Masterclass: Captaincy and Slip Fielding – Dan Marsh

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Elite Cricket is very pleased to present this exclusive Masterclass article by my former teammate Dan Marsh. In an outstanding career Dan has represented South Australia, Tasmania (captain), Leicestershire and Australia ‘A’. Enjoy.

Cheer

Mark

Captaincy

One of the first things that I learnt about Captaincy was to trust your instincts. Usually the first thought that comes in to your head is going to be the right one.

I always like to try and stay ahead of the game, be pro-active rather than re-active. Don’t be afraid to try a few different things.

Treat your bowlers well; they are the ones you need to take 20 wickets so you have to have them in the right frame of mind. Include them, and encourage them to set their own fields and help them with their plans on how to get batsmen out.

Use the people around you. Senior players, coaches and the wicket keeper all come up with good ideas.

Always play in the right spirit. As you are the captain it is your job to set the example and it is your job to make sure all your team plays the same way.

It is important to communicate what the plan is. Make sure it is drilled into the team before you start the match, and if the plan changes as the game unfolds this needs to be communicated as soon as possible.

Slip Fielding

There are some great advantages in becoming a slip fielder, you don’t have to chase all those fours to the boundary, you get a great view of the game and you got someone to talk to while you are spending those long days in the field.

They key to becoming a good slipper is a lot of practice. Make sure you are doing extra catching at every training session. The majority of catches will either come to you or the keeper and the bowlers expect you to catch everything. Your practice should include some longer catches 10 metres from the bat, and some short reflex catches 1-2 metres away.

The other side of slip catching is the mental side. You can stand all day in the slips and not get one catch. So when one comes your way you are expected to be ready. You have to learn to switch your concentration on and off a bit like batting. In between balls it is fine to have a joke or a laugh with your teammates but it is really important to switch back on when the next ball is bowled. My routine is to get down just before the bowler lets the ball go, others go down earlier but the most important thing is whatever you do it is consistent.

Dan Marsh