How to Improve Batting Timing

Timing is meeting the ball at the right moment with the bat moving through it. A well-timed shot travels further than a hard swing that arrives early or late.

Where timing comes from

Timing is mostly about being still at the right moment and moving early enough. If your feet are still moving when the ball arrives, the contact point moves with them.

Practical ways to improve it

• Start the backlift as the bowler loads up, not as the ball is released.
• Get your head over the ball at contact rather than leaning back.
• Play the ball under your eyes, not out in front of your body.
• Slow down. Trying to hit harder almost always makes timing worse.

Drills that help

Throwdowns from fifteen metres let you face many balls in a short session and fix the contact point. A bowling machine set to one length does the same job.

Hitting a ball hanging in a sock or on a string forces you to watch it all the way, because there is nothing else to look at.

Judging it

Sound is a good guide. A well-timed shot makes a clean, solid noise from the middle of the bat. A dull thud means you found the edge or the splice.