The secret of a long, successful club cricket career
photo credit: NickStenningHow long can you play club cricket at a decent level and still enjoy it?
You don't find many professional cricketers playing beyond 40 these days. Club players can go on longer as the demands are less. However for most of us the glory days are in our 20's. What follows is a gradual drop in standard as we hit 40, 50 and beyond.
Why movements are the key to playing better cricket
photo credit: SpoungeworthyIf you wanted to improve your catching I'm betting you would do some catching practice.
One thing you would not do is train each finger individually.
‘Finger training' is a bad idea because you are isolating individual components involved in catching without practicing the skill as a whole. You know already that your brain doesn't work like that: To develop any skill you need to practice that skill.
35 Ways to improve your cricket during the season
photo credit: SpoungeworthyBack in the mists of ancient history (the 1980's) the Soviets were kings of sport. Their state funded athletes became a huge experiment in maximising performance.
This included the development of periodisation: the planning system that most sports follow to this day, cricket included.
How is match fitness different from gym fitness?
Time Savers: How to make the most of your nets
According to the ECBCA, the ideal number of people in a net at any one time is 6. I don't know about your club but on a busy practice day where I play we have way more than that jostling for a bowl and a bat.
The simple answer is to incorporate some fitness work into you practices too.
Of course, we want it to be fun as well as beneficial to our game, so how would you structure a session to meet these needs?
The first thing to do is ask yourself the following questions:
Can bowling with a heavy ball make you a faster bowler?
photo credit: Tc7Bowling faster is the holy grail for many seamers. One method that has been borrowed from field athletics is using a heavier ball to bowl with.
Does it work?
The theory behind heavy ball bowling is simple: Using a heavier ball should overload the muscles you use to bowl with. When returning to a normal ball you will be stronger and therefore able to bowl with more pace.
