Lives in Cricket No 52 - Schooled in Cricket (2nd edition)

192 “Batting properly is not a natural thing. We grip the bat with two hands, which is instinctive enough. But the emphasis is on the weaker hand, usually the left, rather than the stronger right. For a right-handed batsman, the left is the skilful hand; the right hand imparts a bit of control and some extra power, but that is all. There is nothing basically natural about that. I know people like to talk about players being naturally gifted, having a flair for the game and so on. There is a suggestion that those who have to work at the game are one step down from genuine quality. Talent is a great asset in any activity, but cricket, like most worthwhile pursuits has to be learned and some find that easier than others. “To encourage us to keep our left elbow up and hit straight with the left hand, Johnny devised a drill which I used for years and which I recommend to any youngster who wants to play the game well. It’s simple enough: drill a hole in a composition ball, suspend it about knee height and concentrate on hitting it straight, stand sideways and control the stroke with the left hand. I spent hour after hour practising that at home and with a very important spin-off. It builds technique. It also improves patience, application and concentration. None of this was obvious or particularly important to us as kids, of course, but it paid handsome dividends in later years. When I went on the 1965 tour to Australia, Bobby Simpson saw my technique and wrote that I must have developed it practising in front of the mirror. It was a compliment but there was no truth in it – my ability to play straight was developed from hour after hour competing against a ball on a bit of string. Coaches still use this method today and Stephen Lawrence still provides this facility in the present Johnny Lawrence Cricket School, Tadcaster. Boycott continues: “The fact that Johnny Lawrence was a leg-spinner was an enormous help to me, too. The rubberised batting surface at his indoor net was slow and ‘turned‘ appreciably, not Johnny’s most famous protege – Geoffrey Boycott Speaks