One major difference between first class batsmen and grade level batsman is bat swing speeds. In the past two years we have conducted some extensive research on the effects of bat swings on individual player scores and on team scores. Some interesting observations were made. One is that players 96% of players who swung the bat faster generally had faster ball exit speeds from the bat (shot speed). This is because faster bat swing speeds promote faster footwork and faster balance distribution. In turn this promotes better timing and hence faster shot speeds. Another important aspect is that the ..read more

Many batsmen and women would agree that if you want to succeed out in the middle you need to have a technique that allows you to defend and deal with the good balls and you need to be able to attack and score runs when the opportunity arises. You also need to be able to keep the bowlers and fielders under pressure and you need to have the fitness levels and concentration levels in order to be able to sustain these aspects of your game for long periods of time. Keeping the fielding side under pressure involves a number of key skills. These include running well between the wickets, being able to ..read more

In the recent test series between Australia and New Zealand Foxtel released its new high-tech sensor device “Smash Factor” which allows viewers to view data outputs such as Power Efficiency and Bat Swing Speeds. Smash Factor together with similar products such as Stance Beam provide players and coaches an opportunity to assess player performance in ways never seen before. The question is, what is the relevance of such data on team performance and individual scores. A recent study of big bash games in Australia showed that “bat swing speed” has an enormous effect on scoreboard outcomes. In the ..read more

Smash Factor Power Hitting Technology. The people at Force Train Better have long advocated the use of technology and baseline tracking modules as part of the development of a player’s power-hitting game. In fact, we have been using this sort of technology for a number of years, mainly at the Julian Wood Power Hitting Academy in London, England. We at Force Train Better are currently conducting a study of the effects of bat swing speeds on performance out-put levels. By performance output levels we refer mainly to the team and individual scores. The study is being carried out during the curren ..read more

The spell of sheer pace, brutality, and menace Jofra Archer delivered in the second Ashes Test seems destined for cricket folklore. The irresistible force of Test cricket’s newest speed demon, Archer, took on the immovable object of Steve Smith. Irresistible force won the day. Archer’s deliveries regularly topped 150 kilometers per hour. His fastest ball in that spell on day four was more than 155kph. The 73rd over of the second innings was the fastest ever recorded by an Englishman in Test cricket, at an average speed of 149kph. Then comes that horrible moment. It’s another ball just short of ..read more

Having batted in stifling heat for the best part of two sessions while facing a high-quality bowling attack of pace and spin England’s Ben Stokes produced some of the most explosive Power Hitting ever seen in a Test Match to turn the current Ashes Series completely around. At 9 down for 280 odd the Test Match appeared lost and the Ashes were set to remain firmly in the hands of Australia. Given the time he had already been at the crease which was as sun-soaked as an Aussie beach in summer no one would have blamed Stokes or his last-ditch partner Leach if one of them had lost their wicket and g ..read more

It would be interesting to see how sports such as Soccer, Netball, Basketball, and Hockey would be received if players at the elite level did not have the skill sets or game plan to be able to move the ball fast and accurately to a teammate “in space”. How would the onlookers react if the players receiving the ball when they were in space could not control it and move it on? Recently I spoke to an American chap who up until two weeks ago had never seen an AFL game before. I asked him what he thought and he said that he found it a bit boring. He observed that the players seemed not to be able t ..read more

One thing that stood out in the recent world cup was that there is a massive difference between “Power Hitting” and “Big-Hitting”. Four years ago English players such Jason Roy, Jos Buttler and to a lesser extent Jonny Bairstow had the ability to hit the ball as hard as any of the big hitters in world cricket; players such as Dave Warner, AB de Villiers, Brendan McCullum, and Chris Gayle. On any given day when the ball was there to be hit most of these “Big Hitters” would send it flying over or across the boundary. Fast forward four years. What was evident in the big-hitting displayed by the s ..read more

While it was great to see the Australians fight back to take control of the First Test at Edgebaston I was left wondering what might have been had the Rules of Cricket allowed for England to bring in a substitute for the injured James Anderson. Effectively England was a bowler down and not just any bowler. Anderson is a proven wicket-taker in Ashes Tests in England and his absence at such a crucial point of the game surely had a detrimental effect on England’s ability to dismiss batsmen and ultimately the outcomes of the match. In pretty much all sports the rules allow for teams to replace an ..read more

We all know that cricket bats need oiling. Kookaburra Cricket have a great article on their website about how to oil bats and why.  The moisture content of bat willow is a key element to a bat being a good bat or a not so good bat. Bats are ordered by retailers on a seasonal basis. Bats for southern hemisphere regions are ordered in January and February and for northern hemisphere regions in November and December. This is because bat manufacturers need to have sufficient time to manufacture them and to ship them  to the various regions in time for the preseason sales peri ..read more