Your Cricket using tennis balls

[kifty121]

hello, im louis, im 16 years old and am realy ████ at batting.
my main problem is that i dont keep my head down when im driving or defending the ball, so i don't see the contact.

so, iv decided to practice rigorousley by doing lots and lots and lots of throwdowns.
one problem...i only own about 4 cricket ball, wer as u need around 15-20 do do a good amount of chuckdowns
if someone throws me the ball underarm, could i use tennis balls instead?

 

[riz7khan12]

i wouldn't use tennis balls they come really slow, and you wouldn't know if your edging the ball or middling it because it'll still fly off the bat at a similiar speed. which will give you a false sense of confidence when you actually play hard ball cricket.

do the throwdowns in the nets so the hard ball doesn't go too far.

 

[drainpipe32]

Nah I reckon it's alright if he's just underarming them to you. Ask him to do it pretty quick though to improve your 'eye'.

 

[AkshayS]

You can improve your visuals through tennis balls too but I won't support it for practice.

 

[kifty121]

thing is iv had this sort of arguement happen loads

the pros of tennis balls are
they are cheap
the same size as cricket balls (practically)
easy to see
same bounce as cricket balls if thrown under arm.

the cons are, as some of you have rightly said,
they are slower
every part of the bat feels the same on impact
the can bounce too much
#etc etc

would it help if i said i am a beginner, and im just trying to drill the foot movements and keeping my head down.

 

[Dr. Pepper]

I think it's fine to use tennis balls considering what you are trying to improve. The idea of keeping your eye on the ball would be the same. Also the different bounce should prove more of a challenge and force you to consider your shot selection. Your trying to improve technique and footwork so that's the same with tennis balls as it is with cricket balls.

 

[blake]

I like using tennis balls, but I wouldn't use them as a substitute to proper cricket balls. However, being an opener I need to be able to face short stuff and keep it on the ground, as well as keeping all my shots on the ground, and with tennis balls that is quite a challenge. So often I use them to practise my back foot shots or my drives while trying to always hit them along the ground.

When using a tennis ball to drive, make sure your elbow is quite far out as you will need it to keep control of the shot.

 

[riz7khan12]

i guess you could get those heavy tennis balls but then those are pretty expensive everywhere except india :sarcasm

 

[rulervik]

to practice uneven bounce you can use tennis ball...
But as riz said a hard tennis can be sustituted...but its too slow
and we used it to increase our pace while bowling...initially

 

[saiyaman]

I think heavy tennis balls are good to practice against. I suppose the bowler could take advantage of it's density as well and give you faster balls to practice against too.

 

[Trini Boi]

It's simply a lack of balls.
Kidding, xD.
Tennis balls are fine, if it's underarm.
I suggest that if he's gonna go underarm, you should completely get rid of your bottom hand, and hold it with your top hand.
Just practise front-foot drives. Make sure you're watching the ball onto the bat, and that you play under your eyes.

 

[pcfan123]

hello, im louis, im 16 years old and am realy ████ at batting.
my main problem is that i dont keep my head down when im driving or defending the ball, so i don't see the contact.

so, iv decided to practice rigorousley by doing lots and lots and lots of throwdowns.
one problem...i only own about 4 cricket ball, wer as u need around 15-20 do do a good amount of chuckdowns
if someone throws me the ball underarm, could i use tennis balls instead?

From what limited coaching I have had, I have been told that tennis balls are actually bad for batting practice and really really bad to bowl with.

The bounce is nothing like a cricket ball and neither is the timing.

Tennis ball cricket is kind of a joke, if you have access to real cricket then its worth the extra fielding to play with a real ball.

 

[kifty121]

bloody hell guys!
its a fifty fifty split here.
how about this, what if i experiment and find out which is best for throwdowns and put the arguement to rest over my summer hols?

 

[AngryPixel]

With Tennis ball you would tend to play on the backfoot more due to the bounce. Thus when you play with proper cricket ball you would go on the backfoot on the balls which should be played on fronfoot.

 

[riz7khan12]

Thus when you play with proper cricket ball you would go on the backfoot on the balls which should be played on fronfoot.

lol, i play tennins ball cricket everyday no problem like this for me. second thought you may be right here, the hard ball usually stays low due to the wet conditions and yeah...

anyway i really think you should use a hardball but your choice...