The second of the Graham Thorpe batting against fast bowling drill packages is fun, functional and a wonderful drill to layer up with last weeks drill.

This one requires a set of boxing pads, like the ones that the trainer wears when the boxer is practicing his combinations of jabs, crosses and upper cuts.

A boxer is not too dissimilar to a batter facing a fast bowler. Both have a position of readiness (stance) which allows quick movements. Both use a combination of defence, evasion and attacking options to wear down and defeat the opponent.

Cricket and boxing contests can be quick, with one competitor being knocked out, a batter being bowled out or a bowler being hit out of the attack. They can also be long drawn out contests where an opponent to forced to concede after being worn down over a period of time.

In both cases, skill, concentration and heart are crucial capabilities for both batters and boxers.

So how can we use boxing drills to sharpen our footwork, weight transfer into contact and our batting execution?

Get your batting gloves on

Who needs boxing gloves when our own batting gloves are sitting looking at us in our cricket bag?

Find the position sideways to your partner to mimic the batting stance. The aim here is to adopt a position of readiness that allows to strike out at your partners training pads or to dodge an incoming punch.

Front foot cricket boxing drills.

Your partner holds out their padded hand either to your onside or offside (if you were batting. You move swiftly in a front foot batting motion to strike the boxing pad with your top handed batting glove.

The key is speed. As you improve at this drills, you will notice your reactions speed up, the speed of movement increases, the feeling you get as your hand hits the pad becomes more solid and the noise of the batting glove hitting the trainers pads gets louder and louder.

Ask your partner to change the hand that she presents. Then you can mimic drives through cover all the way round to straight mid wicket.

Back foot cricket boxing drills

Your partner holds up a padded hand at shoulder height and you shift your weight slightly, rotate the body and strike the padded hand with your bottom hand batting glove to mimic a pull or hook shot.

Again, feel the sensations coming through the glove into your hand and up your arm. You will start to know when you have moved correctly and made the best contact with the pad. As you repeat this, your movement patterns and kinaesthetic awareness is heightening.

Listen out for those sounds at contact. Balance up the feel in your body with the noise of the batting glove hitting the boxing pad.

Just as the crack of leather on willow gives us an indication of good contact, so does the smack of the batting glove on the pads.

Competition between strikers

Once you have mastered these two routines, you can add repetition and pace to each of them to overload your practice.

Ensure that you always hit and then retreat back into your position of readiness before you start the striking motion again.

Move - Strike - Return - Move - Strike - Return.

Again and again.

Challenge your mate to a 10 second race and see how many perfectly executed rounds you can complete in the allotted time.

Once you have done this with your front foot drives, do it with your back foot pulls.

Combination counter punching

Now it's time to put a few combinations together.

Off drive into pull shot followed by the partner trying to clip you on the top of the head!

Use your legs to get under the line of the incoming 'Padded hand hook'!

Practice the drill slowly at first to get the understanding of the combinations and then speed up as your competency rises. In no time, you will be striking and ducking with ease and real speed in the legs and hands.

Then alternate between these sets of drills and playing some tennis ball throws which incorporate short balls and half volleys. Notice how the movement patterns from the boxing drills start to replicate in your movements with bat in hand.

These boxing drills are fun, a little different but highly functional and offer transferable movement patterns to boot.

Give them a go and become the Manny Pacquiao of batting.