TO BE AN EXCEPTIONAL COACH

Cricket is not only about skill, intellect is also required to play cricket. It’s not a brainless sport, in fact it is the most ‘scientifically technical’ sport in the world. So if you have to have perfect technique and an intelligent brain to play cricket, you have be to step ahead to become a good coach. Here are some tips you can find useful while coaching cricketers:

1. Constructing the Mental Attitude towards the Game

This is a first step in any form of the coaching. Motivate your players into playing cricket passionately. If he doesn’t bear love for the game, he won’t be any good at it, no matter what you do. It’s the coach’s task to develop a positive attitude and mental strength. A good coach always has a “yes, you can do it” approach.

2. Control and Discipline

No player is bigger than the game. A trouble-maker should be off the team no matter how good a player he is. A good coach will make it clear that performance and teamwork are required. Your training routine should be strictly followed and if a player is violating your code, he needs to be controlled.

3. Teaching a Beginner

Tying a ball with a string and attaching it to the ceiling is an effective old-school technique. Ask the child to hit the ball from the middle of the bat in different directions. This could open up his hitting the ball skills. Next you can throw simple catches at him. You can put a mark on the ground and ask him to try and pitch the ball on that mark, or get him to use Pitchvision to track his accuracy. Such exercises can develop basic skills in the earlier stages of a cricket player’s life.

4. Video Demonstrations

It’s powerful to show demonstrational videos of excellent batting, bowling and fielding to your players. A player can learn a lot when you are explaining a video of Sachin Tendulkar batting, Wasim Akram bowling and Jonty Rhodes fielding.

Another use of video is recording the performance of your team and showing it to them later. This way they are given a chance to rectify any errors in their techniques. On the other hand as a coach you can observe each player’s performance very minutely through videos.

5. Batting techniques

It is crucial that a coach picks out any flaws in a batting technique at young age and sets it right. The stanc getting on the front foot moving to back foot, gap between bat and pad, position of the bat while playing different strokes; are a few things you should pay attention to. A good coach would always know what a player is doing wrong when he sees him play.

6. Bowling tips

Bowling is an ever changing phenomenon in cricket world today. If you are a bowling coach, make sure that you observe the bowling action of a fast bowler. An inccorect action is devastating for a bowler later on. Give the bowler tips about swing, seam and spin depending on the type of bowler you are coaching. Finally make bowlers put in extra effort in the nets, bowl lots of overs in the nets. This not only helps with stamina but also control and skill.

7. Fielding drills

A team with poor fielding simply  their games. But fielding is not one of the most 

pleasurable things your players would like to do. Fielding is tiring and feels boring, it’s up to you to keep them motivated throughout fielding sessions. Fielding is a very unselfish act and being good at it is crucial in winning games.

TRY TO BE A PERFECT KEEPER

1. Have a vision for your wicket keeping performance, what your roles are in each format of the game. Set goals for training and for match time. Break down each aspect of your keeping, standing up to the stumps, standing back, catching to both sides, single and both hands.

2. As wicket keeper you're the center point for the team performance in the field. Make sure your set a good tempo for the side.

Get through the overs, keep ahead of the clock with the over rate, particularly with 20 20 Cricket where time is always an issue.

Make your fielders look good, taking wayward throws and balls on the half volley. Affirm them and boost up your players confidence, encouraging them, especially when your side is under pressure.

3. Set your focus for each ball, watch the ball from the bowlers hand. Be present with each ball, you will make mistakes, let them go, re-set your focus and set a goal for the next ball.

breathe and relax between balls to help let go of tension and reset your focus.

4. Go down for each ball, it makes you come up underneath the ball. Keep your hands open and create a big surface area for the ball to come into.

Extend your hands out to the ball to receive its energy, let your hands receive the ball and give with the energy.

You will catch primarily in one hand, so look after your dominant catching hand. Be aware of where your are catching the ball in your hand. Pay attention to closing your hand around the ball when gloving it, this makes your judgement more precise and assists you in watching the ball closely.

5. Elite wicketkeepers set the alignment for the slips. The slips take their mark from you - set them around 1 1/2 slips so that you have room to dive and move. When you are going for a catch in this channel, go with total commitment.

6. When diving for the ball, lead with your head, drive your head toward the ball, good head position gives your eyes and ultimately your brain good information to get into position to take your catch.

7. When diving for catches you have two options: having caught the ball, either tuck your elbow under your body and roll so your don't land on it ... or you straighten your elbow when diving low for the catch.

This takes the jarring motion out of your landing. Get the mattress out at home or at your club and practice this till you can master both techniques.

Wear long sleeve shirts to protect your elbows when diving.

8. Practice your focus and watching the ball. Staying down and watching the ball bounce to give yourself a long, good look at the ball. As in batting, judgement of length is critical and needs to be practiced.

Practice this by doing throw downs and work on the bowling machine if you have access to one, consciously pay attention to watching the ball bounce.

Challenge yourself to not move till you have watched the ball bounce.

9. Keep your hands low and your eyes glued to the ball when taking the bouncing ball, allow your arms to stay long so that your hands come up underneath the ball. This stops you having to go back down for the ball.

10. Practice taking the ball up to the stumps and down the leg side, put a chair or long box in the way. You need an obstacle where the flight of the ball is obscured as it passes the imaginary batsman.

Practice your weight transfer and sweeping your weight back to the stumps for the stumping.

To help with this, play with a ball all the time, a tennis ball or bouncy ball.

*Throw it into the ground, bounce it off the wall and the ground. Let your brain experience lots of   different angles.

*Catch with both hands, work on becoming as ambidextrous as possible.

*I hope you have enjoyed these wicket keeping tips, come back and visit regularly as I add more tips and wicket keeping info.

*Pass these on to your friends, help them to improve their game with wicket keeping tips to keep them on track.

IMPROVE YOUR FIELDING

#When fielding during cricket there are many things to think about and consider depending on where you are fielding. This brief article will look at a few essential cricket fielding tips which you can incorporate into your game to improve your fielding.
1. Where ever you are fielding you should always be on the balls of your feet so you can react and change direction quickly. If you are caught flat footed you'll be slower off the mark and potentially give away more runs.

2. Try to anticipate where ball will go; you can do this by carefully watching the batters shape and movements. This may be a little difficult at first but after a bit of practise will become second nature and you'll react much quicker to any shots coming your way and field better as a result.

3. When you are fielding close to the boundary and have to throw from the deep, try to aim your throw just above the keepers head and the ball should drop nicely in to his gloves, provided you have a relatively strong throwing arm.
4. When catching close to the wicket, such as in the slips, gulley or short leg, make sure you stance is correct with your feet shoulder width apart or slightly wider. Spread your weight evenly across both feet, resting lightly on the balls of your feet, with your knees flexed. Keep your hands together, close to the ground with your fingers pointing down. Keep your head up with your eyes level and stay alert.
5. When catching the ball in close, watch the ball all the way into your hands, allowing the ball to come to you; don't try to snatch at it. 'Give' with the ball as you catch, cushioning the impact. When catching in the deep, try and catch the ball at eye level and cushion the ball into your chest.

6. The ball can come to you at any time so it is really important you stay alert and awake so you can stop that vital run or take a match winning catch.
7. These are just a few cricket fielding tips that you can incorporate into you game; there are many more cricket fielding tips for specific aspects of fielding. However these are the general cricket fielding tips I've found to be the most useful when fielding myself.

TO ENHANCE YOUR SPIN

In this part we expand on the theory to show you how to use different ways to flight the ball to get wickets.

When you combine topspin and backspin with subtle changes of pace you have four new tools with which to dismiss the batsman:

1.     Topspin, slightly slower: This is the classic flighted delivery. It will hang in the air, bringing the batsman forward, before dipping and bouncing and giving the ball enough time to spin to beat the bat or find the edge. This will frequently lead to stumpings against a batsman intent on using his feet.

2.     Topspin, slightly quicker: This is the delivery to use for extra bounce. The ball will dip fiercely and leap up towards the splice of the bat, particularly on harder pitches. A good delivery to use both if you're looking for a close catch off a defensive batsman or an unintentional aerial shot off an aggressive batsman.

3.     Backspin: slightly slower: This ball will appear to hang in the air and then keep very low on bouncing. A good method of dismissing a batsman intent playing aggressively off the back foot, as he will often play over the top of the delivery, possibly resulting in a bottom edge and his dismissal.

4.     Backspin, slightly quicker: The classic skiddy delivery that traps the batsman on the back foot, only to surprise him by landing on a full length. Chances are it will then crash into the pads or stumps before the hapless batsman is able to get his bat down.

 It's also useful to note that a higher arm action increases the effect of the extra bounce of the top spinner. A lower arm action keeps the backspinner skidding through nice and low.

Adding Drift

Both the Magnus force and conventional swing can be used to make the ball move sideways, or drift, in the air.

A hard spun leg break or off break will drift sideways in the latter half of their flight in the opposite direction to their eventual turn. This is well known to accentuate the efficacy of the delivery, as the ball first moves one way in the air and then the other way off the pitch.

TO ENHANCE YOUR SPIN

In this part we expand on the theory to show you how to use different ways to flight the ball to get wickets.

When you combine topspin and backspin with subtle changes of pace you have four new tools with which to dismiss the batsman:

1.     Topspin, slightly slower: This is the classic flighted delivery. It will hang in the air, bringing the batsman forward, before dipping and bouncing and giving the ball enough time to spin to beat the bat or find the edge. This will frequently lead to stumpings against a batsman intent on using his feet.

2.     Topspin, slightly quicker: This is the delivery to use for extra bounce. The ball will dip fiercely and leap up towards the splice of the bat, particularly on harder pitches. A good delivery to use both if you're looking for a close catch off a defensive batsman or an unintentional aerial shot off an aggressive batsman.

3.     Backspin: slightly slower: This ball will appear to hang in the air and then keep very low on bouncing. A good method of dismissing a batsman intent playing aggressively off the back foot, as he will often play over the top of the delivery, possibly resulting in a bottom edge and his dismissal.

4.     Backspin, slightly quicker: The classic skiddy delivery that traps the batsman on the back foot, only to surprise him by landing on a full length. Chances are it will then crash into the pads or stumps before the hapless batsman is able to get his bat down.

 It's also useful to note that a higher arm action increases the effect of the extra bounce of the top spinner. A lower arm action keeps the backspinner skidding through nice and low.

Adding Drift

Both the Magnus force and conventional swing can be used to make the ball move sideways, or drift, in the air.

A hard spun leg break or off break will drift sideways in the latter half of their flight in the opposite direction to their eventual turn. This is well known to accentuate the efficacy of the delivery, as the ball first moves one way in the air and then the other way off the pitch.

HOW TO BOWL FAST

# While you need a certain amount of natural ability to be able to bowl at 90mph, everyone can improve on their natural bowling speed no matter how fast they are.

1.     Imagine you are bowling in a railway track. This will help you run-up straight, keep your weight moving in a straight line in your action and follow-through straight. If it doesnt go at the batsman, then change it!

2.     Your non-bowling arm is far more important than your bowling arm. Use it properly by driving it out and down so it passes your side. When you do this properly, it will accelerate your bowling shoulder and help increase speed. Some have argued that this can stop genuine swing happening, so take care if you rely on traditional swing.

3.     Keep your elbows and arms pumping in as you run up and load up into your action. Nothing throws your momentum and straight lines off like unnecessary side-to-side movements. Keeping your action tighthelps you to control the release of the ball.

4.     Start your run up leading with your arm. This drives force down your body and into the ground for greater speed. Drive your arms fast in short a short pumping action which will force you forward faster.

5.     Make sure you fully rotate your shoulders on completion of action. If you have a name on your back imagine you are going to show it to the batsman when you finish. This will help you think about how much of a shoulder turn youre aiming for

6.     Try to drive your chest through the crease just before you let the ball go. The sensation is that of being pulled forward by the batsman with a big rope attached to your chest. This gets you as far in front of the ballas possible and increases arm pull and speed of the arm

7.     At the point of delivery, your hips and nose will be facing the batsman. If your bowling hip is lazy it will lag behind thus dropping your speed. If your nose isnt facing the batsman, your head is probably falling away. The hips are the powerhouse of your body. Get them in the right position

8.     Try not to throw your non-bowling arm too high as it gets you off balance and affects your timing. Remember, youre trying to go forwards, not up and down

9.   Your bowling arm starts to bowl from the downswing, which is close to your bowling side hip. Getting your bowling hand into this position quickly from your load-up helps you improve your speed and timing.

MAKE YOUR DRIVE BETTER

Learning the on drive

There is an old cliché that the on drive is the hardest shot to learn and play well.

But given the correct biomechanically sound technical advice, the on drive is an easy shot to play plus it makes you a better player because makes it easier to play the swinging and turning delivery, especially the ball that comes back in to you. Playing the on drive well minimises the chance of a batter getting blocked off and playing around the front pad.

The key points are: 

·         *On the backlift, your bat aligns over off stump.

·         *Your head aligns to the ball (not your shoulder)

·         *As you step towards the ball your head position is exaggerated forward of the body.

·         *As you step forward and lean in the back foot turns to point up the wicket to align the hips and give balance.

·         *Take a shorter stride to help you get your head further forward than other drives. This will also help the back foot turn in   slightly this aligning the hips. This short stride will help you let the ball come.

·         *Your stride is short with your front foot down line of leg stump, no wider.

·         *The front foot points up the wicket.

·         *Strike the ball forward of your front pad with the heel of your back foot off the ground

·         *Let the ball come under your eyes

·         *Hit the shot with a dominant top hand

·         *Finish with a check drive with high hands and high leading elbow.

·         *Toe of bat should finish pointing at target area (mid on).

You can always spot a good player by the way they play the on drive.

Talented players are generally the ones that play the on drive well.

Good coaches coach this shot well.

 Learning the off drive

Of course, we all want a good off drive too.

So once you are comfortable with your balance and alignment playing straight and through the on side, look to learn the small changes you need to make to off drive.

The key points are:

·        * Your head moves towards the off side and aligns to the target area (off side). Note that the head now has moved from the neutral position of being wicket to wicket.

·         *Your initial backswing, from over off stump, begins to re-align once you have decided to play an off drive. The backswing will now align from leg stump so that it swings in a straight line towards mid off.

·         *Your front foot lands in a more sideways position. This ensures your head is supported over the ball of the front foot giving you good balance.

·         *Your shoulder turns slightly more to play the off drive but it’s the head that aligns with the ball not the shoulder. The shoulder stays slightly leg side of the ball and target area to allow the bat to swing in a straight line to from backswing to mid off.

PRINCIPLES OF MATHEMATICS FOUND IN CRICKET

In a game of cricket, there are two main points of interest where the flight of the ball is concerned. The first is the time from when the bowler releases the ball to when it is either hit or missed by the batsman. The second is the time after the collision of the ball with the bat. As the batsman's goal is to score as many runs as possible, most hits are played so that the ball is close to the ground, and is therefore harder to catch by a fieldsman. The bowler's main aim is to pitch the ball so the batsman does not hit the ball to his best ability. The flight path of the ball is such that the trajectory can be found with a simple equation. However, this does not necessarily apply to slow pitches. There is a small set of critical speeds in which pressure imbalances cause the ball to swing (deviate) to one side or the other of a bowl. These speeds are functions of several variables, including the angle of the seam, surface texture of the ball, the spin put on the ball by the bowler, and the air currents. Forces up to 30% of the weight of the ball push on the ball from the side. In a horizontal direction of motion,

m(dv/dt)=-kv²

where m is the mass of the ball, (dv/dt) is the derivative based on time, representing acceleration, and k is the side force constant. This equation is only true if the vertical motions are completely ignored. If this equation is changed to be a derivative of velocity in respect to distance rather than time, it will be:

v(dv/dx)=-(k/m)v²

where all variables remain the same, but x is the distance down the bowl that the ball is when measured. This equation can be solved to give

x=(m/k)ln(v₀/v)

where ln is the natural logarithm, and v₀ is the initial velocity, and all other variables remain constant. This shows the relationship of distance and velocity after a hit by the bowler. In order to find an estimate of the time of flight, separation of variables can be performed on the last equation to give

t=(m/k){(1/v)-(1/v₀)}

This shows how long the ball is in the air for a particular velocity. Once each of these equations is solved using the known variable(s), the deviation of the ball from the visible path can be traced. Even the slightest variation can trick a batter's eye into missing the ball or mistiming a hit.

CRICKET IN "THE HOME OF CRIKET"

Cricket has been played as a recognized sport since the early 18th century. The first recorded match was played in Sussex, England in 1697. In 1719, the first "county" match was played, with the Londoners (Middlesex) vs. the Kentish. It gained publicity in the southern counties of England, but was eventually transplanted to be mainly in the London grounds of wealthy patrons. During this time, crowds were often rowdy, with high monetary stakes on important matches.

The Hambledon Club, a small club in Hampshire, brought attention to the sport, as they challenged the larger clubs with a run for their money. Their historian, John Nyren, wrote prose literature on the subject of cricket. This team played its final recorded match in 1793 at Lord's in London, the most important cricket site in cricket history.

Lord's was begun in Dorset Square as a private cricket field by Thomas Lord, a Yorkshire man who bowled for the club. In 1813, the club was moved from its second location at St. John's Wood to its present field. However, the original Dorset Square turf was relaid with each change. The Marylebone Cricket Club, (MCC) with Lord's as its 'home base', is considered the international cricket authority.

In 1969, cricket administration underwent a dramatic change. The Cricket Council was formed at this point, including the M.C.C., the Test and County Cricket Board (TCCB), and the National Cricket Association. The MCC still holds responsibility for the laws, but it is no longer the sole governing body. The TCCB controls both the county matches and the international tests. Delegates from the Women's Cricket Association, umpires, Royal Air Force, Army, and Navy cricket are on the Council.

There is now no distinction between amateur and professional clubs. The county cricket matches are large attractions among all people in England. Also, the Oxford vs. Cambridge match is played as a major event every summer at Lord's. Cricket is truly England's national summer sport.

LITTLE HISTORY ABOUT CRICKET

Cricket is a sport of English origin, which has become increasingly influenced by international interest. As commercial opportunities have arisen, the sport has made itself more appealing to its followers.
There is evidence to suggest cricket was played, in some form as long ago as the 11th century, but it was not until 1646 when the first organised game took place for a bet of twelve candles.
Cricket continued to develop for another hundred years or so without any standard written rules. The earliest laws of the game were formally composed in 1744. Although it would be another 43 years before any central governing body existed. In 1787 Marylebone Cricket Club (more commonly known as the MCC) was set up at Lord's Cricket Ground to protect the standard laws of cricket. 
The MCC was to be the international guardian of cricket for another two hundred years and it is still to this day, the copyright holder of the "Laws of Cricket".
Despite its previously strong English history, the first international cricket game was between the USA and Canada in New Jersey in 1844. The MCC later adopted a policy to encourage the global development of cricket - particularly in British colonies, where the sport was becoming increasingly popular.
The first international game played by England was not until 1877, when James Lillywhite captained a side that travelled to Australia and lost at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The event was a tremendous success and arrangements were hurriedly made for a rematch, which was won by England. This lengthy format of match (typically lasting five days) was to become "test cricket".
Australia played a return match in 1882 and defeated England at the Oval. It was seen as a national shame and a mock obituary appeared in The Sporting Times the following day. It announced the death of English cricket, infamously stating "the body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia". This later spawned an ongoing battle between the nations for ownership of these fabled Ashes.
Regardless of the national team's failure at that time, domestic cricket in England continued to thrive. And eventually, in 1890 the inaugural County Championship took place, comprising eight regional teams.
It had expanded to fifteen teams by 1900 and with the addition of Northamptonshire (1905) and Glamorgan (1921); the competition was attracting interest across England and Wales. The county championship had no fixed setup until after the Second World War. In 1968 a format was agreed that stayed in place until the 1990s. By this time county cricket was in disarray; teams were getting into debt as crowds sharply declined.
After the addition of an eighteenth county, a two division championship was set up to remedy the problem of diminished interest, but this did little to help the crumbling county game, which still struggles greatly as gate revenue fails to compensate for overheads.
However the tale of the international game is very different. England and Australia began to play against other countries. South Africa became an official test cricket nation in 1888. West Indies, New Zealand and India followed in the years after World War One. Pakistan became a test nation when they split from India in 1947.
From then on no major changes occurred in international cricket, until 1970 when South Africa were suspended for their government's policy of apartheid.
The following year, a one day match was trialled between Australia and England. This form proved to be more attractive than test cricket, since then one-day-international series have regularly accompanied headlining test series between all nations. A regular World Cup now takes place every four years as a one-day-international tournament.
In 1993 came the biggest sign of the shift in world cricket - the MCC handed over global authority to the International Cricket Council, whilst allowing the ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) to handle domestic affairs. Regardless of its decline, it still holds the copyright to the Laws of Cricket.
Today the ICC fully controls world cricket and the game's new power base is arguably India; a country of one billion inhabitants where cricket is the sole national sport, but growth is global; Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh have all gained test status in the past quarter of a century and South Africa were reinstated in 1991.
Cricket is continuing to flourish in more and more countries and with the teams choosing to employ more attractive tactics; the sport's future has never looked more prosperous than it does now.