What makes a batsman?

By A. C. de Silva

CRICKET: The game of cricket is a very exciting sport. In cricket the most exciting aspect is batting.

This will be agreed by almost everybody who indulges in the game.

It is easy to sit down and list all the qualities needed to be a class batsman at any level of cricket. The difficult part is displaying these qualities during a match when so much depends on the batsman. A class batsman must have natural ability, confidence in that ability, self-discipline in his stroke-play, courage, the power of concentration, the brain to listen to advice and play it when necessary and of course, luck.

Without luck, the batsman is bound to struggle. It is a accepted practice that one can make one's own luck to a certain extent, but some things happen that you just can't control and years later, you look back and realise the luck with you. That was the case with former English batting great Graham Gooch.

Graham Gooch was lucky that his father was 'mad' on cricket' and he taught Graham the basics of batting at a very early age. He drove the basics into Graham right from the start - forward when the ball's pitched up, back when it's pitched short. Graham was holding the bat with the left-hand at the top and the right-hand at the bottom and playing reasonably straight before he was teen - he didn't know any difference because of his father's good teaching.

Play straight

The good batsman of any age and any level plays straight most of the time. There are exceptions to the rule and that on occasions the bats of all the Test-players are crooked, but that has to be fundamental factor from the start. A lot of the old players and coaches talk about "playing through the V" (i.e. aiming to play between mid-off and mid-on) and that is good sense, particularly at the start of one's innings. That disciplines the batsman to play straight, so that any late deviation won't take the edge of a crooked bat.

There are some batsmen who contradict this theory - and former West Indies great batsman Vivian Richards is one of them. He seems to play everything through mid-wicket. 'The bowlers think, if they bowl straight at his off-stump and he misses, they will get an lbw' - but Richards didn't often miss! Richards had a good eye-sight and got him out of trouble, but he cannot be classed as the ideal batsman. The best text book player during those days when Graham Gooch was playing, was Barry Richards; absolutely straight, with a fine sense of timing.

Confidence in one's own ability is also vital. If you feel awkward and tense while batting, the batsman is not doing the bowlers a big favour. In this regards, Ian Botham should be commended for his supreme confidence - he'll always attack the bowling whatever the state of the game, because that's the best way of playing. David Gower was another; He used to go for the half-volley right from the start - Gower used to realise that though there were some critics to his style, his style suited him. Gooch said that he agreed with Gower. The crowd that came for the matches wanted to see the Gowers, the Richards and the Bothams knocking the hell out of the bowlers.

There were many people who asked Gooch about 1975 when he bagged a 'pair' in his debut at Edgbaston against Australia. That was just one of those things, but the after-effects were important. Gooch was dropped after playing badly in his next Test at Lord's and hardly got a run for Essex for the rest of the season. That 1975 season taught Gooch one thing not to lose confidence in one's ability, even though the results say otherwise.

Believe in yourself

Even if you're an unorthodox batsman, never change your style because the runs have dried up. If you've done consistently well with your own methods stick with them.

It's so easy to get your brain cluttered up with theories. A batsman must fit through all the advice he's given. discard what he thinks is rubbish and then try to put into practice what he believes is sound.

Many years back Jack Hobbs said on his retirement that he was still learning things about batting... that from a man who scored 197 first-class centuries'.

Concentration is the key word and if the batsman takes this advice, he cannot go astray, provided the basics are right.

A good batsman must have traces of selfishness in him and he must use that trait for the good of his team.

Pick the right staff

Another good thing a batsman needs - the sense to buy good equipment. There is no point in cutting corners for the sake of a few rupees - a batsman needs the best because his hands and legs are available. Thigh pads are essential at all levels because the deliveries got up waist high from fast bowlers even on slow wickets, and if you're still in pain from the previous delivery as the bowler's run in, then you stand a good chance of being dismissed because your concentration's gone. In first-class cricket, the helmets are now very popular and the batsmen should wear them for their protection.