Down the pitch or down the wicket is a term in cricket which refers to the motion that a batsman does before or during the delivery of the ball. This motion is done with the aim of creating a half-volley from a good-length ball.
The key thing to remember in mastering down the pitch is to keep the eyes and the head as still as possible throughout the entire motion. The reason behind this for a batsman to ensure maximum focus on the ball.
Down the Pitch Tips and Techniques
There are several ways in mastering the down the pitch motion. Mastering these ways allow batsmen to hit the ball and create a perfect shot even when the ball is skillfully and aggressively delivered by the bowler, whether in short shooting or full leaping.If the ball comes from a full leaping delivery, a good tip to remember is to do a back foot or deflect shot, ride the bounce and stand as tall as possible. Doing a deflect shot is either making a back foot defense, a leg glance or a late cut. Remembering this tip prevents the ball from being thrown straight up in the air. In addition, a full leaping delivery allows a batsman to prepare his move which will allow him enough time to deliver such technique.
When the ball is delivered short or in a shooting manner, or when the ball is back or short of a length, it is best for batsmen to do a forward defense by quickly moving into a side-on position. It is best not to deliver cross bat shots during this time and simply play straight. This means carefully deflecting the ball away just like when moving forward to a full length ball.
In addition to remembering how to strike a short delivery, a good thing to master to ensure that this kind of delivery will be handled skillfully is footwork. One way to improve and master footwork is by going forward every delivery for five minutes and then going backward for every delivery for another five minutes. This will allow batsmen to see if they can survive and get the shot even when it is delivered at an unusual height. Though this is a good technique to master, batsmen should be careful in doing so especially when the bowler delivers very quick shots.