "I want to do my best" but find the behaviours are very different:

Putting off going to training or the gym
Not getting enough sleep
Not eating well
Having a negative mindset (There is no point in trying to hard as I will probably fail)

Why does this happen? It's more than being lazy. Each action gives a handy excuse. It's easy to say you tried your hardest but you were just too tired after playing in the Xbox all night.

Why does fear of success happen?

It's counter-intuitive to think anyone would be afraid of doing well. Sure, we all have some level where we fear failure but to fear the opposite. Why would you?

The answer is that success and failure are tied closely together. Imagine that you are a star spinner and you are playing on a wicket that turns square. Everyone will expect you to bowl the opposition out in no time because you have done it before. However you are afraid that today will be the day you can't rise to the challenge. You are also worried that even if you do bowl like a dream you won't be able to maintain this high standard for long; you will be found out.

Another reason to fear success is that worry about what to do when it is achieved. What if you make it as a professional player, for example, and you lose all motivation to play once you are there?

These reasons are about the burden of success: The higher the success, the greater the expectation and the more the fear of failure. The easy route is to not succeed in the first place. Perhaps it is a more natural reaction than it seems.

How to overcome fear of success

For players who fear the crash after the high, the key is a change of mindset.

After a success or a big win there will be a natural high. The inclination is to do nothing as everything is going according to plan. However, this is the time to talk about what happens next and deal with the possible negatives that come from success.

Most players will never need such a conversation, but if a coach or captain has made them aware that negative thinking after success can lead to failure, he may have cut of a problem before it occurs.

The real secrets to mastering the sweep shot

PitchVision — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 10:42:42 +0100

If shots go through fashions, we can safely say the sweep is this year's must have item. Have you been wondering how to play the sweep well?

The sweep is an excellent weapon for any batsman: when used correctly.

And that's also the problem

Frowned upon totally in its early days, the shot (and its range of variations) has become an acceptable, if difficult to learn, shot. But many coaches still shy away from teaching it, going down the safer route of a straight bat.

Lots of players are never taught to play the shot with a safe technique or at the right time during the game. They end up using as a handy excuse to have a slog across the line.

"It wasn't a slog" they say as you approach them after their innings was cut short, caught at square leg top edging the ball. "It was a sweep".

Let's make sure that never happens again.

Why sweep?

Ask the famous England opener Geoff Boycott if he swept and he will tell you: rarely. His method was to use good footwork to get to the pitch of the ball and hit it down the ground with the full face of the bat.

With this safe, effective and wide range why would anyone elect to hit across the line and increase the risk?

The main reason is that the shot can be highly disruptive to a spin bowler both in his length and field placings. No spinner likes to be swept because the shot is best played to a good length ball; one that is normally defended. The sweep turns it into a run scoring length and the spinner needs to rethink.

It also has the advantage of being a run scoring shot without the risk of a stumping on a turning pitch. Not all players are as nimble on their feet as Boycott was. The sweep is the answer.

When to sweep?

Traditionally the sweep is played against a spinner on a turning pitch. The ball pitches on a good length on or outside the leg stump as show here:

This line and length make it easier to hit the ball safely on the leg side and reduce the risk of LBW if you miss the ball. For this reason it is safer to sweep the ball that is turning from off to leg (off spinner to a right handed bat). On the other hand, it is probably easier to sweep the ball that is turning from leg to off (slow left arm or leg spin to a right handed batter). This is because the ball turns towards the bat as you sweep rather than away from it.

The sweep can be played in a much wider range of lines and lengths. Any line from outside leg to outside off is fair game. Most lengths from a half volley to just short of a good length can be swept (depending on the bounce of the pitch). The more you move away from the red zone (as show in the picture above) the more risky the shot becomes and the more you need to practice and assess the risk-reward before playing it.

The best time to sweep is when you want to disrupt the bowler's length. In longer games this could be if he or she is tying you down with an accurate spell. If this is the case it is important to sweep a lot as one sweep per over would rarely be enough to put the bowler off. In shorter games like Twenty20, you may try this tactic much earlier, especially if there is a gap in the field you can exploit for an easy single or firmly struck boundary.

In all out attack situations you can adapt the sweep to hit the ball in the air over square leg of midwicket for six, although this is a high risk plan it might be required in limited over death situations.

Technique for effective sweep shots

Let's assume you are in a conventional innings and playing safer with the sweep. The bowler is keeping you quiet and you want to rotate the strike so you elect to sweep the ball on leg stump. How do you play the sweep with good technique?

According to PitchVision Academy batting Coach Gary Palmer's Batting Mechanics book, the sweep has the following technical points:

Leading with your head take a long stride towards the ball, bending your front knee. Keep your head still and eyes level as shown here:

With your back leg touching the ground, swing the bat smoothly out in ahead of your front pad close to the ground, making contact with the ball at arm's length in front of your pad. Aim to hit downwards as shown here:

Variations of sweep

The sweep has developed into several variations.

Defensive sweep. Bob Woolmer identifies this shot in his coaching book. If the spinner sees you playing the sweep early enough he or she may decide to bowl a fuller quicker ball. You can counter this by staying in the sweep position but not swinging the bat, just placing the blade low down to chip the ball to the gap at short leg.
Fine sweep. By stepping inside the line you can sweep finer, inside the fine leg. This carries an increased risk of getting bowled round your legs.
Reverse sweep. Used in one day games, this shot is hard to execute and therefore much higher risk. If you can play it, you can put a length ball behind square on the off side that upsets the bowler's field settings. The setup to the shot is the same, the main difference being you turn your hands over allowing you to swing from off to leg in 'reverse'
Slog sweep. In situations needing fast scoring the slog sweep allows you to hit the ball in the air, ideally for six. The important difference is to get the front leg out of the way allowing you to get under the ball and hit it over midwicket or square leg. Hit with straight arms, a smooth swing and a full follow through.

If you are planning on using these variations, it's important to practice them and get the technique right before trying them in a match. Some are riskier than the conventional sweep so you need to assess whether you will need to use them in a match at all, and if so, if the risk is worth the extra effort.

Image credit: captain penguin

Line and length images supplied by PitchVision - Coach Edition. Available to purchase now for clubs, schools and cricket centres.

If you want to learn everything there is to know about technique, check out Gary Palmer's interactive coaching courses. Gary is a coach with over 20 years experience teaching players to become first class cricketers. For the first time he has put his drills online, only at PitchVision Academy.