Book Review - ‘Batting’ James Knott and Andrew O’Connor

This is an extraordinary book. Its sub-title describes it as a ‘comprehensive modern guide’, and it certainly delivers on this promise. It is the most thorough analysis of all aspects of batting; in an age when coach education is less frequently delivered in book form, this may never be rivalled.

The real strength is in the combination of traditional batting techniques with the newer approaches which have emerged from the shorter format game. There is clear explanation of the interaction between these apparently contrasting methods. Additional attention is given to the psychological side of the game, as well as the supplementary skills, such as running between the wickets.

Approximately half of the book is dedicated to ‘Training Methods and Drills’. This will be of especial interest to the coach, providing an extensive array of practices, stroke development drills and fault correction. Both technical and tactical considerations are addressed in what must be as wide a catalogue of practice information as exists for batting coaches.

At 450 pages, it leaves no stone unturned. However, this will allow coaches to access specific areas to fill gaps in knowledge, or to undertake the book as a whole to achieve a broad understanding of the area. It is illustrated by an appropriately extensive range of photographs, though most are relatively small and all are in black and white; this makes them less appealing and, occasionally, difficult to follow.

The authors are to be congratulated on the extensiveness of this undertaking. It really is the most thorough insight into the art of batting in the modern game, and the mechanisms by which these skills can be mastered.