"Action stations" - whatever happened to standing still and waiting for the ball?

As a young batsman, the absolute importance of standing still until the bowler released the ball was drummed into me. And more recently, as I have worked through various levels of the coach education process, the same mantra is still repeated - pick up the bat, yes, think about leading with the dipped front shoulder, but don't move the feet too early.

It's not easy. And when young players see the professionals twitching, shuffling their feet, and generally not standing still, it can be even harder to convince them to stick to the text-book and wait until the ball is released. So I was fascinated to read an article in the Summer issue of the ECB Coaches Association "Coaches Matter", with Graham Thorpe, now England's Lead Batting Coach.

The article describes how England's top batsmen are now being coached to adopt the "action position" as they wait for the ball, replacing what can be uncoordinated trigger movements with a coordinated pre-delivery sequence to initiate rhythm and activate muscles.

The position is described as being like that used by a boxer - balanced, ready to move forward or back, and decidedly not static.

A lot of top batsmen (most?) have never stood perfectly still when they wait for the bowler. Alistair Cook, for example, now seems to open up his front foot just a little before the ball is released. And it works for him.

Paraphrasing slightly from the article...

The width of the [action] position can be established approximately by dropping the back knee down...where the knee meets the heel of the left foot (for a right-hander) that is a good indicator of the "action" position.

Take a look at Eoin Morgan (bear with the ad from ESPNStar - it is only short) as he talks about his unique stance. With that back foot pivot and bend of the back knee, this looks very like the movement described in the ECB article - except Morgan performs it as the bowler is running in!

And it most certainly works for him!

OK. This is advice for players facing the very best bowlers in the world. And it is clear that the movements must be coordinated, and repeatable.

But next time one of our young players starts a pre-delivery trigger movement, perhaps we will try coaching him into the action position, rather than telling him to stand still!

Twenty20 - "good cricket"? Oh, yes!

There is an interesting discussion on the PitchVision Academy on the merits of twenty20 as a coaching model for young cricketers. Sometimes the performances of the top players can look almost superhuman, and it can be difficult to find ideal models for younger players to follow.

Trying to hit the ball as far as Chris Gayle, or playing the Dil-scoop, or bowling 150kph yorkers like Lasith Malinga - surely, that's only for the professionals?

Is there something in twenty20 for younger players (and amateurs at all levels) to aspire to?

If you saw the IPL2011 game between Deccan Chargers and Delhi Daredevils, then the answer has to be yes.

Top order wickets with aggressive, high class quick bowling. Proper spin bowling (by which I mean slow bowling with the emphasis on spin and variation). And above all, quite magnificent striking.

The game will quite understandably be remembered for the innings of Virender Sehwag. But the Daredevils' innings started with Dale Steyn and Ishant Sharma reducing Delhi to 3-25 of 5.5 overs with direct, back of a length, flat-out fast bowling. And if the Chargers had held their catches, Amit Mishra's legspin and googlies would have got the reward they deserved.

So - if you are going to bowl fast, then really bowl fast. Spin the ball hard. Oh, and hit the ball a long, long way.

OK, the last one takes some doing, and some of Viru's hits weren't out of the (old) MCC Coaching Handbook. But that knock was as much about the mental strength needed as the stroke play, and even the ECB Coaches Association now recognises the "slog sweep" (it features in the excellent "Howzat!" DVD) - you just need to learn how to play the shot.

And if that all doesn't provide inspiration for young cricketers, then I don't know what would!