Kevin Pietersen's Batting Masterclass 🏏 Best batting tips, techniques and tutorials
Summary
TLDRKevin Pietersen discusses his batting technique and how he developed from a spin bowler into a world-class batsman. He emphasizes keeping things simple, focusing on head position and watching the ball rather than the bowler's run-up. After struggling for 18 months, coach Graham Ford helped Pietersen get his head back in line with the ball, leading to a return to form. Pietersen credits simplicity, strong head position aligned with the ball, and not overcomplicating things as keys to his aggressive batting style.
Takeaways
- 😀 Kevin started as a spinner before realizing his batting talent later in his youth
- 👦 His batting took off after 6 months of gym work and training with a friend before the age of 17
- 🏏 Batting in England helped his batting really take over compared to bowling
- 🎯 Kevin focuses on keeping his head position right and eyes on the ball when batting
- 🥊 He compares correct batting head position to a winning boxer's head position
- 🤹♂️ Simplicity and consistently correct head position is key no matter the bowling style or pace
- 😖 He struggled for 18 months after losing captaincy by overcomplicating instead of simplifying
- 🧠 Graham Ford helped him realize he lost his original effective batting method
- 📈 After Ford's advice, Kevin scored big again by getting his head to the ball consistently
- 🎯 Keeping things simple and getting in proper head position remains his batting emphasis
Q & A
When did Kevin Pietersen realize he had batting talent?
-Pietersen says he realized he had some batting talent in his last year of school, around age 17, when he started hitting sixes and progressing quickly with the bat.
What is Pietersen's main batting fundamental and key focus?
-Pietersen believes head position is the most important fundamental in batting. His key focus is always getting his head in line with the ball.
What drill does Pietersen use to practice his batting technique?
-Pietersen uses a simple drill with a friend throwing him full tosses so he can work on getting in good positions and lining up his head with the ball.
How did Pietersen fail against top bowlers early in his career?
-Against bowlers like Allen Donald and Glenn McGrath early on, Pietersen got distracted by their run-ups and reputations instead of watching the ball.
When did Pietersen struggle with his batting and how did he fix it?
-After losing the England captaincy, Pietersen struggled for 18 months before going back to Graham Ford, his mentor, who emphasized getting his head to the ball.
How does Pietersen keep his batting approach simple now?
-In franchise cricket, Pietersen focuses on just hitting the ball, getting in a good position and launching shots without worrying about technique.
What advice did Greg Blewett give Pietersen about batting?
-Blewett gave Pietersen the simple but key advice: "Watch the ball and only the ball. Don't worry about who's bowling."
How was Pietersen a late batting developer?
-Pietersen only started playing representative cricket around age 17 and believes kids shouldn't worry much about their batting before age 17.
What changed physically for Pietersen at 17?
-After deciding he wanted to be a professional cricketer, Pietersen trained hard in the gym for six months at 17 and started hitting sixes and progressing quickly.
Where did Pietersen gain confidence with the bat early on?
-Pietersen gained confidence by scoring runs against the England team for his club as a teenager.
Outlines
🏏 From Spinner to Batsman: The Evolution of Kevin Pietersen's Batting Career
Pietersen started as a spin bowler but discovered his batting talent late in his school cricket career. A breakthrough innings against England gave him confidence. His batting then took off rapidly in county and international cricket thanks to his ability to hit big sixes by keeping his head still and watching the ball.
😲 The Importance of Head Position and Watching the Ball
Pietersen emphasizes the critical role of head position in effective batting - getting the head close to the ball allows driving powerfully through gaps. Veterans like Graham Ford helped him refocus on this after he lost form. Simple drills like throw-downs aid grooving the right technique.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡head position
💡simplicity
💡confidence
💡franchise cricket
💡peripheral garbage
💡representation
💡front foot
💡pick gaps
💡watch the ball
💡run up
Highlights
I only played representative cricket when I was about 17 years of age.
When you get to 17 years of age and he tries to start making decisions about his future, that's when you need to worry.
My batting just went through the roof and took over when I played in the Birmingham League one year.
The key to my batting is head position. Head position is everything.
It's all about getting my head to the ball. As long as my head was forward and facing the ball, I was able to deliver.
Your head is the heaviest part of your body, so it controls everything else.
I subscribe to head to the ball, not feet to the ball. Look at top players like Amla and how the get their head in great position.
My drill was just throw downs, focusing completely on getting my head in the right position to hit full tosses.
Greg Blewett gave me the best advice - watch the ball and only the ball, don't worry about anything else.
When I'm playing well, my foot position doesn't matter. It's all about my head position being aligned with the ball.
When you hit a good shot, even for six, look at my head position not my feet. That's what it's all about.
I lost my batting for 18 months when there were too many distractions away from cricket.
Graham Ford got me back to basics - get your head to the ball again. Simple but so important.
The last 3 years I've batted as well as ever by keeping things simple - just watch the ball and hit it.
It's all about getting in a good position and launching the ball. No need to overthink.
Transcripts
foreign
it's been a colorful career it's not
ended yet we're going to talk batting
with Kevin Peterson you started off as a
spinner when did you know you could bat
I knew I had some sort of talent when
about it just a little bit of talent and
then um I did what I did in South Africa
and I was a really late developer
um I think only in my last term at
school did I actually play any sort of
Representative Cricket
so when I'm coaching kids and talking to
kids and you've got parents and I did a
load of them last weekend and the
parents like yeah but I really want my
son to play a team he's in the B Team he
wants it I was like I only played
representative Cricket when I was about
17 years of age so when you get to 17
years of age and he tries to start
making all the decisions that he wants
to make in terms of a future that's what
you need to worry it's all about
enjoyment excitement I had the enjoyment
with betting I had the excitement with
betting I had it with bowling too I was
just a little bit of a better bowler I
was probably a little bit scared as a
youngster batting and then at the age of
17 I don't know something just changed I
was a real skinny dude I finished school
I decided I'd love to be a cricketer it
was a dream of mine to be a cricketer
and I went to the gym for six months I
trained with a real good friend of mine
Grant Rowley and that next season I'd
don't know how but I started hitting
sixes and I actually started to progress
with the bat and then I did some bits
and pieces for the hotel b side played
against England in a game in a long time
ago in urban
NASA was that's what was there Athens
was there bold I got four wickets
against England then I got 50 or 60 as
well I got some runs you know and I
think that little bit of confidence of
actually scoring runs against a real
good bowling attack gave me a lot of
confidence I think actually I'm more
than just a spinner then the next uh
South African summer was it yeah no
Sixth Avenue Winter was summer here I
came and played in
uh Birmingham League
um and my batting just went through the
roof it just really took over
um and my bowling I didn't Bowl the
links I bought South African links in
England which were rubbish okay didn't
work at all so my bedding took on and
then I just started hitting hundreds and
she went from there pop over in the
crease for me what are the keys to your
batting do you think
work on one fundamental and that's head
position head position for me is
everything it's all about a simple thing
when you see the guys and you have a
look at um I saw it yesterday I see Joe
root when he's betting or Alistair Cook
when he's betting and they're talking to
themselves I don't I don't know what
they're saying to themselves but mine
was always kiss the ball kiss the ball I
thought as long as I got my head to to
the ball as long as it was front foot
head to the ball I was able to deliver
something on the back foot if my head
was to the ball and always talks about
boxing positions when a boxer is up
against the ropes and he's getting
absolutely belted he's losing the fight
his head's in this position when the box
is winning and he's smack in it he's
winning he's his head's in a real good
position his eyes are close to the
Target same with betting you cut off all
the pieces of your body your head's the
heaviest part of your body so when you
talk about your head you talk about if I
want to try and put my head on your
shoelace now
feet goes to the ball with a bad cough
foot goes towards still but what that
proves is that your head is everything
in batting so whether you're hitting a
drive shot and a lot of coaches say get
your feet to the ball get your feet to
the ball I don't subscribe to the feet
to the ball nonsense I subscribe to head
to the ball head in a great position
bang look at amla he's just upstairs
here have a look at the way that he
drives a ball he stands there varinda
saywack they have the ability to Crunch
balls through the offside because they
get wonderful head positions was there a
drill used to do to practice that yeah
there was there was a drill and it was
just some backups throw Downs throw
Downs
it's on the full I just do full tosses
now so I'll go and practice now I mean I
I played it for cereal ones that last
week I hadn't played qriket since
February I had two Nets against bowlers
and then all I do before the game is I
just get four you wanna run the full yep
on the full you know that's Against the
Machine that doesn't matter and it's all
about the same if you're going outside
you throw it in one way and what I'll do
is I'm I'll draw myself through my wrist
because obviously when you're betting
you want to pick gaps so it's not about
being a building machine and just
hitting middle hitting mid off it's
about picking gaps I know there's a gap
there Gap there Gap straight
Gap whitishmidon Gap through midwicket
and I can work my way through so that's
midwicket
that's through midon
so you just drop it in one position and
that's all I'll do I'll just get one of
my buddies we're at whichever franchise
it is now the extra extra cover and
that'll be
straight should have gone there yeah but
it's all about head position and it's
about getting myself in line and just
going bang bang my foot can be in one
position here my stumps are open so I
don't close myself off
so I don't get out lbw I've done that a
lot in my career too when I was batting
really badly I plant my front foot
getting across my head would go over
and it traps when I'm playing really
well I get into a great position here
head
drive and I've also never been a perfect
driver I don't think you'll be able to
show one highlight in my career
but you'll see nice shots where I'll be
able to hit balls from
fourth fifth stump hit them through
midwicket and it's all about head
position and that's when I know I'm
playing well when my head's good Ellen
Donald was a huge hero of mine growing
up White Lightning was a hero and when I
got to Nottingham Greg Blewett was our
overseas player we're talking about
betting we're talking about how to bet
how not to bet and he just said I can
just give you one little tip it'll go
with you through the rest of your career
watch the ball and only the ball don't
worry about you bowling you bowling you
bowling just watch the ball
Edge Baston 2001
playing for Nottinghamshire Ellen Donald
running in
standing in my crease going oh my
goodness look at that Runner look at
that run up oh my stumps everywhere yeah
because I was just going that's Ellen
Donald I love you yeah you've just
knocked me over all I was worried about
was Ellen Donald's beautiful run-up I
watched him home I sat in the concrete
in Durban watching Donald running in
Bowling the most unbelievable spells of
bowling and there I am as a little
numpty playing for Nottinghamshire going
I actually kind of believe this stumps
everywhere two weeks before this we
played against Australia at Lords
breckly exactly the same didn't watch
the ball all I was seeing there was this
most amazing run-up of Brickley and I
was going prickly britley Brickley
Brickley schnick and I walked off the
field going what did Bluey tell you
watch the ball so you talk about your
head position even though you're hitting
it for six your head is still going
actually look at my feet on my feet yeah
ah if you can pause where I hit my look
at my feet up
if we go back to that now if you recu
that pause on delivery
have a look at my foot is my foot's on
middle and leg
the ball's pitching fifth sixth seventh
stump
okay I've got a middle and leg good
position look at my head position in
line with the ball going at the ball
so that's what you're talking about
that's all I'm interested in that is
when I'm playing well that is when a bed
is playing forget about that forget
about my feet okay it's all about head
position right can you do that with a
bowling machine and just in terms of you
know because you're planting him back
over his head watch yourself there yeah
um
so you're not getting your foot you're
not trying to over hit it not trying to
overheat it at all sometimes you do
but then again there I'm there foots on
leg stump head position and through the
ball
that's the one that's the one there yeah
it's a good length but it's all about
boom head position and hitting the ball
and that's all I concentrate at the
moment I feel like I'm in good form over
the last three years I felt that I've
bettered actually as good as I've ever
bedded in my career because I just keep
things so simple and also just playing
franchise Cricket around the world it's
all about hitting the ball it's not
about test match cricket rather oh what
about my technique yeah oh I might miss
it I don't have to worry about feland I
don't have to worry about more cool all
I have to worry about is right
I've got my driver I'm going to stand in
a good position and I'm going to launch
did you ever get away from that
Simplicity and who brought you back to
it yeah big time I got away with it I
wasn't playing well against Pakistan I
wasn't playing well for about 18 months
after I lost the captaincy I got a 90
audit in Jamaica and then I got 100 I
think in Trinidad a few weeks later and
then from then on I just sort of lost my
betting I lost everything there was just
so much nonsense and peripheral garbage
away from cricket that I sort of lost
what I was doing right and for 18 months
I struggled I got some 90s I've got some
80s but they weren't good enough and so
I went back to Durban and I went and saw
Graham Ford who's my mentor who I think
is probably one of the most amazing
coaches and if not the best coach in
world cricket and um
I uh I hit three balls at King's meat
before the ashes tour in 2010 when we
won 2-1 whenever it was and 40 come to
me said you are not doing what you did
so well at the start of your career and
what you did when you were a youngster
said what's that he said you're not got
your head at the ball your head is I'm
playing Drive shots there and it feels
great I'm also missing balls on leg
stump
playing here he said you've got to get
your head to the ball so we really
emphasize the point of going down into
the ball and hitting strong shots down
the ground a month later 220 at Adelaide
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