4 Tips for all-rounders that work
Kelvin is a club cricket all rounder. Like many other players he is motivated to take his game to the next level.
He sent me an email to ask my advice:
I'm 17 years old and 6'4. I'm considered an all-rounder and have played in the top Malaysian League. However, I still want to improvemy game as I know there are many things I can do better.
Cricket The Bob Woolmer Way
No, there isnt a double meaning in the title. What with the entire furore around Pakistan and ball tampering, you might have forgotten that Bob Woolmer is one of the worlds most respected coaches.
His theories are laid out in Cricket - The Bob Woolmer Way.
Like the Martin Crowe batting DVD, its a fairly straight up coaching video made around the time Bob was coaching the South African side.
Quick cricket tip: Team fielding drill
This is a great drill for working every fielding skill for the whole team. It covers underarm throwing, overarm throwing, catching, backing up and shying at the stumps.
You can use it as a skills drill or, with several balls, a skills conditioning drill:
- The coach (wk) starts the game by rolling the ball to position 1
5 Ways to improve your fielding
Have you ever wondered how to make yourself invaluable to the team?
Runs and wickets are vital of course, but a good fielder becomes a critical member of the team. If you can save 20-30 runs and take great catches your place in the side becomes vital.
This is especially true for younger club players who may find themselves pushed to the first team purely on their fielding skills. Once you have that chance you can keep yourself in the team.
Martin Crowe’s Batting Masterclass
Coaching DVDs are a bit like Aerobics videos. They sound like a good idea at the time, but often less useful as practical aids.
Martin Crowe's Batting Masterclass is a straight up batting technique DVD along these lines. If you are going to get coached on batting it may as well be by a bloke with 71 first class centuries and a Test average of over 45.
Sample Wicketkeeper Skills Practice Drills
This post is part 3 of the wicketkeeper training session series. To go to part 1 click here.
Some of these drills can be very dangerous. Ensure you take the correct precautions to prevent injury.
Bob Woolmer’s marble slab
Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer used a marble slab to recreate a fast, bouncy wicket for the 2nd Test against England.
As a coaching aid it wasnt the most successful ploy ever.
Is there anything we can learn from it at a lower level?
How to run an effective net
Club cricket nets are often wasted opportunities, despite being more popular with players than ever. To make a net more effective for everyone involved, follow my guide to making your cricket nets better training:
A cricket training session template
This is the layout I like to use for a typical training session.
It covers skills drills, fitness and game practice. Each segment can be reduced or expanded depending on the goals for the session. It can also be done with any number of people from one up. If you are doing pure fitness sessions you can cut out the skills and team practice.
General Warm Up (10-20 min)
The warm up is vital to reduce the risk of injury, so don't do what most club players do and skip straight to the skills session.