Elite Cricket inspires, develops and empowers cricketers from beginner through to the elite level with comprehensive, innovative and proven coaching programs.
Our comprehensive range of exclusive, innovative and proven programs operate year round to provide cricketers with an extremely satisfying cricket experience, develop skills, build confidence and increase understanding and enjoyment of the game of cricket.
Please visit our Programs page for more information.
Elite Cricket in conjunction with the Ryde Hunters Hill Pirates Cricket Club held a 2 day coaching program at Morrison Bay Park during the last week of the July School Holidays. Players participated in a fun program of and skill appropriate development activities including bowling and batting sessions in the nets and modified games.
We were very pleased to welcome some players just beginning their cricketing career to our ‘On the Ball’ program which is suitable for players 5 to 7 years.
Elite Cricket and the Pirates will once again be holding a program in the October school holidays – all cricketers from all clubs are welcome.
Cheers
Mark
Elite Cricket is pleased to announce the venues and dates for our July 2010 School Holiday Program.
JULY SCHOOL HOLIDAY PROGRAM
The program is suitable for ages 7 – 14 and will be conducted from 9am to 3pm.
JULY ‘ON THE BALL’ PROGRAM
‘On the Ball’ is for girls and boys from 5 -7 years, who have perhaps never played cricket or who have just begun their cricketing career. In these sessions run from 9am to 12pm and are a great way to have fun and learn about the game of cricket.
JULY HIGH PERFORMANCE – BOOT CAMP
This program has a minimum skill requirement and is specifically designed for cricketers playing at representative level or its school equivalent and places are limited.
Successful applicants for this elite program will also possess high levels of cricket skill and fitness, be self-disciplined, highly motivated and aged 12 years or above.
The program features analysis of bowling action by video and extensive bowling machine batting technique work.
Cheers
Mark
Elite Cricket is excited to announce the venues and dates for our October 2009 School Holiday Program. Simply click on the links below in red for application and enrolment details.
HIGH PERFORMANCE ACADEMY PROGRAM
High Performance Academy application form
This program offers coaching on turf nets, has a minimum skill requirement and is specifically designed for cricketers 13+ playing at representative level or its school equivalent.
ONE DAY BOOT CAMP AT FIVE DOCK INDOOR CENTRE
One Day boot Camp application form
Limited to 20 places this one day intensive program includes extensive bowling machine batting work and analysis of bowling action by video.
SCHOOL HOLIDAY PROGRAM
School Holiday Program enrolment form
Elite Cricket’s School Holiday Program is not just a school holiday activity but specifically designed to increase cricket skills and match performance.
The program is suitable for ages 7 – 14 and will be conducted from 9am to 3pm in both 2 and 3 day formats across the range of venues listed below.
THE ‘ON THE BALL’ BEGINNERS PROGRAM
‘On the Ball’ program enrolment form
‘On the Ball’ is for girls and boys from 5 -7 years, who have perhaps never played cricket or who have just begun their cricketing career. In these sessions run from 9am to 12pm and are a great way to have fun and learn about the game of cricket.
Cheers
Mark
One of my previous Masterclass articles is entitled Don’t Make A Good Ball Into A Bad One where I discuss the importance of shot selection in the context of a great player who I was fortunate enough to play a lot of first-class cricket with David Boon.
Basically, this article talks about how Boony rarely, more so than any player I have played with, attempted to hit a good ball for runs. If you bowled him a good ball, he would respect it with a fortress like defensive stroke. However, if you bowled to Boony in one of his key scoring areas, cut, drive and off his legs, he would pick off runs with machine like efficiency. This was part of the skill set that allowed him to play 106 tests in Australia’s top order against teams including the then formidable West Indies.
I was watching the 1st Ashes Test 2009 and noticed that at one stage Australia’s Mitchell Johnson bowled a 6 over spell where not one of the 36 balls bowled challenged the stumps, which allowed the batsmen to leave all of his deliveries. Amazingly, Andrew Flintoff the England batsman decided to defend a ball that was missing the stumps by 70cm and nicked it straight to second slip!
Don’t make a Bad ball into a good one! Flintoff made a bad ball into a good one in this case by defending a ball that could have been left alone. In defending a ball he didn’t have to he was increasing his risk all for no reward! Importantly, for a technical perspective when you defend ball wide of off-stump the bat face has to open up to reach the ball and you are playing away from your eye-line which further increase the risk associated with this already risky and pointless tactic!
As Marcus North demonstrated so well in his outstanding century in the same Test the only ball worthwhile hitting outside the line of off-stump is one you can score from.
Please find below an except from another article entitles The Art Of Leaving The Ball Outside Off-Stump and although leaving the ball may not sound like the most exciting part of cricket if you can master this skill it will make you harder to get out and give you more time at the crease which will make you more runs – which is exciting!
Here are the benefits of leaving balls outside off stump that you cannot score from:
Cheers
Mark
Following the IPL and Twenty20 World Cup it is great to have Test cricket back on the agenda. If the 2009 Ashes series can come close to the 2005 series in England in terms of competitiveness and pure excitement we will be in for a real treat. Of course in 2005 England regained the famous urn for the first time since 1985-86 only to have this compliment returned in 2006-2007 in Australia where Australia put the demons of 2005 to rest in emphatic fashion winning the series 5 – nil.
So the stage is set, however the landscape has changed significantly for Australia since 2006-2007, no longer does Australia have it’s host of champions to turn to, gone from the last Ashes series are some of the greats of the game – Warne, McGrath, Gilchrist, Hayden and Langer. Experienced performers like these not only control through the brilliance of their performances they also inspire their less experienced team mates with confidence and the self-belief that comes with knowing how to win. They will be missed.
However despite the significant loss of such vast experience in a short time frame there is still plenty to like about this younger and aggressive Australian team including a strong if not settled batting line-up and a good pace bowling attack and team.
Although perhaps not producing the big scores that we have become accustomed to recently, my former Tasmanian teammate, Ricky Ponting is the premier batsman in the world and is to be underestimated at your peril. While I wouldn’t say that he needs runs, he will need to lead from the front with the bat and his contribution will be very significant for Australia. Simon Katich – Australia’s rock fought his way back into a baggy green through sheer weight of runs after losing his Cricket Australia contract for several seasons and can now be rightly ranked among the top batsmen in Test matches over the last 2 seasons. After starting Test cricket as a highly entertaining batsman Michael Clarke, through lots of hard work and careful thought now holds his wicket very dearly. With greater precision in his shot selection, a greater emphasis on meeting the ball with the full face of the bat and a more stable hitting and head position, he has transformed himself to a bankable test batsman of the highest quality.
Mike Hussey’s Bradman-like test batting average has come back to the field somewhat lately (now in the 50’s!). Complaining of staleness (an argument that doesn’t get much truck with most 9 to 5 ers) Hussey should be well rested and hopefully able to reach the standards of excellence we have come to expect from him. This is a big series for Hussey and he needs runs to avoid further questions about his place so he won’t lack for motivation. Philip Hughes has hit the ground running in international cricket and has youth and momentum on his side and it will be very interesting how the English respond to our newest batting star. Hughes aggression at the top of the order, in the Michael Slater style, is certainly not typical of an opener. His penchant for creating room on the back foot to slice his cut shot away behind point from the line of off-stump makes him hard to pin down as the South Africans found out. However this also provides a technical weakness that the English can exploit – whether they can or not is one of the big questions of the series. After a mixed start to test cricket Brad Haddin has grabbed his chance and is a fantastic, attacking option with the bat for Australia.
The real worry for Australia is the number 6 position and it appears that 3 candidates McDonald, Watson and North will contest this position. My firm belief is that no 6 is a specialist batting position and requires century making capability from the incumbent. On this count I would rule out Andrew McDonald for Test match cricket, although clearly he is a very a handy and competitive cricketer. Shane Watson has an excellent batting record at 1st class level but he is dogged by injuries and is yet to post a commanding performance in Test cricket with the bat and he must be running out of opportunities. My preference for no 6 would be Marcus North, he grabbed his chance in South Africa and is a highly competent and experienced player.
Australia’s pace bowling stocks are strong and the inclusion of Brett Lee and Stuart Clark will increase the depth of the squad and competition for places in the starting XI. Mitchell Johnson is perhaps the form pace bowler in the world at the moment and is at the peak of his game, with the worry for England being that he is starting to swing the ball. Peter Siddle is fast, aggressive and has grabbed his chance with both hands and must start. The third and fourth pace bowling spots in the test XII will be contested by Clark, Lee and Hilfenhaus and the selectors will have to think long and hard about this. I’d opt for Clark’s metronomic accuracy and steepling bounce and the swing and pace of Hilfenhaus. So, that leaves Lee out of the XII for the first test and this selection dilemma is a good problem to have. Champions like Lee cannot be written offer and it’s possible he will influence the series at some point.
Like the No 6 batting spot, the spinning spot is a worry for Australia with the significant difference being there are 3 candidates for the batting position and only Nathan Hauritz for the spinning spot. Like McDonald, Hauritz is a very good competitive player who has posted some strong one-day performances recently but is not an option for Test match cricket. Hauritz’s bowling is more effective in one-day matches where the batsmen are compelled to go after him, in Test and 1st class cricket where the onus is an the bowler to prize the batsman out, he is not effective unless conditions are favouring spin. Hauritz will be in the first Test XII as the only specialist spinner in the party but will have little impact on the series unless the wickets are raging turners.
The lack of a genuine Test match spinner is brought about by generational change that led to the retirement of Shane Warne and Stuart MacGill and the extremely poor handling of Australia’s next generation of spin bowlers. I believe that you can’t get into too much trouble if you stick to the basics, for example what’s wrong with the idea of identifying Australia’s best spinner and providing opportunities and support at the selection table? The revolving door antics of the Australian selection panel reflect that they are yet to even identify whom the best spinner is, let alone provide them with any support. Following in the footsteps of Shane Warne – one of the greatest players to ever play the game – was always going to be a hard act to follow and perhaps it is an impossible task, however by discarding spin bowlers (Casson, Krejza and McGain) after one or two opportunities is never going to develop a spin bowler and sends the message to the players that if you don’t perform – you’re out! What is perplexing about this is Jason Krejza took 12 wickets on debut, played one more Test and then was dropped. If Shane Warne was treated the same way after his first test, the history of Australian cricket 1991-2007 might look a lot different! Furthermore, now that the selectors seem to be sticking with a spinner in Hauritz, they seem to have backed the wrong horse as to my mind bowling spin or otherwise is about taking wickets, not containment and nothing contains like taking wickets anyway! It seems the selectors have chosen the bowler least likely to do this in comparison with the other candidates in Krejza and McGain.
Australia aren’t the cricketing superpower they once were but they are still a very, very good cricket team – perhaps the best Test match team in the world – they aren’t perfect but these imperfections possibly make them a more watchable team. Whatever your thoughts, it’s great to have the 5 day game back and should be a great series. Enjoy!
Cheers
Mark
I am pleased to announce that Elite Cricket’s first ever touring team will be heading to New Zealand in January 2010 to compete in the Nelson Youth Cricket Festival. Due to the overwhelming level of interest in this tour we will be looking to for more opportunities to tour in the future.
The Elite Cricket touring squad is:
C. Booth
J . Dunn
S. Frost
L. Haldane
M. Heard
Z. Ince
H. Kutukoff
J. Liddle
L. Schirato
A.Wilkinson
M. Wilkins
J. Biddle
M. Atkinson – Coach
Cheers
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
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.
Good luck
Mark
One of my favourite sayings is, ‘It’s not how many times you get knocked down, it’s how many times you get up that counts’.
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.
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
