After watching the unusually structured 3Team charity match, I started thinking about formats. While 3 team cricket is a a big difference, the idea you can adjust format to develop different skills is not new. It forms the basis of game coaching styles like Constraints-Lead Approach (CLA), Game Sense and Teaching Games fo Understanding (TGfU).
However, cricket has traditionally avoided modified games for training, instead focusing on nets and drills.
While there is nothing wrong with nets and drills, they are constrained in certain ways.
A modified game is a more flexible and useful solution.
In CLA terms, you are adjusting the environment to meet the goals of the individual. I thought it would make sense to give you some of the modified games I have tried and found to work. I’ll give you my rationale along the way too.
I will cover some drills (mainly around fielding where it’s more possible to “make a game” of a drill) however the core is modified games with the elements of cricket: a batsman, a bowler and fielders. The aim is to score runs and take wickets. The reason why these elements are core is they give players space for decision-making and Perception-Action Coupling (PAC), a concept I have discussed here.
Traditionally, game design has been based on the STEP framework. So, let’s break games down using STEP as well:
Space
Time
Equipment
People
Space
Manipulating space means closing off areas or encouraging areas to be hit. The ultimate example of such a constraint on space is the cricket net with three sides closed off. But we are getting out of nets, so how do you manipulate space in a modified game with fielders?
Target areas for batsman is first choice, most commonly cones or pop up nets.
Say you want to encourage and reward playing straight. You can set out target area that give extra runs. You can control focus by:
making straight hits the only way to score.
making straight hits a bonus area (for example any boundary between mid on and mid off gets you double runs).
V cricket is a modification that can be played by any level where the focus is on playing straight, but you can score in other ways too. Another example is Jailbreak.
The aim of V cricket is to reduce the number of fielders blocking the way to a straight hit, but still play a game that has batting, bowling and fielding. Here’s how to set up:
The basic rules are:
1 fielder is “locked” into slip if batsman hits through yellow cones.
2 fielders are locked into slip if batsman hits through green cones.
All fielders start unlocked (field anywhere in front of square)
1 fielder unlocked if batsman is bowled, caught at slip, run out or hit wicket
2 fielders unlocked if batsman is caught or run out (direct hit).
2 wides/short balls in a row locks 1 fielder
Of course, bowlers are not foolish and can work out that bowling short, wide or a combination of both stops batsmen succeeding. Clever bowlers.
However, you can also use targets for bowlers to balance this.
A length target line (too short is a no ball)
Tight wide lines
Rewards for wickets via bowled or LBW
All these modifications afford the opportunity to bowl match line and length.
Another response to this is to give bonuses for hitting in different areas so batsmen try to score in different ways to get balls into these zones.
The Round the Clock game sets target gates around round the field and you can set a goal to batsmen to get them all (while fielders try to stop this). Here’s how you set it up:
Here are the basic rules:
Batsmen aim to hit the ball through every set of target cones to achieve the goal.
Gate is closed once ball has been hit through
You can play this as a drill-style where the aim is simply to hit all the targets, or more as a modified game where you can score in other ways but the targets give big bonuses (say, 8 runs per gate cleared).
You can also use space to constrain areas for the batsman to hit to discourage certain areas. Setting up netting to cut off, for example, hitting into the leg side is not commonly used as it can be a pain to set up, but is a useful constraint that requires batsman to adapt their game. It also means you need fewer fielders to cover the outfield.
Dots v Runs game with leg side constraint, screen grab from ECB icoachcricket.
The game Battlezone is a brilliant example of constraining scoring areas towards a specific task. Battlezone puts a ring of nets around the infield so batsman can only tip and run to score. Fielders and bowlers attempt to take wickets and bowl dots. It’s essentially a game without boundaries.
Battlezone cricket with 30 yard fencing constraint
Battlezone also has the coolest name. so hat’s off to the creator, Will Vickery.
Another game that uses space - alongside time - is Hard Hats. The game sets up like normal except all fielders must be in the inner ring. The aim is to score as many runs as possible in pairs. To stay in, batsmen must hit a boundary: 1 in the first 2 overs, 1 in the second over, 2 in the third over and so on. An extra space rule is to create a second, longer boundary which affords a “life”. The idea is to encourage boundary hitting while also keeping the game situation realistic.
No one of these games does it all. However, that’s the point. They have been modified towards a specific task while keeping the key elements of cricket (facing a bowler, Bowling to a batsman, hitting the ball into the field and running, and fielding the ball).
Nets and drills are essentially extremely constrained games where important elements of the game are removed. They have a role, but if we are trying to retain the essence of cricket, these games are the way to go.
Time (and Volume)
One of the biggest issues with modified games is “time on task”. Drills give you lots of goes in a short time. Modified games sacrifice quantity for quality. In other words, they take longer and you get less chances to bowl, hit and field the ball. This is a unique compromise with which cricket must deal.
Fast bowlers find this easier because they have limits on their volumes anyway.
During winter training with an U16 group in 2019 I set a hard limit of 36 balls in a net training session for the pacers. Once they hit 36, they had to do something else (drills, bat or field). We also played a form of indoor cricket where bowlers could bowl a maximum of 24 balls in a whole session. The bowlers accepted this because of the injury risks.
They worked out how to blend low impact technical drills (quantity) with full effort bowling (quality and pressure).
Pressure is an important word because you can replace lots of reps with low pressure with low reps under close to full match pressure.
This realism is another way to sell modified games to players.
If bowlers want to focus more on volume, they can strip away the pressure of bowling to a batsman and do simple drills like bowling at cones or technical work with tools like intervention poles and OU balls. They can do these drill during modified games too, especially if they are waiting to bat or their small sided team has a break in play (like in 3 team cricket).
However, many batsmen don’t see it this way and demand to hit lots of balls.
I personally have seen incredible push back - anger, blaming, and other unhelpful reactions - from the batsmen I have coached when they do not get their deemed quota on the bowling machine or underarm feeds.
What’s the answer to this conflict?
Batsmen have their reasons for wanting volume. So work with them to find a way. Explain and “sell the why” to these players. Explain the ideas of PAC and learning in the game. Help players understand that you have their best interests at heart and they will come with you.
The way we did this at Warriors regional training was to alternate sessions.
One week was a modified indoor game where a batsman will face between 0-30 balls in a game scenario.
The alternate week was a net session where many more balls were faced. Often the nets were modified versions of the modified games with specific goals in mind (for example, Jailbreak nets). These modified net games keep the PAC essence but lose the fielding and running elements. You sacrifice realism to try and learn skills.
Another way for batsmen to get more time is to change the reason to switch batsmen in modified games.
Traditional "out means out" is the highest pressure but also means batting time is handed over to fate. Someone may be out first ball or not get out at all. You can adjust this in two ways:
Bat for set time in pairs (balls, overs or clock)
Rotational batting order (3-6 batsman rotate through the batting order)
For both, a wicket can be penalised by losing runs or points or other modified benefits, rather than the batsman having to sit out. This works for younger players and soft ball cricket (no padding up) but can be done with hard ball as well.
A variation of this I have tried - to mixed success - is having a third batsman padded up and umpiring. When a wicket falls, the umpire swaps in with the outgoing batsman.
Generally, batsman prefer not to spend training time sitting out, but we can do better than defaulting to giving everyone 10 minutes in the net and calling that a well-designed session for batting development.
You can use these time batting tricks in your modified games to adjust the level of pressure. Players who are learning to hit the ball in certain areas need more time on task than those working out how to put their existing skills under a game level of stress. So be more harsh with those you know have the techniques but need the skills. Take the pressure off those who are learning. See the Practice Types section here for more information.
These concepts are also true for fielders.
The main difference is most fielders are less worried about volume than batsmen. However, the same principle applies, you can dial up the pressure and realism but you compromise the volume. So, like batting, you can blend fielding in modified games with more drill-based work.
To encourage fielders to get more volume in modified games you can adjust the number of fielders so each one has to cover more space or give fielders high traffic areas to work in (for example in the V cricket game).
If you want more volume, first choose drills that try to stay true to the PAC and decision making.
Throwing games have options or batsmen running.
Catching games have a decision about who is going to catch it.
Avoid players lining up to do the same thing over and over unless it's a specific skill they need to learn. The standard "stand in a line and take a high catch each" is not the worst way to practice high catches but it can be made better very easily by adding a decision. Two lines of fielders where one must call, for example.
Or you can make a game of it and play Round the Clock Catching or 2v2 Fielding.
The rules of Round the Clock Catching are:
Split into two equal teams and stand in equal numbers from each team on each of the 4 cones.
Coach/feeder hits the ball high into middle.
Any fielder can call and catch ball (first call gets priority)
If catch is taken, player moves to cone on left.
If catch is dropped, players goes back to same cone.
Winner is first team to get whole team round cones (catch at each cone).
Additionally with fielding, you can recreate pressure by cutting time between skills. While it's not realistic in game terms, a drill like Monster Machine Gun does get the player working under higher intensity than a game.
You’re constraining waiting times and can do it with any fielding skill: catch, stop, chase and throw.
Equipment
A common mistake with less experienced coaches is to look at the equipment available first then decide the practice. In fact, it’s much more sensible to decide the goal then find the equipment. This section will give you some reasons for modified equipment if you have access to them.
Balls are the obvious modification.
Beginners fare better and get more goes when a soft ball is used because there is no need to pad up. More experienced players tend to want to go to a hard ball. Most resist soft ball practice despite clear benefits including:
Greater volume of fielding practice because it’s easier on the hands
Quick transition between batsmen in modified games
No need for a pitch so outfield can be used
There are various sizes and weights of soft ball starting with the lightest windball, through the seamed Incrediball which can be bought in different sizes and weights up to 5.5oz.
The soft ball gives the coach flexibility to build modified games where you don’t need to pad up to bat:
Round the Clock Cricket
And the king of them all: Street20
Street20 is an open-ended format that I have used with all ages and abilities: You can play indoors or outdoors with hard or soft ball and you can build up the rules from the basic template.
Each innings lasts 5 overs of 4 balls. Batsmen can bat again if the team is all out. The advantage of the format is speed; you can play a full match in 20 minutes. Adjust the other elements (space, people) to your needs.
Another variation is Catchy Shubby which is a little harder to understand at first but results in fast paced and intense games. The rules are:
Bat in pairs, count individual score.
2-3 bowlers (with balls) bowl in turn.
If ball is hit, batsmen must run (one only).
If bowler takes a wicket, they become batsman.
If batsman is run out, fielder becomes the batsman.
If no wicket falls, fielder who finishes with the ball becomes the bowler.
Batsmen can be out all normal ways plus: 2 play and miss, hitting out of bounds, not running.
While most of these modified games can also be used with a hard ball, it’s easier with soft. Sadly, the prevailing culture is soft ball training is “only for kids” so as coach you need to either sell the benefits beforehand or restrict sessions to hard ball. You can sneak more soft ball training in buy calling it a “warm up”, which is a trick I learned from Gary Palmer about 10 years ago. A good example of this is Jack in the Box, which is more of a drill than the above games so easier to sell as a warmup.
Another trick to get experienced players into modified games is using indoor balls.
These are hard cricket balls that are considerably lighter (4oz). There are moulded and stitched seam versions. The latter are cheaper the former are closer to standard balls. They appear the be more acceptable to the die-hard while still being useful. They behave differently and appear to float more for catches and bowling but are useful to get volume fielding practice or bowl bouncers at more nervous players because impact is less stressful. They are hard enough for pads though.
Indoor balls are ideal for indoor cricket or on an astro hockey pitch. There are many versions of indoor cricket and they can be further modified based on space, time equipment and people. I spend winters running intra-team indoor cricket with both soft ball and indoor ball, and we regularly switch things to make them fit.
In one of the more successful tournaments, we had a squad split into three teams to play 2 games a week of five overs a side over several months. The ball was indoor. We scored games as if they were full matches and kept averages. With the right other constraints, the competition was fierce and the intensity was as high as I’ve ever seen in training. Of course, it wasn’t just the ball, but this does demonstrate what can be done when you start with the end in mind.
Hard balls have less variety coming in 4.75oz, 5oz and 5.5oz standard sizes. For players with smaller hands, the smaller sizes are useful. I have had success with using the smaller balls for throw downs with older players, especially if I want to make the ball spin prodigiously. A smaller ball spins more because you can get your fingers around it. Additionally, it is harder to hit for batsmen (although I wouldn’t ask older player bowl much with 4.75oz balls, I would throw or Sidearm with one).
Overweight/underweight (OU) balls have been a popular tool for fast bowlers to increase pace. Generally, they are a fitness tool, going up to 9oz (250g) and down to 4oz (110g). These can’t be used in modified games with a batsman but if the objective is increased pace, a planned programme of bowling with them may be useful.
Bats can be used in modified games to increase the challenge to batsmen. Bats that are thinner make the ball harder to hit and can be used in any batting game. There are also heavier and lighter bats that work for batting similarly to OU balls (more power). These don’t have an obvious application in modified games.
Commonly, children use too big or heavy bats in matches and practice. This is usually unhelpful to development so avoided where possible. However, there is a case for using too wide bats with beginners to make striking easier at first to give players early success. The orange “All Stars” bats designed for 6-8 year olds in the UK is a useful example.
Bats can also be used as resources. The game 3 Bats uses rotational batting where the batting team has 3 bats and batsmen bat solo. When a batsman is out a bat is lost until all bats are gone.
Stumps can be adjusted as a target to make it easier for bowlers or harder for batters.
Wooden and spring-back stumps are fixed to two sizes (senior and junior) but in modified games you can change the number of stumps. I have played a game focused on playing spin where a batsman must defend 9 stumps. 1-4 is more common. I have also had success making plastics stumps higher by stacking up bases, encouraging the bowler to bowl a more helpful outdoor length on bouncy indoor floors. A product exists that creates a “top of off” target visual aid. It is a foam cuboid that slide over the top of off stump: bowlers can then aim to hit it (a cone attached to a net can also provide this visuals feedback).
The multi-stump product is a further innovation, tapered at the top and made of flexible rubber it can be used in any stump configuration for fielding and modified games.
It encourages fielders to aim at the base as it’s more likely to hit (which is also true of stumps in games but not as obvious an affordance). Also, if you are outside, you can spike the multi-stump into grass at an angle making an easier target at the base than the top. Another configuration I have found works is placing two stumps with the middle missing, affording the fielder or bowler a target to get the ball through the “gate”.
Multi-stumps also come in half height. Again, constraining the fielder to aim at the base. For modified games, a half-height leg stump is a useful constraint to the bowler, affording more success by bowling at off. Just don’t forget to switch it for left-handed batsmen!
If you’re building game based on fielding, there are several tools useful to the coach. My recommendation is to use them when you feel you can achieve a goal and make PAC the highest priority where you can.
Fielding bat. My choice is the Fusion Skyer because it creates an exceedingly high ball from little effort. Others prefer a wooden bat because the sound it makes is a good clue for fielders going after the ball. Combined with a baseball mitt, you can run a fielding game on your own to create volume in a more realistic way.
Katchet board. Brilliant for “repetition without repetition” catching and ground fielding work because the ball comes off the board at different speed and levels of deviation. It is less useful for PAC (not off the bat) but you can improve this by throwing the ball from further back. You can also overload pace by using a Sidearm to throw the ball. Be careful not to overuse it but as part of a wider programme of drills off the bat and fielding in modified games, it is very hand to have.
Crazy Catch. The rebounding net is another tool for “repetition without repetition” and offers a different stimulus to a coach with a bat because you see the ball travel then change direction in an unpredictable way. Much like the fielding bat, you lose some PAC to gain volume.
Here’s some fielding games I have found useful that attempt to maintain decision-making, anticipation and PAC:
Feeding tools like bowling/fielding machines and ball throwers - as well as reduced distance throwdowns - are not often used in modified games because we are aiming to maintain the PAC between batsman and bowler. However, there are times when both are useful: Bowlers need rest. Batsmen can feed to each other using one of these tools. Batsmen and fielders can get increased volume if that is the goal.
A final though is that it’s important to remember what you lose by increasing volume as well as what you gain. Adaptability is reduced, movement patterns are slightly different, so “grooving” is not as effective as it seems. The focus tends to lean toward technical and tactical rather than mental skills (such as resilience and pressure). The down sides are not deal breakers, but if you are designing a modified game it’s vital to understand what any piece of equipment does to the outcomes.
People
I’ve saved the most important to last.
People should be your first consideration because modified games are most influenced by who you are coaching. A game for 5 year old beginners is very different from a game for Premier Division 1st XI. But it’s not just ability and playing experience. Different people have different fitness levels (strength, stamina, mobility, power), mental skills, cultural expectations, individual motivations and character traits. As much as possible, take every detail into account when designing modified game. Here are a few practical considerations around people.
At the most basic level, the numbers of people in a team make a difference.
More players mean longer to wait for a bat, and fewer overs bowling and touches in the field. For full realism, 11 a side is needed but in modified games it makes sense to reduce numbers. six to eight per side seems to be a sweet spot at any level.
You can do that as two teams or as pairs (two batsmen, two padding up, six fielders). Remember you can also play with space to create higher traffic areas or have a “magic” keeper.
I don’t recommend 11 a side (or more) in practice unless you are having a full-length match with few modifications.
It's also here where you can consider 3 teams instead of 2 playing each other. This is a useful format if you only have one area to play but too many players. You can have 24 players, for example, play in eight a side teams in any modified format. The team who are not batting or fielding could be occupied with umpiring and scoring, fitness skills or drills and nets.
There are lots of ways you can play with the rules of the batting team as well. The normal “bat in a pair until you are out” has limitations. Someone could be out first ball or bat on for too long. Of course, putting batsmen under realistic pressure of getting out may be your goal as coach. However, if you are trying to get more people more goes, realistic batting can be replaced.
Pairs batting for a set time is most common. Rotational batting (have your hit then go to the back of the queue) is often used with 3-6 batters. You can also give batsmen multiple lives.
An underused time saver is having two bowlers bowl in turn – as you would in nets – to speed up the game. The bowlers have a ball each and when it’s not their turn they field at mid on. As soon as the ball goes dead from the other bowler, roles are swapped.
You can also layer points on top of this.
Adding points to batting bowling and fielding gives you greater flexibility to create individual training in modified games. The perfect example of this is a game played often by Scotland’s national cricket team: 21s.
The aim of 21s is a race to 21 points between batman and bowler. The rules can be adjusted but generally points are allocated for bowlers taking wickets, bowling dots and beating the bat. Batsmen score points by scoring runs. Sometimes certain scoring areas can see extra points, for example a straight hit boundary is worth 6 or 8 rather than 4 or 6.
Naturally, you are not fixed on your points system. You can adjust the scoring as you go to make it more difficult as players progress. In 21s for example, say the batsman is dominating the game. You can say a wicket ends the game with a win for the bowler, or balls hit in the air are a point for the bowler.
This can also be used as a motivational tool. A team can have a game get progressively more difficult and each step up is a “level up” where they feel they are making progress through the levels.
Once you have a points system you can not only manipulate the rewards as above, you can also introduce “power ups”. Power ups are a concept borrowed from video game design. They give a temporary advantage. Imagine them like the mushroom you collected in Mario to make you invincible for a few seconds. You have the idea. So, for example, in cricket you could add a power up zone with cones on the outfield. The batsman can hit the ball through the zone to make them invincible for the next 3 balls. Power ups are infinitely manipulated and personalised but here are some examples I have used:
Non-boundary runs scored after a boundary are doubled
A bowler bowls 4 dots in an over and the batsmen lose runs
Coach places a power up bib in an unoccupied fielding position, anyone who fields there can do a double play (catch and run out) if wearing the bib
Taking wickets “unlocks” fielders from set positions
I have also used a “earn your power up” system with players who train for a week in nets, earning benefits for the squad modified game we play at the next session. It led to some very reflective planning and deployment of power-up through the games, and high engagement from the players who sensed they were getting rewards from some grinding practice.
Keep power-ups in your back pocket and deploy where you feel individuals need it. If a player is way ahead you can handicap them, or you can drop, more power ups into weaker players to give them a better chance of success. You can also use them as CLA-style affordances; encouraging play like bowling at the stumps, hitting straight or direct hit run outs. They work at every level in my experience (although older players need a bigger explanation why).
Tied to the power up concept is “saving progress”. Credit must be given to Amy Price, a football coach and researcher who adapted the concepts of video games designer James Gee to sport. Saving progress is another of these ideas. The idea is simple; you carry benefits you have earned from one session to the next. However, we often don’t do this as coaches just running a things session to session without actively joining things up.
What does save progress look like?
It’s another adaptable idea based around rewarding doing things successfully. For example, say a player achieves their goal in one session and earns an extra life when batting (they can be out twice before they are out). You can hand them an “extra life” card and tell them they can use it in any future game they want. I have found a successful way to stealthily check players retention of game awareness is to start the session with a modified game and don’t ask the players about any saved progress. If they demonstrate it to you during the game, you can move on. If they don’t it’s time for a recap.
Mixing ability is a challenge with any coaching. Modified games can help the coach a lot.
Ability, by the way, is not just cricket skills. Other things to be considered are the personality and mood of individuals, the mental framework they bring to the game and the emotional and physical maturity in younger players. You can have a player who looks a million dollars in nets who goes to pieces in a game, for example. Modifying practice to help this player develop is very possible with a modified game but difficult with nets and drills alone.
Use a points and power-up system to create skills balance between players, much like a golf handicap. To balance other abilities, build robust reflective practice into modified games. Click here for ways to do that. I would strongly recommend leaving time both in session and post session to reflect on performance and come up with ways to improve.
Summary
As you can see, playing modified games is incredibly flexible so can be overwhelming. However, following the basic template of environmental design gives you a stable framework to adjust:
Start with the aim
Plan based on the aim with available space, time, equipment and people
Play a modified game to recall and reflect on previous learning
Play the main themed modified game
Reflect at the end (both players and coaches)
As a coach who uses modified game, you get to create some incredible, unique experiences for players. Embrace your role as an “environmental designer” through modified games and see the difference it makes.