• Do you understand your own game tactically, technically, mentally and physically?
• How do you play pace, spin or medium pace bowling?
• How do you get batsmen out?
• How do you bowl an outswinger?
• How do you deal with pressure?

These are a few of the questions you may need to answer in your quest to be the best player you can be.  I recommend that you develop a hunger for knowledge and a curiosity to ask yourself the question – is better possible?

Master Your Skills – Great players do not necessarily have different or more skills than very good, good or even average players, what differentiates them is the ability to the execute basic skills of their game under pressure.

Where There’s A Will There’s A Way – Many players have the skills to be very successful cricketers but ultimately those few players with the necessary will power and determination to execute their plan are those that will succeed.  The human will is a very powerful force, if you desire success, practice using your will power and building your self-discipline at every opportunity you get, including training.  Three questions I pose to the players I coach are:

• When is it ok to get out?
• When is it ok to bowl a bad ball?
• When is it ok to drop a ball?

The answer is never.  Although we all make mistakes, you can build your will power and discipline by setting the bar high and working consistently to that standard.

Think – The cost of not thinking is failure!  To develop winning habits you must be prepared to think.  For example, work out where you are in terms of your current cricket skill set

• Tactical – your decisions
• Technical – how your execute your decisions
• Physical – your fitness capabilities
• Mental – how well you concentrate to apply your skills

Determine the areas can improve on and work out how to achieve these.  This exercise will help you to plan your cricket program to improve your game.  Seek advice from those more knowledgeable than yourself.  Remember to evaluate the advice – if it works great and if not your have learned something.  Study how the best players do it – watching international cricket with a critical eye is a good way to do this.  Pick up as many good tactical ideas and methods as you can from your teammate and opposition – there are limitless opportunities to learn if you are open to them.

Honesty Is The Best Policy – You are ultimately responsible for your performance, it’s your choices that determine your success or failure.  Be honest with yourself about your part in your performance, if you are not performing well, luck, umpires and other events do have a bearing on your performance however over the period of a season and a career, your choices are the ultimate determinant of your success.

Integrity – It’s no good to say your going to hit a thousand balls at practice this week and not following through on it.  If you say you are going to do something do it and in this way you will build the discipline in your game to succeed.  Don’t lie to yourself or make excuses.  Just do it and do it the best you can!

Be Positive – You can view every situation you face as a problem or an opportunity.  For example, if you have to play the top team in the competition it’s very easy to think about how tough they will be to beat or you could see it as an opportunity to test yourself and see how well you can play against quality opposition.    Don’t miss an opportunity to find an opportunity!

Enjoy it – You will not do well at anything if you aren’t enjoying it.  Cricket doesn’t owe anyone a good time, it’s up to you to work hard and give to the game of cricket in order to get something back.  We all play cricket because we love this great game, however sometime we can lose sight of the joy it brings us if thing aren’t going our way.  Find a way to enjoy the game and if your not doing well – hang in there, keep working hard and enjoy your teammates success.

Good luck

Mark

Sure some people don’t like him (the vast majority who hold this opinion don’t know him!).  I’m a fan and think he will do a great job in the role of Australian captain if he is allowed to develop as a leader in his own right (I’m not sure if having his former captain in the same dressing room helps) and to do this he needs a reasonable time period and adequate support.

Pup has lots of great attributes that make him ideal for the role – he is experienced yet still has years of his best Test cricket in front of him, he is a hard worker, he is an outstanding batsman, he has captaincy experience, he has retired form international T20 cricket and spurned the IPL to devote himself to the Test team and he will bring an energetic, attacking and attractive style of cricket to the Australian team.

Whatever your feelings about Pup – and hopefully you agree that the office of Australian captain deserves all of our support – the selectors have entrusted him to fill this role. Pup must be given time to build his team because moving from 5th in the world test ranking to 1st doesn’t happen overnight.  The team he has inherited is also unsettled in key positions; such as opening batsmen, after the departure of Katich, spinners (I’m not sure who our first choice spinner is Hauritz, Beer, Krezja, Casson, McGain, White, Doherty and the list goes on) at a time when the form of strike bowler Mitchell Johnson seems at time brilliant (Perth Test vs England) yet otherwise inconsistent – Pup needs time to bolster his ranks.

Ricky Ponting, great player that he is and boasting an outstanding record of leadership with the Test side, has had a more than reasonable period in which to rebuild the Australian team post Warne, McGrath, Gilchrist, Langer and Hayden, and which on balance he has done with mixed success.  Players such as Brad Haddin, Shane Watson, Mitchell Johnson and to a lesser extent Peter Siddle, have emerged as world class players however at the same time the attrition rate for Test spinners has been extremely high post Shane Warne and we have slipped in the Test rankings from number 1 all the way down to 5.

Pup deserves the opportunity to make a mark with his team, as he meets the challenge of restoring Australia’s place at the top of the Test cricket ranking. Good luck Pup.

Mark

Here are some hints:

• Be precise – understand in detail how the basic technical and tactical skills of your game work
• Be disciplined – practice them until you have them under control, that is you can execute them consistently under high pressure match conditions
• Be smart – every ball you bowl or face (games or at practice) is a chance to make a good or bad decision, grab your chance to make your best decision in every contest – ball by ball
• Be responsible – take responsibility for your decisions – your success or failure ultimately will be decided on the quality of your choices.  Your coaches, mentors, parents and supporters can only do so much.  Own your success.
• Control the controllables – only concern yourself with what you can influence, don’t worry about what you can’t.
• Train how you play – develop your concentration skills at training
• Adopt the habit of turning negatives into positives
• Enjoy the challenge of getting better, if being the best you can be was easy more than 419 player would have played for Australia!
• Stick at it – persist

Mark

This is a very reasonable question at a time when the Test cricketing fortunes of Australia are the lowest they have been since the 1980’s (we are currently ranked 5^th as a Test playing nation behind India, South Africa, England and Sri Lanka and above Pakistan, West Indies, New Zealand and Bangladesh).  At the same time Cricket Australia appears to be placing ever increasing emphasis on T20 cricket including the expansion of the Big Bash League, the national roll out of the T20 Weet-Bix Cup (formerly the Michael Clarke Cup Under 12-Under 16) and increased scheduling of T20 in Grade and Junior Club cricket.  What’s for sure is that Cricket Australia is placing a huge amount of faith in the T20 format to take the game forward in this country which is not without its risks.

I fully support the idea that players should be fairly rewarded for the revenue they generate (in this case TV rights, sponsorships and gate receipts) as players have a limited timeframe in which to earn big bucks and if they can do so by playing in a high paying T20 competition, such as the IPL, they need to take that opportunity.  So too, if a businessman is prepared to take a risk by financing a T20 franchise they also deserve the rewards that come from that risk.  However, at this stage I only see players and businessmen making money from T20 cricket, I am yet to see any of the big money generated filter down to the grassroots of the game where money is needed for facilities and development in order to grow the very nursery that is producing these players.

I would like to see a levy to be paid on top of all player salaries say 5%-10% when a player is contracted to play for a professional team outside of the state where they were developed, i.e. if a player from NSW signs for an IPL team or a BBL team outside of their home state, the team who signs them would pay the player his full salary plus a levy to the state association where he was produced, with the levy been used to fund development of the game within the state to provide much needed facilities and expertise to continue to grow the game at the grassroots.

In addition to helping develop the game the levy would reward a state association for developing players.  No incentive or reward exists other than satisfaction (satisfaction doesn’t build cricket nets at the local park or pay for curators to prepare pitches or buy equipment) for a state association to produce a player.  As it stands state associations are now spending money developing players who go on to earn big money in overseas T20 leagues without any money coming back into the foster the state that developed them.  A financial incentive in the form of a levy is a highly targeted way to deliver much needed funds back to the grassroots.

It is critical at this time that cricket focuses on fostering the grassroots of the game as it faces ever increasing competition for facilities against switched on and hungry sports such as soccer, AFL and the rugby codes.   Cricket grounds and turf wickets in particular are expensive (labour and equipment) and time consuming to prepare in comparison to soccer, AFL and rugby grounds whose shorter game timeframes enable greater participation than traditional cricket making them an easy sell at local council level where these important issues are negotiated.

Furthermore cricket’s grassroots are run by critically important and largely well meaning amateur administrators with ranging degrees of commitment and competence who are busy with their other jobs and lives.  Yet we are expecting amateur administrators to compete for facilities and resources with sports such as AFL, who in Sydney have professionally employed staff with big budgets who work directly with councils to develop facilities.  It’s time cricket started to address this critical issue and a levy on player salaries back to the grassroots game would assist in tackling this challenging issue.

Another question worthy of consideration is whether T20 is the best way for us to produce players?  Recently Ricky Ponting was bemoaning the standard of Sheffield Shield batting in recent times in comparison to the 1990’s when Australia was clearly the world’s number one cricketing nation.  Personally I would tend to agree with Ricky’s view that the standard of batting is in decline at all levels – Test, First-class, Grade and junior cricket – over the last few years.

Is T20 cricket to blame?  Even the harshest critic of the game would have to acknowledge that it’s a bit early to say, however it’s something to keep an eye on.  Recently the respected coach Neil D’Costa back from a coaching assignment in India noted that in India T20 is a game only for elite players not for developing players adding the focus on junior cricket is on development of the fundamental skills of the game.  Coincidentally (or not) India is the top ranked Test cricket nation.  I would support Neil’s view that developing players need to focus on the development of the fundamental skills of the game and I can see no harm in shielding them from T20 cricket with its emphasis on improvisation, fast scoring and power hitting until they have developed their skill to such a level where the nuances of the T20 game are appropriate.

Additionally, while the administrators promoting it make much of the participative value of T20 cricket for junior cricketers, I question the quality of the participation.  The maximum number of overs a bowler can bowl is four and often many of the batting team will be looking for quick runs if not outright slogging!  So while most of the team should either bat or bowl in a junior T20 match (which is great) the question remains what impact does this have on player development in terms of issues such as learning to craft an innings, technique, patience and concentration.

I’m sure that those promoting T20 cricket at the junior level would say that T20 is not a replacement for traditional cricket but a supplement to it, which is fine.  We need to tread carefully as we still do not know the impact that T20 is having on our developing players.  It’s by no means conclusive but Neil is saying the T20 is not a game for juniors in India and they are the top Test ranked nation while in Australia we are increasingly placing a significant number of our eggs in the T20 basket as we slip down the Test rankings and Ricky Ponting is talking about declining standards!  Food for thought!

Mark Atkinson

The strategic level concerns the plan you have in place and deals with the selection of shot or delivery you make in a given situation.  For example if a batsman chooses to defend a ball on the front foot which he thinks will miss the stumps he takes on the risk of being caught behind the wicket for a return of no runs as opposed to a batsman who leaves the same delivery and completely eliminates the risk.  The leave option makes more sense as it eliminates the risk of being out to a ball that could not be scored off.  A more precise strategic alternative is to leave the ball.  You will need to know your plan in terms of your strengths and weakness and previous performances and apply it to the conditions you are in and the opposition you face on the day.  My basic batting strategy is to defend balls on the stumps and score from or leave the balls off the stumps.

At the technical level you need to be precise in your attention to detail regarding the key requirements of the task.  For example when executing a defensive stroke when batting these factors will include the quality of your balance, full face contact, coverage of your stumps and soft hands.

I group the errors that players make into the strategic and technical categories.  For example a batsman may make a mistake because he chooses the wrong shot to play to a given ball and in this case no amount of technical skill will fix this error, a player will need to be precise to ensure the right shot is played to the right ball and this comes from having a plan that works and applying it with consistency.  An example of a technical error would be that a player selects the right shot to the ball and the technical side of the shot fails, perhaps due to poor balance or alignment such as non-full face contact.

To perform consistently you will need to apply your skills to the task at hand at both the strategic and technical levels, first to make the rights choice and then secondly to execute your option correctly.  To achieve this level of precision my recommendations are;

• Have a thorough knowledge of your game plan and technical skills and apply them with consistency.
• Master your technical skills through hours of quality and focused practice.
• Accept, relax and enjoy the challenge.

Next time your are watching the cricket on TV you might like to pick a top international player and see if you can work out their game plan.  The very good players will be prepared for every option and execute their plan with technical precision consistently.

Good luck

Mark

In order to bat well you must think well!  Better players make better decisions more often or in other words the thinking that drives successful batting involves making accurate decisions over time.

One of the most critical thinking tasks a batsman needs to undertake is to recognize both the controllable and uncontrollable elements that influence performance.  Successful performers understand these differences and have a strong focus on controlling the controllable elements of their performance, as there is no point seeking to control what you cannot.

A major controllable element of a batsman’s game critical to his success is his thinking.  Every ball you face is an opportunity to make a good or bad decision and in this sense a batsman’s thinking is a highly significant influence on his performance.   If you think clearly and sensibly you are giving yourself your best chance of success and the cost of not clearly thinking is your effectiveness and success as a player.

My views on thinking for batting are very simple – there are only 3 decisions that you need to make:

• Defend – if the ball is hitting the stumps
• Leave – if the ball is missing the stumps and you can’t attack it safely
• Attack – if the ball is missing the stumps and you can attack it safely

In order to drive this process you need to watch the ball in order to have the information you need to make the best decision you can for each ball faced.

Recommendations

• Develop a simple batting plan that you know will work
• Practice executing your plan until you know your game intimately
• Relax and watch the ball
• Train how you play and treat your net sessions like a game – implement your plan – tactically and technically
• Enjoy the challenge of having to make a decision every ball – the better you become at this the more runs you will make.
• Develop a good technique that allows you to execute your plan – it’s no good having a plan if you can’t execute it at the technical level
• Enjoy the responsibility of having to make good decisions every ball

Good luck

Mark

I think that this is a very relevant expression for us as cricketers. Basically it means that in order to succeed you have to be prepared to accept and learn from failure.

Although failure is not a pleasant part of your job, it is nevertheless part of your job and as such you will need to deal with it and learn from it. Anyone who has tasted success in any field in my view has been prepared to get up at least one more time than they were knocked down! If you give up or admit defeat you risk never tasting success and let’s face it success in any field does not come easy and one of the main challenges in successfully attaining your goals is coping with failure!

You need to develop the belief and mental toughness not to be beaten by failure, you need to develop persistence. In order to succeed you need to summon the courage to pursue your goals and dreams, despite failure in the short term, after all ‘Form is temporary, Class is permanent!’

I will detail three brief examples of persistence, where successful cricketers have turned adversity into success by persistence.

• Justin Langer, Damien Martyn and Matthew Hayden were all dropped from the Test team in the mid-nineties and came back years later to be devestingly, effective Test players
• Shane Warne’s comeback form suspension and personal crisis to achieve his best ever Ashes series wicket haul of 40 wickets since his debut in 1991
• Ricky Ponting comeback from a disciplinary suspension to become Australian captain and one of the world’s best batsmen

If these guys gave up when faced with adversity, disappointment and defeat they would never have gone on to achieve the wonderful success they did. These guys had the belief, courage and persistence to keep going when they were seemingly knocked down! Persistence is a key attribute of a champion and has very little to do with your outswinger or cut shot and the beauty of it is anyone can be persistent! Persistence does require courage, discipline and effort, but the effort is well worth making if your dreams and goals mean a lot to you.

How is your persistence? Is it strong enough to help you achieve your goals?

Cheers

Mark

Masterclass:  Control The Controllables
Masterclass:  Dealing With Nerves And Fear Of Failure
10 Tips From David Freedman
Masterclass: The Art Of Fast Bowling – Brendan Drew

Cheers

Mark

Elite Cricket is very pleased to present this exclusive Masterclass article by Tasmanian paceman Brendan Drew.

Enjoy.

Cheers

Mark

Developing an effective action

Developing an effective bowling action needs to combine three main components. Firstly our natural technique, this is what comes naturally to us, you can’t turn Glenn McGrath into a Brett Lee. Secondly and what has been a focus of many coaches in recent years is developing a ‘safe’ action. The action that comes naturally to us may put us at risk of injury, therefore adjustments need to be made to reduce that risk.  Combining these two components to develop a safe and effective action will allow us as bowlers to get more consistency, bounce, swing and seam.

The key components of an effective bowling action are:

• A smooth and efficient run up.
• A strong load up with the ball making sure the ball doesn’t go behind our head.
• The back foot land in a strong position on the same angle as the top half of the body. If you have a side on action your back foot should land almost parallel with the crease and if you have a front on action your feet should land facing down the wicket.
• A strong front arm getting our front shoulder up and pulling down hard to create momentum for the bowling arm to follow.
• Making sure the bowling hand comes down straight behind the ball with a strong wrist
• Follow through with the bowling arm coming the trough to the opposite hip and the back leg driving through the crease.

Fast Bowling Tactics

Fast Bowling is an art best kept simple. Glenn McGrath is the perfect example. He had the very simple game of bowling at the top of off stump or just outside as often as possible while hitting the seam which allowed the ball to move either way off the seam.

Different bowlers can have slightly different tactics, someone like Brett Lee or Shaun Tait has the ability to bowl fast and intimidate batsmen with pace allowing them to be more attacking. For those of us that don’t have the ability to bowl over 150km/hr we have to adopt the mentality of Glenn McGrath. Most bowlers have a stock ball, this is the ball that they bowl the best and most consistently, as a fast bowler we try to bowl that stock ball as often as possible in the area that is uncomfortable for batsmen, the top of off stump. The way a batsman is playing may suggest that a variation may be effective. Generally in domestic cricket fast bowlers tend to swing or seam the ball away from right hand batsman and bowl variations depending on what the bowler sees in the batsman’s technique.

Working a Batsmen Out

Most Batsmen have strengths and weaknesses it is our job as bowlers to identify these as early as possible in the batsman’s innings and develop a plan to either restrict the batsman by not allowing him to play to his strengths and develop a plan on the best way to bowl to the batsman’s weakness. Questions that we can ask as bowlers are:

• Does the batsman have a high back lift?
• Early in their innings batsman with a high back lift may be susceptible to a full quicker ball or Yorker
• Is the batsman strong or weak on one particular side of the wicket? This will determine what line is best to bowl for a player that is a strong off side player we may bowl straighter
• Does the batsman commit on the front foot too much or not enough? If a batsman commits too much to the front foot a bouncer may be effective and similarly if the batsman doesn’t move forward we can bowl a fuller length
• Does the batsman play with hard hand and in front of their body? Batsman with this technique may be susceptible to a slower ball, which can be bowled in a number of ways such as off or leg spinner, split finger or out of the back of the hand. These are all common methods used
• Does the batsman leave his stumps open staying leg side of the ball or does he walk across his stumps?  Batsmen that stay leg side of the ball may be susceptible to the ball that swings away from them where they may nick the ball to the waiting keeper and slips. Similarly batsmen that step across their stumps may be prone to get out LBW so bowling a few balls outside off stump to set up for a straighter ball on the stumps

In Closing

These are basic batting weaknesses that we as fast bowlers can identify pretty early in a Batsman’s innings. These tactics are all helpful things to look for to dismiss a batsman, generally if we as fast bowlers can bowl as many balls as possible in the “Corridor of uncertainty” or the top of off stump or just outside we are well on the way to a successful day with the ball.

Good luck.

Brendan Drew

Please find a link below to an article about swing bowling  for your information.  Enjoy.

Mark

The Science Of Swing