Getting to Grips is a unique publication for cricket coaches and players of all ages. It offers skills, drills, and practical solutions to common batting problems. Author Toby Radford uses his experience as an international batting coach to offer invaluable insight into what makes the world’s best players so successful. He describes the Five Fundamentals of Batting – the basis of good batting – and uses an innovative mix of images and notes to clearly describe highly complex batting techniques and movements.
This second expanded edition includes new technical analysis of international and county batsmen and offers practical guidance for players preparing for, and managing, their innings as well as how to cope with any unwanted yet inevitable runs of poor form. For coaches, there is a new and detailed breakdown of how to structure a one-to-one session with a batsman to quickly improve and maximise their potential.
The effective techniques, skills, and drills are the same Toby uses with the world’s top batsmen in the West Indies, in Bangladesh, and with the ECB, and are all offered here to help take your playing or coaching to the next level.
Toby Radford is widely regarded as one of the best batting coaches in the game. Toby was head coach when Middlesex was crowned English T20 Champions in 2008, and batting coach when the West Indies won the T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka in 2012. Following a successful spell as an England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) national coach, Toby launched the Middlesex Cricket Academy, which produced England Test stars Steven Finn, Eoin Morgan, and Dawid Malan. In 2010 Toby set up the West Indies High Performance Centre in Barbados, from where seven of his impressive students graduated to the senior Test team, led by the towering Jason Holder, who went on to become world number one all-rounder. He coached top players in the Caribbean for 10 years. Toby is currently batting coach for Kent County Cricket Club.
“Toby has played an important role in my development as a cricketer. He offers excellent technical advice and instilled in me a strong work ethic.” –Dawid Malan, England and Yorkshire CCC
“Toby is very strong at analysing faults and quick to come up with solutions for putting them right. We have an excellent working relationship and he has helped my game enormously.” –Jason Holder, West Indies
“I very much enjoy working with Toby and he has helped me improve my game massively. In this sport of fine margins, his attention to detail really stands out. He has given me a good understanding of my game and how to bat at my best. With so much knowledge and experience from working with top batters around the world, it’s not hard to see why he’s one of the best batting coaches around.” –Daniel Bell-Drummond, Kent CCC
“I worked with Toby when I joined Middlesex and he really helped me progress to the next level. He helped mould the basics of my technical game.” –Eoin Morgan, England World Cup Winning Captain
“Toby is a legend. He is a very knowledgeable and informative coach and has helped me a lot technically.” –Kraigg Brathwaite, West Indies Test Match Captain
