Below I have provided some guidelines on developing a clear and simple plan to succeed which may provide you with some ideas to compliment your current planning process.

Point #1: Identify your job in as much detail as you can, so you know clearly what it is.

A good starting point is to ask yourself the question ‘What does my team need me to do in this situation’. When you have worked out what you need to do you then need to work out how you will do it, which is where you plan comes in.

Ponit #2: Develop a simple, realistic plan that will allow you to do your job.

Keep it simple, my personal plan, simply stated is defend on the stumps, score or leave width. My key technical points are to be as stable as possible and hit as straight as I can for each shot.

Ponit #3: Knowing your job will help you to make better decisions in the middle.

If an openers plan was to open the batting and bat through the innings to score a big hundred for his team, he may identify that in order to do this he will leave all the balls he faces on a good length outside off-stump and that all balls on this line that are full he will drive and all the balls short on this line will be cut. Weather you have the same plan yourself doesn’t matter, the point is that in order to achieve a larger goal the player has identified a plan that will guide his action. It will be up to the player to execute his plan but at least he will have a sense of purpose to guide him through the decisions he must make in his innings.

Ponit #4: Thinking is hard but the effort to plan is worth it. Use your mind to get the best out of your skills.

Being in control of your thoughts, in my view is the critical factor in being successful as it determines how well you will apply your mind to the job you need to do (your plan). Having a plan will guide you in the process of understanding your game and getting the most from your skills.

Point #5: Take responsibility for yourself; work out your job on your own.

I don’t think it is up to the captain to work out your job for you, if the job is against the team interests your captain will soon tell you and if your job is to help the team to win by scoring lots of runs and taking lots of wickets the captain will love it. It doesn’t make sense to ask someone else for help until you have had a go at fixing your problem yourself, it’s your Saturday, it’s your time, work how you want to play and do it, anyway your know your game better than anyone else. Your captain and other senior players can help you but it should not be up to someone else to work out your job for you. The best way to learn is to work it out for yourself; they are your runs, your wickets, your figures and your average, take responsibility for them.

Point #6: Work out what your job in the team is and go out and enjoy the challenge of putting your plan into place.

We all get nervous and worried about failing at times, enjoying the great challenge that playing cricket provides will increase your chances of success, if you enjoy something you do it well!

Good luck

Mark

Now the cricket season is into full swing it is vitally important you continue to strive to be the best you can be and grasp every opportunity that comes your way. Your team training offers you an opportunity to work at your game at your weekly sessions, but as my former Tasmania team mate and now England batting coach, Dene Hills used to say ‘….it’s not the work you do at training (everyone in the team does that) that counts, it’s the extra work you do on your own that sets you apart as a cricketer.’

Whatever your level – beginner, club, school, representative, Green Shield Shires, Grade – the extra work you do and it’s quality is critical to your success. And as the skill acquisition experts tell us, it takes around 10,000 hours or 10 years of focused practice to develop expertise in a skill!

If you aren’t getting enough batting in the nets, or need to catch some extra balls behind the stumps or would like a review and video analysis of your bowling action to help optimise your performance our individual coaching sessions offer you an opportunity for quality, focused practice under the expert eye of the Elite Cricket team and in doing so accumulate the hours of focused quality practice you will need to master your skills.

It is also vitally important to get the right advice. Our team of experienced and skilled coaches are personally trained by me in the unique and proven Elite Cricket methodology which is based on extensive professional experience as an elite player with the Tasmanian, the Prime Ministers XI, Australian XI and Australia ‘A’ teams and an array of clubs in the United Kingdom and New South Wales.

During my playing career, I developed close working relationships with a host of international cricket’s foremost players in order to study, document and understand the methods, tactics and strategies they employed to become successful at the highest level of the game.

Further studies have enabled me to apply my knowledge of bio mechanics, skill acquisition, sport psychology and learning methodologies to Elite Cricket’s coaching methods and my qualifications include Bachelor of Physical Education and Level 3 accreditation from Cricket Australia. (CA grade coaches into three levels with Level 1 being the entry level and 3 being the highest – more details see Cricket Australia – Coaching Courses

Our High Performance Individual Coaching Program focuses on acquiring and mastering critical technical skills to optimise performance.

• Great for building confidence in your own game
• Learn, improve and hone new skills away from the pressure of match play
• Correct bad techniques (particularly those that may cause injury) before they become an integral part of your game and are difficult to change
• You can book for one session or as many as you like however we recommend a minimum of 5 sessions over consecutive weeks to enable a stronger understanding and knowledge of your game

You may also like to review some of the Masterclass articles on the Elite Cricket website (there are many more), simply click on the links below:

• Masterclass: Planning For The Season
• Masterclass: Planning Your Performance To Succeed
• Masterclass: Train How You Play
• Masterclass: Mental Toughness
• Masterclass: 10 Tips From David Freedman
• Masterclass: Starting Your Innings
• Masterclass: Plan And Make The Effort To Be Your Best
• Masterclass: The Benefits Of Staying In
• Masterclass: Enjoying The Challenge
• Masterclass: Dealing With Nerves And The Fear Of Failure
• Masterclass: Back Yourself
• Masterclass: Don’t Make A Good Ball Into A Bad One!
• Masterclass: Turning Negatives Into Positives
• Masterclass: Mental Toughness
  

Cheers

Mark

Please find below an outline of some of the coaching guidelines employed by the coaching team at Elite Cricket. Good luck and happy coaching!

Macro not micro:

• Fix the big picture (balance and alignment) and the details will fall into place
• Bigger awarenesses are better and easier for players to understand

Skill Development Focus:

• Focus on the process of skill development rather than the result, develop the skills and the result will come
• Challenge at all levels

Maximise Participation:

• Better for players due to greater involvement and more opportunity to improve
• Easier to manage, particularly in 1 coach to 12 player sessions

Organisation:

• Have a plan. Objectives, content, time, facilities and equipment should be factored into the planning of a session
• Seek a balance between skill development, games, nets, centre wicket and fun
• Utilise variety; everybody gets bored of the same thing in particular nets!

Enjoyment:

• Make it fun, a games focus is great for all players and helps build game sense and match awareness

Let the players play:

• A necessary component of learning and developing skills is making mistakes have confidence in your players by allowing them to make mistakes, rather than a focus on eliminating them (it doesn’t happen)
• Let them make mistakes and credit the players with the ability to identify and self-correct any mistakes they make, the mistake you identify will give you ideas for the content of your next sessions
• As a coach you need to be patient and skill don’t happen overnight, a skill based focus, a patient approach will maximise your contribution to player development

Cheers

Mark

Please find below a brief outline and some key points involved in developing sound and effective bowling actions in young cricketers and an accompanying practice activity.

Bowling Actions

In general there are 3 acceptable positions for a bowler to deliver the ball:

• Side on
• Front on
• Semi open

The main thing to look for in young bowlers to ensure their safety and maximise their effectiveness is that their hips and shoulders are pointing in the same direction at delivery. For instance, in a front on position, the bowlers back foot lands pointing down the wicket and their hips and shoulders are both pointing down the pitch. In a side on delivery, the back foot lands pointing across the wicket, while the hips and shoulders are pointing across the wicket. The key to a safe action is the hips and shoulders pointing in the same direction.

Bowling Drill

Target Practice

• Bowlers bowl into a hula-hoop that has been placed on a good length
• As bowlers become increasingly competent at this task, the coach can put smaller targets into place
• Keep score and see who hits the target the most
• Bowlers can progress from taking one step, to a few steps, to their full run-up when bowling to these targets

Cheers

Mark

Please find below 10 cricket tips by former NSW and Australia A spinner and Cricket NSW master coach David Feedman pictured below. Click here to check out David’s Cricinfo player profile.

Bowling:

• Bowling Alignment: Keep arms in close to body during run up, hips and shoulders on the same plane at back foot landing, head steady with eyes level
• Bowling Power: Accelerate gradually in the run up, pull front arm strongly down the target line and keep elbow close to the body
• Outswinger: Point seam towards 1st/2nd slip, release ball off index and second finger, position shiny side of ball to leg side, follow through across the body
• Inswinger: Point seam tto fine leg, release ball off middle finger, position shiny of ball to off side, follow through down side of body
• Spin Bowling: Spin the ball as hard as you can , firm grip, rhythmic approach, high front arm, side on at delivery, drive over braced front leg

Fielding:

• Try to become as good a fielder as you are a batter or bowler, 80% of your time is spent in the field

Batting:

• Stance: Feet approximately shoulder width apart, knees relaxed slightly bent, eyes level, weight on balls of feet
• Concentration – Maintain a fine focus on every ball from the bowler’s hand to the face of the bat
• Balance – hitting off a stable base by adjusting body weight to the length of the ball, positioning head in line with the ball
• Technique – keep hands in close to body and allowing front elbow to push through in the direction of the shots.

Cheers

Mark

The most difficult part of an innings is arguably the first forty minutes, if you have got this far (40 minutes) you have probably become used to the conditions and the bowlers to a degree and progress from this stage is more about continuing to apply the skills that have got you to where you are. That is after the first 40 minutes you are more likely to get yourself out by a mistake than by having the bowlers knock you over!

In contrast the first 40 minutes of an innings is more about dealing with uncertainty in terms of factors such as the bowlers, the pitch, your nerves and the game situation. It is fair to say that this is a fairly anxious, stressful and difficult time that requires a lot of skill to survive and thrive. The positive in this situation is that it presents a great challenge that will give you a lot of satisfaction and if you can be successful it will also set you up to make a big score. Below I have detailed a few thoughts for your consideration on starting your innings.

Keep it simple, have a simple plan, my plan is defend on the stumps, leave the width until I want to hit it (when I’m ready). When I execute this plan I remove caught behind, lbw and bowled (the most likely ways any batsman can get out), which pressures the bowler to try other deliveries that create run scoring opportunities for me.

Bowlers will have their tails up when they have just taken a wicket and you have just come in, keep your expectation low at the start of an inning, play straight, leave width and relax is my thought process at this stage. There will be plenty of time for stroke play later when the bowlers are more tired and you are better set.

Play straight, this means to me if the ball is on the line of the stumps hit it back down the pitch where it came from, it is difficult to get out playing straight.

Get balanced, the most difficult time to pick the ball up is when you first come in, give yourself your best chance by being as stable/balanced as possible at all times.

Relax and enjoy the challenge, deep breathing helps me to get calm and even though its stressful I find enjoyment in the challenge, nothing worthwhile (including making runs) comes easy, you will have to work and fight for every run and also if you enjoy something you will do it well.

Good luck

Mark

I heard an expression that made me think recently, it was ‘95% of people turn up’. I think that the application of this expression to cricket is that in most cases 100% of people turn up to a game, but how many of the 24 people at the game turn up to do what it takes to win or to play the best game of their lives or to take responsibility for their team winning the match.

I believe that great performances don’t just happen, they are a result of making the effort to plan carefully and having the courage to make a disciplined effort to execute the plan with precision. People don’t play for Australia or achieve any great success by accident it is the result planning and effort.

I think the easy thing to do is just turn up to a match and go with the flow of the game taking the attitude that if your team and team-mates have a good day you can cruise along with them. It’s easy not to think! (95% of people turn up!)

The tough but rewarding thing to do is to make the effort to take the responsibility for being the very best you can be. This path does not guarantee you success, however it does give you the chance to be the best you can be and if you never aim to do something, how can you achieve it other than by luck and let’s face it you could be waiting around a long time for a lucky break!

To be the best you can be means you need the courage to take the risk to commit fully to carrying out your game plan and accepting the consequences no matter the result. You need the courage to test yourself and see how good you can be and this means taking the risk to fail. However, failure is not a bad thing in fact I see it as an opportunity and if you can be honest with yourself every performance is an opportunity to learn weather you succeed of fail. For example if you failed under a certain set of conditions or against a certain bowler what did other people do that worked in these circumstances that you can learn from or how can you do it better next time.

When you turn up to your next game, will you be prepared to be the best you can be? Are you prepared to play the best game of your life or better your personal best performances? If the answer to any of these questions is YES, then have you got the plan, discipline and courage to make the effort that it requires?

Good luck

Mark

I suppose the best place to start is what are the benefits. Well I reckon the main benefits of staying in are as follows. The longer you bat; The more bad balls you receive. Say on average you receive 1 bad ball for every 10 your face. If you bat for 10 balls you get 1 bad ball but if you can bat for 100 balls you get 10 bad balls. Assuming that you hit all the bad balls you face for 4, if you face 100 balls you’ll have 40 runs and if you bat 10 you’ll have 4!

The more tired the bowlers will become, which will accelerate the rate at which you receive opportunities to score. As bowlers tire their techniques can deteriorate which is likely to more opportunities for you. The more comfortable and confident with the conditions and the bowlers you become. You can’t beat time in the middle and you can’t score runs from the pavilion. When you are well set at the crease is the time to cash in and make a big score. The more fun you have. The next question is how do you make sure you bat for as long as possible, well I believe the answer is to minimise your risk.

What are the best ways to this, Have a plan that is realistic, that you can achieve and stick to it. My plan is defend balls on the stumps and leave the wide balls until I want to score from them. For example if I don’t want to score off a ball that I know is wide of the stumps, I don’t take the risk of hitting or nicking it for a reward of no runs!

Technically, stay balanced, play as straight as possible and restrict your swing in defence and full swing in attack. Be patient and wait for your opportunities instead of trying to force them, remember the longer you bat the more opportunities you will get.

Relax and enjoy the challenge, if scoring runs was easy you’d do it all the time!

Good luck

Mark

Cricket can be a very tough game at times and consistent success doesn’t come easy.

One thing for sure is that all players no matter their skill, experience or level struggle for form at some stage of their careers. When this occurs it is very easy to make excuses and feel sorry for yourself, however the tougher and more worthwhile road is to accept the great challenge that cricket presents and tackle it head on.

A key element in succeeding in the face of the challenge that struggling for form presents is to remember to enjoy the challenge.

After all when you enjoy something you do it well, so feeling upset, uptight or thinking that the game of cricket has got it in for you won’t work! When we play well we enjoy it and when we don’t play well we tend not to enjoy it, after all not performing isn’t much fun.

However while form may be temporary class is permanent and as such it is very important to continue to enjoy the game despite a personal lack of success in the short run. If you let a lack of short-term success destroy your enjoyment of the game you simply won’t play well.

Key tips for enjoying the challenge.

• Remember what you love about playing the game
• Think back and remember how you play best and how good it feels when you play well
• Enjoy the challenge of getting back to form and when you overcome it this time it will help you to do it better when it occurs again
• Realise everybody misses out from time to time and this is a natural part of the game
• Enjoy your teammates success and keep contributing to the team effort

Good luck

Mark

Getting nervous is a positive sign. It is your body’s way of telling you that you are ready for action and that you want to do well in a situation. Nerves seem to affect people in different ways, sometimes they make you feel sleepy, sometimes they make you quiet, sometimes talkative and I’m sure the’re many more reactions than these!

One thing that is for sure is that everybody gets nervous! Which means you are not alone, even though nerves can sometimes be a bit daunting before you perform but even the guys who look very calm and relaxed are probably just as nervous about their performance as you, maybe more! In fact I would say the time to worry before a game is when you don’t get nervous!

As I said before, getting nervous is your body’s way of preparing you for a performance and means that you want to do well. The other side of wanting to do well is fearing failure.

Good luck.

Mark