Cricket Batting Tips with Martin van Jaarsfeld

Martin-van-jaarsfeldTop Ten Cricket Batting Tips

Martin van Jaarsfeld became captain of the Titans in South Africa when I began my tenure there as coach in 2005.

As a former South African cricketer and experienced overseas professional from his time in county cricket, he lead the side with great passion and intensity before handing over his legacy to Pierre Joubert in 2008-9.

He mentored a generation of young SA players like Dale Steyn, Paul Harris, Albie and Morne Morkel, Imran Tahir, Roelof van der Merwe, Faf Du Plessis and Heino Kuhn to higher honours with South Africa.

All of them owe a debt of gratitude to ‘Jarre” for guiding them on that part of their cricket journey.

There is nothing like learning how to play top level cricket in a winning team.

If that isn’t enough, he grew up in the same town and has been a role model for a young boy from Warmbaths in SA, a certain A.B.de Villiers.

He lead the Titans to become double four day champions for the first time in the franchises history, including a season where the side won 8 out of 10 four day games unbeaten.

The second best four day season in the history of South African cricket.

As the senior and most expereinced batter in the squad he was always passing on his cricket wisdom, experience and batting tips to the younger players.


The longer I play this wonderful game I realise that we spend too much time worrying about our batting technique in cricket.

Especially when we go through a run of bad form we try and find the problem in our cricket technique rather than in our focus or mental state.

Some of these cricket batting tips are for the more advanced batter, but most of them are applicable to all cricketers.

Best Wishes Martin van Jaarsfeld


Cricket Batting Tips: Common Mistakes Batters Make

These are the common mistakes that batters make when they have a run of bad form.

* You hit more balls focusing on quantity instead of quality.

* You spend hours working on your batting technique having throw downs till the coaches arm is falling off, but still, you can’t find any rhythm.

* You think too hard about your batting, lying in bed worrying about where your next run is coming from.

* You speak to the coach and anyone that will offer advice about your batting. Trying to find anything that will make you feel better about your game.

* You start fiddling with your hands, back lift, trigger movements until you are so fatigued and conflicted that you can hardly pick the bat up.

* Gradually you lose your love for the game and you stop having fun – till you get to a point where you just don’t give a damn any more and what happens, you get a big score!

Why ? Because you let go with your conscious mind, allowed your mind to become quiet again and let the subconscious mind get busy with the job of scoring runs.


Cricket Batting Tips


Cricket Batting Tip No.1

Batting is about training the mind to focus on the right thing, at the right time. To focus on positive thoughts and actions, not on what you don’t want to happen.

Batting Tip No.2

Batting is about switching off the conscious mind and trusting yourself and your batting technique.

Batting Tip No.3

Your subconscious mind knows how to run your batting technique – you have trained all your life to be where you are, so manage your game plan and enjoy your batting.

Batting Tip No.4

Stay in the present. The next ball is all you can control and have to concentrate on.

Batting Tip No.5

Look after your batting process, your between ball routine and your focus.

Batting Tip No.6

Take your focus off the score board and outcome goals, like scoring 50’s and 100’s.

If you bat 100 balls you’ll have a scored a 50.

If you bat 200 balls you’ll have a 100.

Batting Tip No.7

Play as if the outcome doesn’t matter.

Batting Tip No.8

Play care free but not careless

Batting Tip No.9

Love your game more than any body else’s. We all have technical flaws in our batting, but find ‘your way’ to get runs.

Batting Tip No.10

Most of all, challenge yourself and have fun.

The only batting technique tips that I have is to make sure that you have a good head position and try to get your hands as high as you can.

Don’t worry or focus too much on your feet, as your feet follow your head when it moves.


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Richard Pybus

About Richard Pybus

I'm Richard Pybus, I've coached Pakistan, Bangladesh, Middlesex, Titans and the Cape Cobras in South Africa and the goal of this site is to help you to play winning cricket.