Have you ever looked at players like Chris Gayle and Dhoni and contemplated how they clear the boundaries easier than putting butter on bread?
While that's a pondering that will take you deep down a rabbit hole, str8bat's cricket sensors are a technology aiming to make that contemplation a reality. In a conversation with Cricket Australia's Coach Development Specialist Bryan Harper, we talked about the importance of impact speed and how it is a crucial factor in improving your batting performance on the pitch.
What is Impact Speed?
The speed of the bat at the time of impact with the ball is known as impact speed. It is an important metric used to analyze the power and timing of a batter's shot, while also being used by coaches, analysts, and broadcasters to evaluate a batter's hitting ability, shot selection, and timing. It gives information on the quality of the stroke played, as well as the potential for boundaries or maximising scoring opportunities.
Also Read : Bryan Harper Masterclass On Bat Speed
What is the importance of impact speed?
It is important to remember that the ball isn't a piñata, and you won't get candy from hitting it as hard as possible. Now that we've gotten that dilemma out of the way, what's actually important is to know whether to speed up or slow down into the impact point. Your focus should be to get the bat going as fast as you possibly can at the time of impact. This metric is measured in kmph and is an essential stat for coaches and analytics to have a measure for the batter's strengths and weaknesses. If your kmph number isn't touching the triple digits, maybe you should be spending some money on a gym membership too.
How to practice impact speed?
You might go into the nets hoping to embrace your inner Kevin Pietersen or Ricky Ponting aiming to perfect your horizontal bat shots, but you most likely look like a 50-year-old bachelor down 10 shots of tequila looking to impress a beautiful girl at the bar counter. What you must do to practice your impact speed is to practice a variety of horizontal and vertical shots while putting 100% of your attention on the contact point, i.e., getting your bat going right when you're about to strike the ball.
How to use the data?
While trying not to sound like the television presenter talking about how one minute passes every 60 seconds in Africa, the higher the kmph at impact speed, the better. Development specialist Bryan Harper also asks you to keep the following things in mind while analyzing the data:
How did you feel trying to swing the bat?
How did you concentrate on the strike?
Did your bat speed reduce as a result of focusing on the ball or were you able to make sure you kept the quality strike while swinging the bat fast at the impact point?
Tips to improve impact speed
"We know if the batter starts with a flat bat grip takeaway, they're not gonna produce as much speed as they can if they got the high bat take away. So why don't you have a bit of a practice at both of those and explore how you can generate the highest impact speed with your batting."
Imagine the sweet spot of your bat and the impact speed to be like Bonnie and Clyde. While both are horrifying metrics individually, they're deadliest when working together. Sweet spot alone won't guarantee you clearing the boundary. Your main focus should be on getting the highest bat speed at the impact point.
