Jonathan Agnew Quotes

For an opening batsman, it's important to hit a few balls in the middle of the bat and get a few boundaries going.

I try to hit the ball along the ground, especially against fast bowlers. I also like the bat to come down in the right position and check if my body position is correct. If I'm really watching the ball carefully, then automatically I'm in a good position to hit it down the ground.

In the split second from the time the ball leaves the pitcher's hand until it reaches the plate you have to think about your stride, your hip action, your wrist action, determine how much, if any the ball is going to break and then decide whether to swing at it.

Hitting a baseball well, as in cricket, is a very rare skill. One of most difficult things to do in the world to do, hitting a ball coming at you at ninety miles an hour with a round bat. Wonderful to watch.

Before you lay a foundation on the cricket field, there should be a solid foundation in your heart and you start building on that. After that as you start playing more and more matches, you learn how to score runs and how to take wickets.

For me, fielding is everything - it is a passion that comes from within. You can get a bad ball while you bat, and your bowling may not always be up there, but you are completely in control of how well you field.

I am happy with the way I hit the ball. There is a certain element of power into it but not completely. It is like 80 per cent timing and 20 per cent power. Why do I need power hitting when I can clear the ropes with timing?

Nothing is easy in cricket. Maybe when you watch it on TV, it looks easy. But it is not. You have to use your brain and time the ball.

I've always felt that when I've been successful in red-ball cricket it has been because I've left the ball well and sometimes in cricket the shots you don't play are more important than the ones you do.

It's always frustrated me when I've seen other players able to smack balls over the bowler's head and stuff like that. I can't, though. When I've tried I've let myself down.

I have learned a lot playing in domestic first-class cricket: how to score runs, how to counter situations.

You have to create a habit of finding the right positions and knowing where the ball's going to bounce to.

Each bowler has his own pride when bowling in the nets but it's vital that you get ball on bat and then you are ready to use the opportunity when you are out in the middle.

Batsmen like Gary Kirsten, Boeta Dippenaar and Neil McKenzie have good techniques and can bat for long periods.

When the ball is swinging, you really need to play close to your body.

I have had to work really hard at white-ball cricket. It doesn't come naturally to me, I was a slow batsman; I worked hard on my game and fitness.

When you know that batting will be tough, that the ball might move around and your technique will be tested, you have to make sure that you don't give the bowlers any more advantages.

I'll carry a ball around with me all day and ask people to try to knock it out of my hand when I least expect it. I'll give them some money and stuff, so people get pretty geeked up about that. It just helps me to take care of the ball without even thinking about it.

T20 cricket is all about using variations, and timing has to be perfect.

If I can bat against someone who is bowling 145 kph on a challenging wicket - that confidence is really important.

I try to keep the ball up to the bat, and I usually get the ball to outswing, so I get wickets like that.

Running-between-the-wickets is the ability to convert ones into twos, twos into threes, and threes into fours. And to reach the wickets on time.

When you can get the game to slow down for you, you can play a lot faster.

When you bat, you need to have a lot of patience. I started training for it from the age of eight or nine. So, I knew what I needed when I stepped on the field to bat.

When it comes to batting, I have a lot of expectations from myself.