By having my hands facing upwards when playing a cut shot it demotivates me when I get out playing that shot because I know that I can play it properly. I play the ball underneath my eyes and I get far enough over on the off side but instead of hitting the ball into the ground or over the top I tend to hit the ball straight to backward point. This is because my hands are facing in an upwards direction. This is because earlier in my innings it is one of my favourite, most highly scoring shots.
My team might get annoyed that I keep getting out in the same way because I bat at number 3 and therefore I often come into bat when the team needs me. The opposition may notice that I get out cutting and therefore would motivate them to put it in the slot for me to cut because they no my hands are facing upwards and therefore there is a chance of a catch. This means in a game situation there is always a chance of getting me out playing the cut shot and therefore it is not an effective shot to play until I sort this weakness out. Compared to an Elite Performer
Ramnaresh Sarwan bats at number 3 for the West Indies and is one of the best cutters of a cricket ball. Having watched Sarwan play the shot I realise that his eyes are right over the ball when he plays the cut shot. By having his eyes over the ball he can hit the ball along the ground when the cut shot is executed. This would make it difficult for opposing teams to get him out in the point region. Also when Ramnaresh cuts, his hands are pointing in a downward direction which also contributes to him hitting the ball along the ground and not in the air.
When I play the cut shot my hands are facing upwards which results in the ball going in the air. When I play it my hands should be facing in a downwards direction so I do not hit the ball in the air late on in my innings. From the diagram we can see that the red arrow shows where Ramnaresh hands are pointing, this makes him have a closed bat face when executing the cut shot. If we look at the yellow arrow that is where my bat face would be late on in my innings, this would make me have an open bat face which would make me hit the ball in the air.
Cause of Weakness Lack of Muscular Endurance- Muscular endurance is the ability of the muscles or groups of muscles to sustain repeated contractions for an extended period of time. The longer my innings goes on the more I hit the ball in the air whilst cutting. I think this is because a lack of muscular endurance in my tricep muscle. The reasons for this weakness are: Hydrogen Ion Accumulation- During exercise larger amounts of lactic acid are produced which then releases Hydrogen Ions. These increase the acidity of the muscle causing acidosis.
This reduces my muscular performance by inhibiting enzyme activity and causes pain at nerve endings. Lower levels of acetylcholine- Fatigued muscles can be linked with levels of acetylcholine. It is a neuro-transmitter which is responsible for the initiation of muscular contraction. This could be why my cutting is affected due to fatigue. Reduced calcium levels- Effective muscular contraction is controlled by the release of calcium. Higher hydrogen ions lower the amount of calcium that is releases which in turn interferes with muscle contraction.
This could affect my cut as the game goes on. The muscle contractions are initiated by sliding filament theory. Calcium ions leave the sarcoplasmic reticulum when an action potential (or signal to contract) arrives. These Calcium ions then binds to another protein called troponin which pulls tropomyosin away from the myosin binding sites on the actin filament. Allowing the Power stroke, and the other elements of sliding filament theory to occur. These three together make my body not be able to fully control the amount of hydrogen ions in my blood.
This is why I experience muscle fatigue and cannot raise my bat face and therefore my hands are facing in an upwards direction whilst I am cutting later on in my innings. Correction of Weakness Drill To Improve Muscular Endurance when cutting The Batsmen will have no bat, just gloves, and pads. The feeder will bounce tennis balls or cricket balls short and wide outside off stump. The batsmen will move their back foot across as if they were cutting and will catch the ball with both hands and then aiming at the red cone will throw the ball with their bottom batting hand.
Repeat this procedure for a long period of time to increase muscular endurance. The batsmen will begin to realise that this drill is replicating the cut shot in everyway and also encourages the batsmen to aim to hit the ball into the ground. The first few sessions I would do the drill for 30 minutes after I had already had a net so I am replicating how I would be feeling mentally and physically in a game situation. I would then over a period of time increase the length of time I would do the drill varying from 30, 45 minutes and an hour.