IPL 2022: Power-hitting specialist Julian Wood appointed Punjab Kings' batting consultant

Punjab Kings have appointed former England domestic cricketer Julian Wood as their batting consultant ahead of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season. Wood is known as a power-hitting specialist in the cricketing fraternity and has also worked with some teams in the T20 leagues across the world.

Julian Wood last played any kind of competitive cricket back in 2006. He didn’t play for England but featured for Hampshire in domestic cricket playing 27 FC and 35 List A matches scoring 960 and 1131 runs respectively in the two formats. However, Wood has made a name for himself through his special technique when it comes to power-hitting.

Wood has worked in BBL and CPL before

Punjab Kings official website confirmed the news of Julian Wood being appointed the batting consultant of the franchise for the IPL 2022. The website also stated that the 53-year-old has worked in the leagues like Big Bash League, Caribbean Premier League among many other T20 leagues across the world. He has already worked with the likes of Ben Stokes, Prithvi Shaw, Benny Howell, and Sam Billings among many other top players.

In an earlier chat with the Indian Express, Julian Wood had claimed that he was the one who saw the change in cricket and hence, implemented a few power-hitting techniques which worked for many. “I saw where the game was going before anybody else. I am confident in saying that after speaking to a lot of players over the years,” he had said.

“White-ball batting is hand-eye coordination with power and skill. When you bat, you lead with your head. When you hit, you lead with your hip more. It’s about generating power ground-up, from the hip to the hands. Cricket has been traditionally too hand-reliant. That has to change. Power comes from the torso and hips.

“A kinetic chain of energy happens when you hit the ball explosively: it comes up from your back leg to your hip, to your back, goes to your shoulder, elbow, and finally to your wrists. What I try to do is to join the dots up. You need to separate your hands from your body. You need to do that separation to improve explosiveness. You see that in baseball, the back leg goes back, hands are separated from the body so to say, and then the explosion kicks in,” Wood had said explaining the technique.