My Batting Advice

[barmyarmy]

Let's move on please. This discussion isn't going anywhere.

 

[daveyboy]

My experience of playing Don

Like everyone at first I could not hit ball on pro level or above and seemed to develop habit of leaving ball when trying to play shot and getting caught lbw or bowled. Was so close to shelving this game when decided no im going to stick at it! Anyway what im trying to get at is for first week or so the bowling seems very quick but the more you play the more you seem to adjust and strangely now it doesn't seem that fast at all ha!Just started career mode again on pro and im hitting 30+ consistently with the odd single figure score thrown in!Must say tho its damn hard to reach 100 ha! But that's whats going to make hitting 100 so satisfying when I do so. Used to play Brian Lara cricket games and was knocking 100's plus all the time which meant ther was no satisfaction factor after first week as i found brian lara games easy to master. What i will say bout batting on pro or above is you gota premeditate your front/back foot im afraid!seem to have more time on amateur which allows you to do both foot & shot selection after delivery but obviously need to play on pro to get most out of game with career mode only available on pro or above.

 

[T.J.Hooker]

Wrong, it doesnt take a full second to reach the batsman, fast ball takes 0.534 from leaving the hand to reaching the bat on the video I just measured.

as per Barmy's request my lips are now sealed on this important matter, but I'd just like to agree that if the fastest deliveries can be elsewhere confirmed at .53 of a second from hand to bat (excepting advancing shots for obv reasons) then I'm a huge, huge dickface and I will voluntarily turn myself in for flogging in the town square.

 

[ellgieff]

Wrong, it doesnt take a full second to reach the batsman, fast ball takes 0.534 from leaving the hand to reaching the bat on the video I just measured. A real life Shaun Tate delivery at 100mph takes 0.467 using the same tool to measure.
Thats incredibly close especially when you consider that the amount of people in the world than can successfully play a 100mph delivery iis extremely small.

(And if you think I'm not timing the deliveries correctly you'll be wrong because looking at a clock is part of my job)
<snip>
I agree with the second part, but based on those times I mentioned above you would have to agree that the time to react is pretty close. (0.067s different. I realise that level of decimals is going to be innacurate given that each frame takes 0.034 but its really close at least) Especially considering the resolution/graphics etc.

Theres some experiment they did where they pinged fast (ish) balls at an international batsman from a bowling machine and he couldnt hit them. Throw the same speed from a real bowler where he can see the ball in the hand and the movement of the arm and he hits almost everything.

I know this was pretty much what you were saying before. I agree with it.

Much closer than I expected, thanks for measuring.

I didn't know about the bowling machine thing, which is mentioned here The Old Batsman: The relative nature of time and speed

 

[cricket_online]

as per Barmy's request my lips are now sealed on this important matter, but I'd just like to agree that if the fastest deliveries can be elsewhere confirmed at .53 of a second from hand to bat (excepting advancing shots for obv reasons) then I'm a huge, huge dickface and I will voluntarily turn myself in for flogging in the town square.

Well one thing I can confirm after playing both the Nets and the actual game on PS3, that facing fast bowlers in the game is vastly different from facing them in the nets. In nets I seemed to have plenty of time but not so in the actual game. Facing genuine pacers - Kane Richardson, Morne Morkel, Dale Steyn, Shaun Tait, Malinga, Brett Lee etc. - who bowl 150 kph+ is a real challenge and you are almost always late in your shot.

I have played this game for a month and I haven't been able to face pacers comfortably and am almost always late in the shot no matter how early I play it. The reaction time to face the quicks is definitely not 1 sec or thereabouts and is less than that and I've to side with Jadel on this one. Try playing the game before the 2nd patch comes along and you will see it for yourself how challenging batting really is against genuine quicks.

 

[Cloda]

Apologies for the long post, I see it has turned into a thesis If you (understandably) don't want to read through the whole thing, note that I have highlighted the sections where I would really appreciate some input from you guys:

I have been playing this game at-least once per day since I got it on release day in RSA. With the anticipation that the next patch will sort out quite a few niggles, I decided to only continue with my career as a no.4 batsman after the patch. For the interim, I have set up a Pro40 casual game on veteran, with a RSA best against an Ausi best but mostly selecting players from the era I know best (e.g. 90s and early 00s) - off-course Bradman had to be in the side! I must say, that it has been excellent training, but more so to show me where my biggest weaknesses are (I only bat). I would love to say strengths as well, but I don't think I have any yet . I feel like I have made improvements, but haven't been able to even come close to beating Australia's score of around 200 in that game (most I lasted was around 20 Overs and highest score around 100 all out). In case you wonder, as soon as I want to end the game, I put my Xbox off without saving, so that I can restart this particular game next time. So, with the hope of encouraging other players and to get some thoughts and hopefully some answers from you guys that have played this game allot here are some specific thoughts / observations I have made:

- I very seldom get run out unless I take a risky run where the occasional direct hit gets me out. Easy two's and three's are readily available once you start to understand how long the ball takes to get in from the outfield.
- I very rarely get caught (except for nicks to the wicket-keeper) unless I miss-time an aggressive shot or wrongly play bouncing back-foot shots from the front-foot. I believe it all has to do with the fact that I first set my batsman as I have previously suggested (foot selection as soon as possible and then appropriate shot). Off course it helps that I am any ways mostly late with my shots against the fast bowlers.
- It is very worthwhile to first get you batsmans eye in for at least the first 3 balls in a Pro40 game that he faces. The easiest way I found to do that is to aim to block, play straight and to leave balls where possible.
- I really work at not premeditate length, but it is admittedly a constant battle to get right and not to fall into a pattern of either automatically going back-foot/front-foot. Picking up exact length is still tough as well but I feel that real improvement within the current system in place is limited. I am looking forward to some further assistance with the coming patch and hope that my suggestion for different shades of red/green for smaller variation in length will be implemented .
- I have also realised that there is a second level of premeditation that is just as hard to overcome. That is that I already have an automatic shot "programmed" in my head for each identified length/direction of ball. I don't like that, as I find it very hard to play with variation and I find myself playing the same shots repeatedly. The only way I can see me overcoming that, is to practice it in the nets so that my brain can be trained in more options for each type/length/direction of delivery. I hope that in future, net training will give us more choice in which type of deliver we want to face and where exactly we want it to pitch so that we can practise shot variation e.g. throw-down simulation. Edit: I can gladly say that it has been pointed out to me that this is already possible by using the right stick to move the marker when you choose the option.
- Facing pace bowling is still very tough for me and I am also almost always still late on the shots. As a batsmans eye gets in, I do find that it becomes easier to time and there is definitely a huge timing advantage of playing an appropriate length ball from the back-foot. On veteran level, late seam and late swing is just about impossible to deal with, with how early you have to make your foot and shot selection. I accept that as part an parcel of the game of cricket as I have always marvelled at truly unplayable deliveries being bowled by guys like Glen Mcgrath and Dale Steyn.
- Spin bowling is a real guessing game for me at the moment as I can't figure out how to read which way the ball will spin from a top bowler such as Shane Warne. Somebody previously answered me that the normal direction indicator used in this game shows which way it is going to spin, but it doesn't, it still shows the line of where the ball will pitch without indicating spin direction (not accounting for drift/dip). I manage to score runs against spin, but there is no way that I can with confidence know that I will be able to survive an over. Any suggestions for reading spin would really be appreciated.
- Something disturbing I have realised, is that Right hand batting comes much easier and naturally for me. I think it is mostly to do with the configuration of the Xbox360 controller and the easier movement angles from the specific positions of the analogue sticks relative to the hand placement.

Every day I see big improvement and I am happy that I will get good enough where I will not necessarily win Pro40 games on veteran, but that I will be able to survive a whole innings and not just by blocking I think the dynamics of batting will change if the patch change certain things e.g. straight shots will be worthwhile as the superhuman bowlers won't be able to stop everything that comes remotely close to them.

 

[Helpman]

Very interesting and I appreciate the time and effort you put into that post!

I understand that I will slowly get better at batting the more I play but something that really, REALLY annoys me is that my batsman occasionally leaves the ball. This happens when I know I haven't intentionally tried to leave a ball. If anyone can let me know why this keeps on happening I would really appreciate it!

 

[Dutch]

Very interesting and I appreciate the time and effort you put into that post!

I understand that I will slowly get better at batting the more I play but something that really, REALLY annoys me is that my batsman occasionally leaves the ball. This happens when I know I haven't intentionally tried to leave a ball. If anyone can let me know why this keeps on happening I would really appreciate it!

You are probably pressing down on the right stick, which is the leave button, in your reaction to wanting to play a shot. I do it it sometimes too and it is a pain in the Gordon Ramsey, as with bowling you can be quite subtle in your use of the sticks and still get the same results.

 

[Helpman]

Look, I'll never admit I'm pressing down the right stick although I probably am. I'm thinking of buying some kind on analogue stick enhancement to make them more bulkier and avoid this problem. Right now I'm a right mess...

 

[Dutch]

Look, I'll never admit I'm pressing down the right stick although I probably am. I'm thinking of buying some kind on analogue stick enhancement to make them more bulkier and avoid this problem. Right now I'm a right mess...

Go into the practice match and force yourself to use fluid, calm movements with the sticks.....it really helps. Avoid jerky reactions, just like with real batting. All jerky movements are going to put the bat out of shape as it were or make you inadvertantly do something you didnt mean.

Calmly get behind the line of the ball with left, calmly play a straight bat with the right and once you get this down start varying the direction you want to play. My best Ian Bellesque shots come when I do everything zen-like.

If footmovement is still an issue set yourself up a bowler bowling one line and length and just keep going on the same foot and practice the right stick.

Asd with most things it is all about muscle memory....doing something the way you mean to do it in a practice enviroment so that when you do it in a real life enviroment or in this case a match situation your muscles know what to do without having to wait for instructions....

It takes a repitition in the order of 3000 times for muscles to know what to do and when to do it. If you keep doing the wrong thing the muscles will do that everytime for you until you instruct them to do it otherwise.

In match situations know which balls you are going to block and which ones you will play: i.e waiting for a bit of width or on the pads.....I play all balls on the stumps with a very straight bat. but then again I am more conservative than Tony Blair ever was.

I realise this goes way beyond the scope of the leave problem but it is just my two cents on batting....

 

[Jadel]

I hope that in future, net training will give us more choice in which type of deliver we want to face and where exactly we want it to pitch so that we can practise shot variation e.g. throw-down simulation.

This is already available in the nets exactly as you describe.

Have you not seen it or is there some part of the current setup you dont like.

 

[Cloda]

This is already available in the nets exactly as you describe.

Have you not seen it or is there some part of the current setup you dont like.

I don't think so, but will be very happy if it is the case. You can select that the ball pitch on a specific spot, but you are not able to move that spot to e.g. full on leg-side. I would like to have 20 balls thrown/pitched on more or less the same spot each time so that I can try different shots and foot positions.

 

[Jadel]

I don't think so, but will be very happy if it is the case. You can select that the ball pitch on a specific spot, but you are not able to move that spot to e.g. full on leg-side. I would like to have 20 balls thrown/pitched on more or less the same spot each time so that I can try different shots and foot positions.

I must not not understand what it is you want then.

"You can select the ball to pitch on a specific spot"

versus

"I would like to have 20 balls pitch on the same spot."

Seems the same to me.

 

[MattW]

I don't think so, but will be very happy if it is the case. You can select that the ball pitch on a specific spot, but you are not able to move that spot to e.g. full on leg-side. I would like to have 20 balls thrown/pitched on more or less the same spot each time so that I can try different shots and foot positions.

Move the right stick before the ball is bowled.

 

[Cloda]

I must not not understand what it is you want then.

"You can select the ball to pitch on a specific spot"

versus

"I would like to have 20 balls pitch on the same spot."

Seems the same to me.

The difference being in that I want to be able to choose where that spot is

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Move the right stick before the ball is bowled.

Thanks, will definitely give it a go.