angryangy
ICC Chairman
- Joined
- Oct 1, 2004
Ok, so I've been giving this patch a good run now. It took me a few goes to get into the swing of batting, trying to work out where the shots go and all that.
Now I've got a game at Aus 2/200 vs NZ (after tea, day 1), so I feel I've seen much of the game so far.
First up, I love what you've done with the sixhits. It now works more like a "power" button, which is what it should have been. In most patches, where there's no 3rd Man, I've got every confidence that sixhitting a cut will (unrealistically) pop up in the air to gully or a slip. Being able to safely hit the ball clear of the infield to exploit a gap is almost better to me than hitting the ball for six. It also rings true with the mantra "If you're gonna go, go hard", I am now happy to have a fling with the sixhit through the covers, for a rather dashing lofted drive.
I don't know if advancing down the wicket has ever been more fun. To come down the track and hit the ball over the bowler's head is a delight and is a treat for the odd spectator you might have. Again, it makes more sense than what was originally intended. If you charge the bowler, you don't have a little dab of an on-drive, you are looking to score big!
Overall, I've found, as opposed to other patches, I can feel a lot of bad balls. Like when you get a ball full on middle stump, I know it will go to the midwicket boundary.
There are downsides, though. Not necessarily unique to this patch, however.
Batting against medium pace drives me insane. They bowl half their deliveries down the legside, even standing with all 3 stumps exposed, you can't hit a lot of balls. They don't ever seem to get enough bounce short of a length, I can't remember seeing a successful cut or pull. As you can imagine though, this is a highly irrelevant area, unless your opponent is New Zealand.
I'm not too crazy about the standard on-drive which goes behind square. It just feels a little silly. This might be countered by the fact that this might be the first patch in a long time where the ball can actually be glanced down to fine leg. The backfoot on-drive confuses me a lot. I love using it, but I don't really understand it. Does it ever go in front of square?
Definitely not unique to this patch is the batsmens inability to hook or pull. It may be easier than I suspect, but I just don't ever have the confidence bars to spare searching for the ideal ball to hit. In my opinion, the bat should at least make contact with any ball around waist to chest height and straight, in particular, long hops from medium pacers and spinners. This is a shining example of a shot that should be about "power" and not "sixhit". They should be predominantly grounded, with the odd one, perfectly timed, flying clear over the rope.
Overall though, a great patch for batting, that should only get better.
Now I've got a game at Aus 2/200 vs NZ (after tea, day 1), so I feel I've seen much of the game so far.
First up, I love what you've done with the sixhits. It now works more like a "power" button, which is what it should have been. In most patches, where there's no 3rd Man, I've got every confidence that sixhitting a cut will (unrealistically) pop up in the air to gully or a slip. Being able to safely hit the ball clear of the infield to exploit a gap is almost better to me than hitting the ball for six. It also rings true with the mantra "If you're gonna go, go hard", I am now happy to have a fling with the sixhit through the covers, for a rather dashing lofted drive.
I don't know if advancing down the wicket has ever been more fun. To come down the track and hit the ball over the bowler's head is a delight and is a treat for the odd spectator you might have. Again, it makes more sense than what was originally intended. If you charge the bowler, you don't have a little dab of an on-drive, you are looking to score big!
Overall, I've found, as opposed to other patches, I can feel a lot of bad balls. Like when you get a ball full on middle stump, I know it will go to the midwicket boundary.
There are downsides, though. Not necessarily unique to this patch, however.
Batting against medium pace drives me insane. They bowl half their deliveries down the legside, even standing with all 3 stumps exposed, you can't hit a lot of balls. They don't ever seem to get enough bounce short of a length, I can't remember seeing a successful cut or pull. As you can imagine though, this is a highly irrelevant area, unless your opponent is New Zealand.
I'm not too crazy about the standard on-drive which goes behind square. It just feels a little silly. This might be countered by the fact that this might be the first patch in a long time where the ball can actually be glanced down to fine leg. The backfoot on-drive confuses me a lot. I love using it, but I don't really understand it. Does it ever go in front of square?
Definitely not unique to this patch is the batsmens inability to hook or pull. It may be easier than I suspect, but I just don't ever have the confidence bars to spare searching for the ideal ball to hit. In my opinion, the bat should at least make contact with any ball around waist to chest height and straight, in particular, long hops from medium pacers and spinners. This is a shining example of a shot that should be about "power" and not "sixhit". They should be predominantly grounded, with the odd one, perfectly timed, flying clear over the rope.
Overall though, a great patch for batting, that should only get better.
: 
:happy :hpraise 
