Cricket coaches from Randburg give their tips on what every good batsman does

Anyone can play cricket but not everyone can play cricket well.

Then there are the batting, bowling and fielding aspects, each with their own challenges to master, and being good at one does not mean you will necessarily be good at the others.

The Cricket Coaches, a coaching company based at the Randburg Cricket Club, holds basic to advanced training lessons daily in the nets and on the field.

In an effort to help batsmen improve, coaches Jody Martins and Thabani Moyo identified the following five things every good batsman does.

1) Rotate the strike

According to these coaches, when one batsman hogs the strike or allows the fielding team to keep him/her on strike, it means that that batsman puts all the pressure on their own shoulders. But when the strike is rotated, the batsmen share the pressure and can play more confidently.

2) Get the basics right

A good understanding of, and ability to do the basics means a batsman can score in the areas they need to, and also be confident that their wickets are safe and runs are always around the corner because they have the shot needed for the inevitable poor delivery.

3) Have a game plan

A batsman should have a game plan before they even step to the crease. However, they must be able to adapt this game plan as they play and the match situation changes.

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4) Have no fear

If a batsman is constantly worrying about getting out, they will not play well. Instead, a batsman should always be thinking positively. For instance, if a batsman thinks a yorker is coming they should not think too much about how they might get bowled out, but rather eagerly await the ball so they can double step it, turning it into a full toss, and smash the ball for a boundary.

5) Practise

It sounds simple enough, but batsmen should have a good work ethic and be willing to spend time in the nets learning from their coaches about how they can improve.

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