Sports

Sports

Keeping to the basics
By Ranil Abeynaike
Anura Tennekoon had lamented about the Sri Lanka “A’ team’s poor batting in their recent games in a recent newspaper interview. He had aired his opinion and offered some remedies. Tennekoon, the former national captain now manages the ‘A’ team. In his playing days, the technically brilliant,

emperamentally unshakable right hander, was known as a batting machine. He accumulated runs at levels and although Sri Lanka was not playing test cricket then, he was amongst the top batsmen in the world. Take note of what he says, he knows all about what he is talking.

What he talks about mainly is that any player who occupies the positions one to seven must be competent in the art of batsmanship. Competent to succeed at the level the player occupies. At each level a player has a portion to learn. That portion must not be avoided, must not be by-passed for convenience.
It all begins with the bat grip, stance and back lift. From here on stick to what the coaching manual says and it is almost certain to lead you in the right direction. At the beginners stage to play with a light bat is essential. Even though a youngster can swing a heavy piece of wood, he must be encouraged to start off using a light bat.

Correct foot movements both forward and back and being balanced both when attacking and defending comes next. To most, this comes through continuous practice for hours in end. Again importance must be stressed on what has been proved as technically acceptable. Spending time in doing what is incorrect achieves nothing. Bad habits creep in and get established that they can never be corrected.

Being unorthodox can be accepted upto a point. The coach plays a major role in handling unorthodox players. They must be always educated about the pros and cons of being an unorthodox. Changes may be necessary, sometimes just minor adjustment, particularly if the player posses raw talent.

Calling and running between the wickets play a vital part in batting. There are many batsmen who do not make the three simple calls of “yes”, “no” and “wait.” Still more do not change the bat from hand to hand to ensure the fielder is faced when turning. To run the first run fast is also of vital importance.

Knowing about batting and running between the wickets is only a part of the battle soon. Scoring runs and scoring them consistently is the bottom line in batting.

To do that there is an approach. The two most important factors to remember are that a batsman is dictated by the bowler, the pitch and in some countries the weather conditions. Each innings a player must adjust his approach depending on these factors. However, it must be remembered that these factors are not there to dominate you, but rather for you to conquer.

The rest is in the head. To build on innings, to bat through difficult periods, to overcome fatigue and keep going until the team goal is reached, to select the correct stroke for each delivery are all part of the role the mind plays. Temperament and concentration add up to the equation. Experience does play a major role in developing these two human attributes.

The last game the ‘A’ team played against South Africa ‘A’ was crucial for the team as only a win could have taken them to the final. When they reached fifty, batting first on a good pitch, only one wicket was lost. Not too long after they slumped to 119 for 7 wickets! Six of the seven wickets fell to poor strokes. It was hard to salvage the game from that position.

Batsmanship is a combination of technical ability and mental ability. Both were lacking to different extents with the players who walked to and from the centre. They have to go back to the drawing board and assess where they stand in these two attributes for all other batsmen playing the game it is matter of developing these two abilities from the very beginning. No question, there are no short cuts.

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