Josh Kennedy: [00:00:00] Welcome back to the Cricket Matters podcast. Today's topic is how to find your perfect trigger movement and how most Baters never will. And I have just learn what a trigger movement is. Uh, James has just shown me, 'cause as we know, running joke on this podcast is, I don't know about cricket, so, but it was, but I I did catch it though, didn't I?
The, he called it the movement of the feet. Yep. Flow
James Breese: flows. I watching, I was showing him maybe Ds and what he did. 'cause I think he's a good example of a back and a across trigger movement. Yeah. Uh, in how we do it. But, uh, you can make sweat, Josh.
Josh Kennedy: My sweaty appearance, I've just come back from the gym and James, you've just come back from two hour nets.
James Breese: Yep. This is, this is hot. This is hot off the press. And what I've been learning and doing this morning, actually, so, um, I said to you, mate, we gotta do a podcast and talk about it now because it was a fascinating tale of trigger movements. Now, for those out there who are obsessing about trigger movements.
I don't understand the obsession. I've never understood the obsession about trigger movements because they're focused on the trigger [00:01:00] movement, yet they forget and neglect the most important back part of hitting the ball and technique when their head, their hands, their back shoulder, and they're playing inside out.
And the back path is all on. Why are we focusing on technique on on trigger movements? But because the pros talk about it all the time. Mm-hmm. You know, if you're watching any of the test match recently. They're always talking about people's trigger movements and how they do trigger movements. So obviously cracking into the test match other day, wasn't it?
It was brilliant, wasn't it? Fair play. Yeah. Like it was fantastic. Um, that's what test cricket's all about, right? Let's try and get tickets. They want to see one of the next ones actually. Yes. Hell yeah. Absolutely. Like we did a few years ago. So we have these idea of trigger movements, so people obsessed with 'em because it helps 'em get into a, they feel ready to face the ball.
Mm-hmm. However, the more I learn, the more I go down this rabbit hole understanding this is that. Trigger movements are useless. Alright. Unless you have a solid foundation of technique. Okay. Yeah. And that's what I'm learning more, more and more in club cricket. You don't [00:02:00] face bowlers that are fast enough to warrant a trigger movement in the same way as the pros.
Mm-hmm. Like realistically, how many people out there have faced 80 mile an hour bowling plus before? I, I'm, I'm gonna hypothesize virtually No, right. James, could you just move slightly to your right, just slightly? Sure. There you go. Thank you very much. There. That's better there. How's that? You're welcome.
So that's the thing. So like most people aren't aware, they haven't even faced 80 mil on hour Bo, right? Yeah. So again, this morning heart of the press, for those who know I work a lot with Steve James, former Million Batsman, uh, Morgan Legend. He writes the Times and he's one of the keenest coaches of batting and analysis of movement ever.
Can I ask you a question? Yeah. Why don't you need a trigger movement for s slower balls? We will get to that. Okay. Okay. Okay, cool. We'll get to that in a moment. Okay. Because now if we now working with him this morning, so one of the things he analyzing me was some basic technique, fundamental technique that separates the [00:03:00] pros from the amateurs, and it mostly involves head in hands and timing and point of contact.
Right? I never understood that until he introduced that contact to me. To do it, you have to really work exceptionally hard to break those habits. So we have finally got to the stage where it's becoming more natural. So my point intercept point is a lot later, contact is getting a lot better. It's more consistent without me even thinking about it.
Okay. But I brought up, um, with him a question today about, I faced a bowler, uh, a few weeks ago. He got me LBW from entering New Yorker on, hit on flushing the toe. He was a quick bowler in the eighties that had a swinging late. I felt I was too static, which I mean, I wasn't in the position to try and hit it.
And one of the things we've been working on the last, like say couple of months or so, was to become more dynamic when playing the pull shot. But we haven't explored the trigger because he didn't think my technique. Good enough yet under pressure to be able to withstand when we go and identify what the trigger movement is.[00:04:00]
Now there there's a point to this story. Okay? I promise here for those listening in. Okay. So if you haven't got a still head, if you are not in alignment, if you are set, if your center weight isn't balanced, your hands aren't going back and your head isn't going to the ball and there's a clear separation between bats and foot, foot going to the ball, you're not ready for trigger movements.
Mm-hmm. His point is. Your trigger movement has to be natural to you. So a lot of coaches are coaching youngsters, 11, 12, 13 years old, do to what we do, what we call backing across like AV Dils. Mm-hmm. Whereas there's a lot of great players who do what we call a forward press. A lot of people think the forward press is something for spinners, but it's not.
It's for fast bowlers too. Okay. We're facing fast forward. Yeah. Popularized by Duncan Fletcher many, many years ago. Who incidentally is Steve James's mentor himself, who worked with him at the Morgan. Okay. So all these things coming back, so understanding what this thing is now. Now Steve's theory, which I a hundred percent agree now is.
[00:05:00] A pros technique is that it's purest when they're 16, 17 years old because the balling isn't fast enough for them to worry about trigger movements or anything else at say, for like that. Because when the ball gets fast, you've gotta find your own natural way of triggering, okay? Mm-hmm. It could be backing a cross, it could be a forward press, it could be with your hands.
It could be something to get you going and make sure you're facing it here now. Facing 80 miles an hour is very, very different. And it causes you to do all sorts of stuff. That's why they want fast ballers ing 90 mile an hour plus because it does things to batsman and puts their technique under pressure and under scrutiny in test matches.
That's why it's a big, big thing. Yeah. 'cause
Josh Kennedy: you've
James Breese: got
Josh Kennedy: far less time to react, don't you? So if you haven't got your technique nailed, then that separation pans going back, et cetera, you
James Breese: haven't got time, have you falling over everything. Yeah. And that's what, that's what I learned. So we, we we're talking about this, so again, today.
We're talking about it, it become more dynamic. And he said, okay. Right. I think now's a good time to [00:06:00] explore it. So here's what we did. He took Truman, right, which is the self bowling machine. Okay, Truman. Right? Love it. And we pumped it up to 80 miles an hour in the indoor school of five Go. 80 miles an hour.
Now on the indoor school, on that surface, it's actually a lot quicker. So we'd argue it's more between 85 to 87 miles an hour. Right. And his
Josh Kennedy: words to me were, is that because the, uh, is that 'cause of the, the, it's obviously it's not real grass, so it skis off quicker.
James Breese: Yeah, skids off, skis off a lot quicker.
Um, through the air. There's no wind. No. You know, it literally, it's literally, it's enclos. So it's quick. It is quick. So it's outside my off stop and he goes, right, go on, try and hit it. That that was literally it. So, okay, cool. So I did it. So first one. Okay. Didn't have it quite right. Second one wasn't quite right, so I was like, well, what's going on here?
And he pressed pause on the machine goes, what's the problem? I said, I'm too static. I'm playing the ball after here. Exactly. So why do you think you need the trigger? To be ready to give you that. I go, yeah, exactly. So let's try and work it out. [00:07:00] Figure it out, is what his words to me were. Now he goes, not think about it, just try and hit it.
Just, just do. So for me, the natural MO motion for me was to forward press, like I do, to spin. That was it. Suddenly I'm making contact and I'm driving these 18 mile an hour balls through the covers. I was like, holy shit, this is pretty good. Right? He goes, okay, cool. Let's take a step back. So he took the length back or back of the length.
And that becomes a big difference 'cause we now know it's full. We can drive it, but it's back of a length. It's a different game altogether. So back of a length means you gotta figure out a way to hit the ball and it was like, oh my god. Yeah. So I two static didn't work. I tried backing across, it didn't feel right.
Forward press I'm there and I'm more dynamic to hit the ball. So the point on this kind of little mole of the story is, is that when your technique is good enough, then we start to explore things to make you more dynamic, to cope with faster bowling and take on and be more dynamic when you're batting, right?
Mm-hmm. As opposed to [00:08:00] coaching you a trigger movement at the early stages. 'cause that could be the wrong trigger movement. And he quoted to me and said to me, there's a number of players who've come to him who haven't made us a pro because they're so fixated on the. The trigger movement, but the trigger movement was wrong for them.
Okay. Yeah. Now, going back to this, I've always said this, that most club cricket tour are moving too much. They're falling over. Then they haven't got the basics of good technique done. They haven't got alignment, they haven't got balance. They haven't got the head and hands moving to the ball. They don't know what that looks like.
So therefore you throw a movement, like a trigger movement. Yeah. Which they automatically always assume it's backing across. To it. And then suddenly they're falling over and they're leaving their pads exposed. LBW chip up in the air, hands go over the place. It's a nightmare. Yeah. Right. Have they also potentially not got great technique and they're falling over because they've got movement issues, which we know a hundred percent.
There's, there's a whole, you know, we're, we're screening so many people at the moment, aren't we? Yeah, coming from the same sort of issues. So we've gotta figure out why, what's the why before we, we [00:09:00] ramp up the speed. So yeah, they think their feet are heavy and slow, but they can't do things. Speed, hides, need.
They can't do things when they're static, right? Yeah. Let alone try to be more dynamic. So. How to find your perfect trigger movement depends, and it's most important thing is, is your technique good enough to warrant a trigger movement? Now, I know there's a lot of coaches who will argue and say otherwise, you've gotta coach the trigger movement early at 45 miles an hour under 12, if not less than that.
They don't need to trigger movement, they just need to be able to hit this stand there and hit the ball. Right. Yeah. Right. Is their trigger movement actually backing across? Should it be a forward press, right. A forward press being a light press to forward to get you into position? The forward press was advocate by Duncan Fletcher to stop people over lunging when it comes to spin.
So for me, when I forward press, when I play spin, it stops me from over lunging. It gets me more dynamic off the back foot. So that's the theory we took into it with, with, with the extra pace on the machine. Now when we started doing [00:10:00] the trigger for me today, suddenly my pull shots were way more dynamic and I was, I was finding it so much easier to manage today because I had that little press, but we're in the middle of the season at the moment and we both said, yeah, this is great to explore.
But not until the off season, yeah, we can't do this to the off season or in, unless it's some Mickey Mouse games I'm playing in before we can start doing it. So. My point to this is now is if we're looking at a philosophy of how to help people get triggers, do people need to, let's, let's say this, let's do, most youngsters need trigger movements.
I'm gonna argue. No. They need better technique and better coaching. I'm seeing kids all the time now, particularly at Cardiff. Come to me and they are triggering, falling over and they can't play with a straight bat. The bat's inside Act, the biggest issue is to get better technique first, and then we layer a trigger room on top of it afterwards to make sure that it's all stacking up.
It's, it's a habit layer. Layering better habits each time. Habit stacking, as we call it, habit. Habit, stacking habit. Yeah, there you go. It's habit [00:11:00] stacking, but to do it, they've gotta find what's natural to them when it comes quick. Yeah. Right, and get used to it because I guarantee you, if you haven't faced 80 miles an hour.
Right. It's a lot quicker than you think, right? And it's through you. And if you're static, have no desire to face 80 miles an hour. It's good for, I will do one day may. I'm gonna get you an 80 mile an hour machine. So what I see with most batters, they're focusing on the wrong things. They're trying to address trigger movements.
As opposed to their technique first. Yeah. And then layer that on top of it and understand why are we triggering in the first place, is to get us in a better ready position and state to play the ball, particularly a fast moving ball. So there's different ways to trigger. You can either use back and across.
You can use your front press, you can use your hands to trigger whatever is natural for you. There's gotta be a way for you to get ready to move forward and set the ball, whether it's front foot and back foot, but you don't be too static. But if you haven't got the technique, you're gonna struggle. I think that's the takeaway for everyone here.
Now, listening in today, [00:12:00] it's like, this is a specific example. We've worked on hard for the last 12 months and we've now identified that I need to be more dynamic to allow me to play more, better pull shots, right? Mm-hmm. And for that. I need a trigger, but we're not fixing it in season. We're gonna wait till the off season.
Yeah. Um, before we do it. And season's not, it's not the time to be tinkering in season really, is it? No. Watch the ball, make sure it's gay runs and then play with it. So that's just a very practical explanation. It's definitely how I'm gonna be adopting my use of trigger movements. I think most people, if I see a technical issue, I'm gonna try, I always tend to take, take away the trigger movement because it just exacerbates it and then we layer it back on afterwards when something is right for them.
So, uh, key takeaways today. There you go.
Josh Kennedy: Lessons for this morning. Focus on technique, not trigger movement. Guys, get your technique down first. That is it for today. Please don't forget to rate, review, and subscribe. And if you would like our free trading plan, then go to cricket matters.com/train. And remember, our goal [00:13:00] is to make you a better cricketer.