DON BRADMAN GIVES HINTS THAT MAY HELP CRICKETERS.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 65, 18 March 1931, Page 9

DON BRADMAN GIVES HINTS THAT MAY HELP CRICKETERS.

“Bear In Mind The Guard You Take And Then Bat Accordingly.”

(By

DON BRADMAN.)

(No. 24.)

It is rather a difficult thing for a person to give'general hints on batting so that his ideas suit the multitude and can be put hi operation by others. In writing these lines, I would like my readers to understand clearly that I am not dictating any hard and fast rules. I am merely giving my own ideas, telling how I make the various strokes, and not for one moment do I wish to say things have got to be done exactly as I do them. Different batsmen have different styles and different ways of executing strokes, but they are all trying for the one objective, and I am hopeful that my ideas may prove helpful and beneficial to many young cricketers. The first consideration of any cricketer may well be expressed in the words of a former Australian Eleven captain, who always said, “ If you cannot be a cricketer, you can look like one. 1 ' By this I do not mean that you must wear expensive clothes. Thousands of players are not in a position to own them —but have your boots

properly cleaned and make what you have look its very best. Make absolutely certain every day before going on the field that your bopts are properly sprigged. There is no excuse for a batsman slipping about owing to the lack of sprigs, and maybe some day it will cost you your wicket. I can recall an incident where an Australian eleven player was run out in a test match. On looking at his boots afterward, I noticed that the sprigs were all worn smooth, so that they could not very well lie of much service. Had they been replaced before he batted, possibly the good sprigs would have saved him from slipping, thereby preventing the run-out. Players often have small peculiarities in the way their bo%s are worn, and some require extra sprigs in a certain place. This is a matter entirely for the individual; but do see that the sprigging is done so as to give you the maximum amount of utility. Bowlers often wear a small shield round their boots at the top, to stop it wearing away with the constant dragging of the foot.

Balance is Key-note to Good Bat.

Regarding the player’s bat. If possible, it is always advisable to own your own bat, and reserve it entirely for your own use. It is very rarely that two players have exactly the same requirements as regards size and handle, weight and balance. Personally, I use a bat weighing about 21b 4loz, and like a small (and short) handle, due to my small hand and short stature. Naturally, this bat would not suit a six-foot player, with a large hand, and it is essential that the batsmen choose a bat that suits himself, and not be guided by what somebody else likes. Balance seems to be the key-note to a good bat. Haying in your hands a bat you feel is part of you, makes you go for shots with certainty, for you realise that at least your bat won’t fail you, and that if the shot is not properly executed it will be your own fault. Selecting an excellent piece of willow is always more or less a gamble, and one can never say with certainty that this or that will be a good bat before it is used. In my own case, I select a bat because it suits me and feels comfortable in my hands, regardless of what I think of the willow in the blade, and I have very often found the worst-looking bats turn out to be the best.

Every batsman should always wear batting gloves and a protector. During my early life I didn’t know what batting gloves were, and even now would rather bat without them, providing I knew I was not going to

be hit. But there is always the danger of getting a knock, and if a finger is smashed, it is too late then to put on a glove. I believe in wearing all the protection I can, and find that it is easy to become so accustomed to it that its presence is not noticed, while the added confidence it gives a batsman has to be experienced to be realised.

Best Stance is Most Comfortable.

Having been properly equipped, the batsman finds it his turn to go out to bat. In ordinary circumstances, there is no great hurry for the batsman to get to the wickets, and if one has been sitting in a pavilion for some time, it is often beneficial to walk slowly, so that the eyes become accustomed to the changed light. As regards stance at the wicket, I have often been asked which is the correct block to take. There does not appear to be any definite answer to this question, for the greatest batsmen take varying positions. Woodfull always takes centre, Hobbs always takes leg stump. It does not seem to matter, so long as you bear in mind the yoii have taken, and bat accordingly. I find mid-way between the centre and

leg stumps a happy medium, and that is always my position. In the actual stance itself, I have always found it best to get into the most comfortable position. Standing with the feet some nine to twelve inches apart, weight equally balanced on the two feet, bat touching the ground slightly in ffont of the right foot, seems to me to be the ideal position. This enables me either to go forward or back with equal speed, according to the requirements of the shot being played, whereas I think if the weight is not equally distributed over the two feet it would tend to retard the batsman s speed in one direction or the other.