Batting tips from Amre worthwhile: Raina

Mumbai: Suresh Raina, whose modest record in Tests is in sharp contrast to his performance in limited overs cricket, said the batting tips he got from former India player Pravin Amre ahead of India `A` team`s tour game against the visiting England team is worthwhile.

"With so many formats to switch between, it sometimes gets difficult and you need somebody to observe you and guide you all the time. Look at sports like tennis and shooting, the coach always travels with the sportsman," he said. Raina also said Amre, who was at the Cricket Club of India yesterday at his request, knows about his batting as the latter has been watching him since his days as a junior with Air India. "Since the last seven years, we have had Greg Chappell, Lalchand Rajput, Gary Kirsten and Duncan fletcher (as India coaches). They all had their own methods. When I was 14 or 15, I played a lot of matches at the U-19 level for Air India and have known Pravin sir since then. He knows my batting well. "I`m not complaining against all the big names that I just mentioned, they were all fine coaches, but when you`re not in the team, you need somebody to work on your game all the time. Pravin told me I`ve been batting well but the time has come to change my game now. The button has to be pressed." Raina also mentioned that former England skipper Graham Gooch`s presence as the batting coach of his country`s current team had brought about a big improvement in skipper Alastair Cook`s performance. "Graham Gooch has been a big addition to the side. Look at how he changed Alastair Cook`s game." PTI