Gary Ballance: If you make it to the middle, that’s a good start at Lord’s

 
Flashback: Ballance picks up runs against India at Lord's in 2014
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Gary Ballance15 July 2015

One of the trickiest aspects of batting at Lord’s is simply ensuring that you make it to the middle in the first place.

The dressing room is a couple of flights of stairs up from the ground floor and I remember the first time I played for England at Lord’s, I made sure in the days beforehand that I knew my way out on to the ground.

One of my fears about playing here is getting lost on that journey and, as you can imagine, I didn’t want that to happen.

As a No3 batsman, you have to be switched on straight away.

If the opposition are batting then you have to have the mindset of an opening batsman and start thinking about your own innings from the moment they are nine wickets down. Then when they’re all out, you have to be ready to go in after just one ball of the innings.

When we bat in the Second Test against Australia, I will watch the first few overs very closely from the balcony. In Cardiff last week when I was watching Mitchell Starc bowl the first over of the series, I was looking for how much he was swinging the ball and how much bounce he was getting.

So when the ball bounces twice before reaching the wicketkeeper, as it did on one occasion in the first over, you’re thinking, “I’ve got to be prepared for a two-paced wicket, lower and slower than what was expected”. You have to adjust your mentality according to what happens in that first over.

In terms of watching, I’m quite intense compared to my team-mates.

Some will be very relaxed and chat away to the other players but they’ll still be ready to go when it’s their turn.

I might start to relax if the opening partnership starts to grow and watch fewer balls to give my mind a rest.

Some people will barely watch a ball before they go out to bat. Others will watch every single one. It’s just a matter of personal preference.

When it’s my turn to bat this week, I’ll walk down those stairs and then through the Long Room, where the MCC members always give you a great ovation. It gives you that extra excitement as you go out to bat.

I usually pass the batsman who’s been dismissed just inside the boundary rope and I don’t normally say anything to him, unless he’s got a big score, when I would congratulate him.

Then I’ll go and chat to the batsman who is still in.

Normally you will ask whether the bowler is swinging it or whether the ball is doing much off the wicket and then you get ready for it.

There is so much TV and analysis that you have a good idea of what is happening before you get out there but sometimes it’s nice to have a bit of chat with your partner to let him tell you exactly.

I don’t like to talk much between overs, as Joe Root has now learned from batting with me for Yorkshire and England.

When I get to the middle, I like a little bit of information quickly, so I can get ready for the first delivery.

It’s a routine that I hope works well for me at Lord’s this week. We had a great start to this series in Cardiff but we know Australia will fight back hard. We’re confident we will be ready.

Gary Ballance is proud to be an ambassador of Liberty Mutual Insurance. For further information visit libertyspecialtymarkets.com/liberty-sponsorship

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