MAKE YOUR DRIVE BETTER

Learning the on drive

There is an old cliché that the on drive is the hardest shot to learn and play well.

But given the correct biomechanically sound technicaladvice, the on drive is an easy shot to play plus it makes you a better player because makes it easier to play the swinging and turning delivery, especially the ball that comes back in to you. Playing the on drive well minimises the chance of a batter getting blocked off and playing around the front pad.

The key points are: 

*On the backlift, your bat aligns over off stump.*Your head aligns to the ball (not your shoulder)*As you step towards the ball your head position is exaggerated forward of the body.*As you step forward and lean in the back foot turns to point up the wicket to align the hips and give balance.*Take a shorter stride to help you get your head further forward than other drives. This will also help the back foot turn in   slightly this aligning the hips. This short stride will help you let the ball come.*Your stride is short with your front foot down line of leg stump, no wider.*The front foot points up the wicket.*Strike the ball forward of your front pad with the heel of your back foot off the ground*Let the ball come under your eyes*Hit the shot with a dominant top hand*Finish with a check drive with high hands and high leading elbow.*Toe of bat should finish pointing at target area (mid on).

ou can always spot a good player by the way they play the on drive.

Talented players are generally the ones that play the on drive well.

Good coaches coach this shot well.

·        Learning the off drive

Of course, we all want a good off drive too.

So once you are comfortable with your balance andalignment playing straight and through the on side, look to learn the small changes you need to make to off drive.

The key points are:

·        

*Your head moves towards the off side and aligns to the target area (off side). Note that the head
now has moved from the neutral position of being wicket to wicket.

*Your initial backswing, from over off stump, begins to re-align once you have decided to play an off drive. The backswing will now align from leg stump so that it swings in a straight line towards mid off.

Your front foot lands in a more sideways position. This ensures your head is supported over the ball of the front foot giving you good balance.

Your shoulder turns slightly more to play the off drive but it’s the head that aligns with the ball not the shoulder. The shoulder stays slightly leg side of the ball and target area to allow the bat to swing in a straight line to from backswing to mid off.