Why You’re Putting the Best Fielders In the Wrong Position
Cover point is where your best inner ring fielder should always be to a seam bowler, right?
You might say two names: Jonty Rhodes and Paul Collingwood.
These men have raised the profile of the cover point position by being brilliant fielders, diving around, taking breathtaking catches and executing world class run outs.
Yet both fielders were not there because tradition dictated it.
They were there because the bowling attack and the playing surfaces merited it.
Due to pace and bounce, point was the "high traffic" position. The best fielder fields there.
Where is your high traffic position?
Now transfer that thinking into the cricket that you coach; the bowlers in your attack, the lengths that they look to hit, the pace and bounce of the playing surface.
Is point is the high traffic area on your pitch?
If the answer is yes, then I would ask you how do you know?
Now, I wouldn't be doing that to be awkward but to ensure that you had something to back it up.
Finding your high traffic positions
A good exercise is to plot a wagon wheel for each bowler in one of your games.
Even if they don’t, it’s not too difficult a demand as long as you turn on the charm!
From that information, you will begin to see if where the high traffic areas are for each bowler.
This will challenge conventional thinking and lead to a change in fielding deployment of players or a change of position in the field: say cover moving squarer for a particular bowler.
Or maybe it won’t. The point is, at least you know for sure rather than relying on tradition.
You will be working from facts that inform your decision-making and improve performance.
An example of analysis in action
At International Level this all happens through Analysts and computers, yet the approach is very basic, someone plotting wagon wheel for each bowler in essence.
Australia established in the 2007 Ashes that the high traffic area for Stuart Clark was mid off and mid on as he was looking to pitch the ball on a full length, induce the drive and with his wobble seam deliveries would bring the slips into play as a result, therefore it was vital to get the best fielders in these positions: Clarke at mid off (left handed) and Symonds at mid on (right handed).
England, especially KP, bellowed balls down the ground with little gain as the fantastic pairing dived, saved and frustrated England into mistakes with their presence.
England started to try to hit the ball squarer.
Edges flew to the keeper and slips.
Watching on I thought that this could work at all levels of cricket.
I applied it into all of the teams that I coached after that with startling results.
Apply it to your teams
Based on the ideas in the article I want you to do the same thing.
Start by leaving a comment: where are the high traffic areas for your main bowlers?
I’d love to get your feedback here in the comments section.
Think of it as a little project that you can discuss with other coaches right here.
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Comments
The wagonwheel link doesn't seem to work?
oops a stray slash! It's working now.
For me, Cover & Mid-off are my "heavy traffic" area's when I bowl, I bowl outswing with the new ball and tend to over pitch rather than drop short. This is from personal experience (sort of like a mental wagon wheel).
It would be interesting to compare a wagon wheel to your instinct - the evidence proving what you know with total hits going to those areas. The data may still throw up something you missed. At worst, it vindicates your instincts.
I am regarded at my club as one of the better fielders. I get put normally at point, or in the covers, to the seamers, although I prefer point as I am always in the game (at my level, bowlers often drop short and wide, so I get a lot of traffic). To the off-spinner in our side, I get put at mid-wicket, backward point (for the outside edges from straighter ones, or alternatively cutting against the turn), or boundary riding. At the death, I am normally found straight, deep midwicket, or deep on the off side. Wherever I am though, I always find myself on the end of a lot of deliveries, which is fine by me (I, unlike most teammates, enjoy fielding drills, and fielding in general!)
I think the fact you enjoy it makes you better because you do it more!
Another great article to keep Coaches thinking.
Having spent many years captaining young teams on the field and coaching them off it I would offer a different slant from your example with Clarke and Symonds - I have for a number of years when the option is available advocated having, to the right handed over bowler as your illustration, the right/left hand strong players in the opposite mid-off/mid-on positions. This would mean Clarke at mid-on with his stronger left hand nearer the stumps and Symonds being right handed at mid-off.
This allows for the stronger hand to be towards the stumps so allowing each fielder to be in a wider starting position as each would then be fielding the straight hit ball on their stronger side especially useful for quick pick up and throw at bowlers end stumps without the time wasting change hands scenario.
This then has the added bonus of encouraging the batter to hit wider - across his front pad in search of the boundary on the leg side or opening blade more when playing on the off - bringing in more opportunity for leading edge catches and lbw.
Which is exactly what happened with KP and others in your illustration but I believe at Club level would give more meaningful opportunity for a bowlers end run out.
Stuart Clark is an even better cricketer than Im giving him credit for if he can bowl and field at the same time...
" that the high traffic area for
Stuart Clark
was mid off and mid on as he was looking to pitch the ball on a full length, induce the drive and with his wobble seam deliveries would bring the slips into play as a result, therefore it was vital to get the best fielders in these positions:
Clarke at mid off
(left handed
Michael Clarke, with an e.