Game Notes: Twenty20 Game Six

In the final 1st XI T20 of year we went out as we came in: with a one-sided defeat. Bowled out for 71, and lost by nine wickets in the 13th over.

As has persistently been the case this year, wickets fell with no discernible pattern. Our overseas player - who has never looked out of nick the whole year, yet never got a 50 - hit a ball to mid off. As did the other opener, although he had scored a few. Number three was run out by a direct hit. Another batsman was run out at the non-strikers end. A spinner fired in a couple of good yorkers and our captain was given out lbw sweeping when it hit his glove.

I'm still unsure how and why this continues to happen. We have a tactical plan and a method to achieve it. Most players are experienced and have records of success to call on. We know our roles. The bowling is not dramatically better, despite there being some good bowlers around. We can't even blame the wickets any more as they are good cricket pitches at West, giving equal chance to good bowling and good batting.

We do seem unable to see off better bowlers or target weaker ones, everyone who bowls to us gets wickets. Yet there is no pattern to this as far as I can see. 

One possible answer is to improve the quality of the bowling at practice. This can really only be done with a machine as we don't have enough 1st XI standard bowlers to give all the batting a decent go. I may also start approaching 1st team top order players for extra sessions on the bowling machine to see if we can get in some volume and make some technical corrections. The current method just isn't working the way I like it.

To return to the match, we bowled like a practice match with attacking fields and using our first XI opening bowlers for the first eight overs. As a result, the opposition attacked the ball into gaps, got away from us and won it easily. We dropped two catches. This didn't really matter for the result but it was a sign of the day, where everyone had a bit of an end of term feel. I can forgive that for this game that was already gone in a competition we were already unable to qualify for the next round.

One big plus at the end was someone saying he felt like the warm up was focused and that he felt it was a good team spirit right up until the last few runs were needed. I was delighted to hear as helping to create the right atmosphere is a big part of my role as coach.

• Stop: Finding ways to lose wickets, attacking too long with field placings.
• Start: Running the ball around more, picking the right balls to hit, build partnerships.
• Continue: Focus in the warm ups, playing like a team with a good atmosphere, confidence in our tactical approach.

Session Notes: Intention Nets, Granular Fielding

This session was about regaining control while also continuing to develop player's self sufficiency. The way I did it was bring back the group warm up session with a couple of quick fielding drills, then move onto a focused net, with some freedoms built in.

The warm up was a quick underarm technical drill followed by a drill called 360 degree fielding. Click here to see it. I noticed from the video of Saturday that our ring fielding was busy, but not always clean. This is a minor criticism, but standards are so high I can be as granular as that.

The fielding was a slight experiment. This group tend to get fed up very quickly unless they are doing a lot of activity in a drill. This is less high volume drill and more standing waiting for the ball. People got fed up after about five minutes, so we wrapped it up quickly. I will keep it in reserve as its a much more realistic ring fielding drill than others, but perhaps keep it to six players rather than the 15 it turned into as people arrived. I could also insist latecomers don't participate and do their own warm up, although that smacks of punishment. However, it was a solid warm up.

We then broke into two groups of eight with the idea that each group had a "captain" who would be in charge of making sure everyone got a go. I chose the first and second eleven skippers to demonstrate authority this first time. This was a response to the previous session where no one ran the session well in the nets. I now had two people in charge of their groups.

We were also lucky enough to have a former West of Scotland and Scottish International come along to help out. He is retired from the game but was happy to help give some advice on batting and wicketkeeping to the guys. That's invaluable knowledge that I hope they tap into regularly. I never played a high level so he is the perfect foil to my role.

West of Scotland Nets

The first group, who were all first team players, went into the roll on net on the outdoor wicket. I wanted players to have freedom to do what they want, but I also wanted to stop the "have a net" mentality of last week creeping in. My compromise was to as players to write down their intention on a whiteboard. I said I didn't care what it was, but it had to be something. My thinking is that this focuses the mind a little more than going  in with no plan.

To me, this is not enough. I prefer to track results and improve measurable outcomes over time. The players have not responded well to this at all, so I am learning to adapt. I will continue to sneak in measured sessions, but for now the "intention net" combined with me asking the players to review after the session will keep the dream alive.

The second group worked on some fielding. I wanted the focus on both slip catching and infielding and they set about coming up with their own high-energy drills. In this area, the players are brilliant. They make up drills, and will keep wheeling away with the occasional switch to something else when they get fed up. The challenge for me is to build in some technical work too, but the activity is spot on.

The groups swapped after about an hour and the work continued. Only one person missed a "live" net, and got some throw downs at the end. Otherwise, everyone I asked got what they wanted. This was great progress.

• The good: Efficient, well-run session with the focus on getting relevant work done and keeping enough freedom for the players to work on their individual goals.
• Needs work: More technical stuff, keep the 360 drill more tightly focused, build in some accepted measurables.

Game Notes: Seventh Round

My first Saturday league game as coach only also saw our first league win of the season. It was a solid win, albeit with a significant batting wobble.

Pre-game prep was focused and efficient. I always wonder how much difference the drills make, but at least they put you in a mindset for the first few overs. We bowled first.

We had a new opener, with the usual new ball man switching to first change as he has been more effective in the middle overs. This was not a complete success as his first three overs went for 16 and he didn't take a wicket until his seventh over. However the score was 37-1 from 10. 

Generally, we seem to do better in the middle than in the first 10. We have not taken many wickets with the new ball this year. This was the case today, as at the other end our nasty fast bowler was dropping a lot of balls short. He also pitched them up, but as you can see from his bowling wagon wheel, 51% of his runs went square, meaning he was off a consistent length:

This rate continued through the middle overs with the opposition opener doing all the running in a 65 ball 48, while the number three held things up by scoring seven in 28 balls. When this partnership was broken the game was balanced at 59-2 off 14 (4.2 an over).

When the opener fell, the game quickly changed. Our change bowlers, who are strongest in the middle overs, combined with tight fielding to slow the rate. They scored 20-2 in the next 10 overs. Then, a collapse came and five wickets fell for 20 runs in 10 overs. They were bowled out for 100 in 34 overs.

I noticed a couple of weaker areas in the field, notably in the ring on the leg side, and some inconsistencies behind the wicket, so will focus on those in upcoming training. Overall, the standard was as high as ever.

So, with 101 needed, a confident side would have knocked it off 2 down in 20 overs. It took us 6 wickets and 30 overs. The run rate was good enough consider previous effort and we batted with real intention to score, even when wickets fell. 

The middle order wobbled again with some silly dismissals and some very good bowling on a pitch that had livened up in light drizzle. I am increasingly thinking that we are a side who can build totals with all the top eight or nine chipping in a few, rather than sharing out big scores. And it turned out to be the case here as the lower order put together a sensible 30 run partnership that saw us over the line with comfort.

I feel this is part a confidence thing, and part a technical thing. Our batsmen are not stars but they are talented and capable of each averaging 20-30 over a season. If we can factor in three to four match setting up partnerships per season per pair we will turn more games into wins. That's where the confidence factor comes in. We need to believe we can do it, then develop a technical method to achieve it. This is exactly what I have been pushing for in practice with things like the strike rotation and range hitting drills.

I also am filming games for analysis now, and can start to build a database of confidence-building video for players to remember how good they can be in the right situation.

2nd XI

On the other hand, the challenge for the twos is to maintain standards against terrible opposition. They batted first, scored well over 300 and bowled the opposition out for under 100.

At least we have players in form and biting at the heels of the first team batsmen for a place.

Session Notes: Lessons Learned

In this session I was lulled into thinking the players were more ready for responsibility than they were, and it went badly.

As is usual now, I insisted on players self-warming up, but this time didn't get anyone to lead it. The result was some people warmed up a bit and others did a few stretches. That should have been my first clue. I foolishly soldiered on with my plan.

A productive start

I set up three stations; throwing at a stump, fielding on the boundary and hitting the ball into gaps. These are all areas in which we can improve. I then told the guys to do what they need to do and gave them freedom to do what they liked.

This started well. Three bowlers said they would rather do target bowling and set up an area themselves. Another group wanted to do throwdowns. The others split between fielding and gap hitting drills. People were talking to me about the work they needed to do to be ready for the weekend fixtures.

However, it wasn't long before a couple of players were asking to have a net. I wanted to encourage this player-led action so, despite reservations, I said yes. 

As you may know, one of my pet peeves is players mindlessly netting with no one getting a clear benefit. I trusted that they were not going to let me down, so I made one rule of no more than four bowlers at a time and left them to it.

I was wrong.

Mindless nets

What happened was exactly what I feared; nobody organised the net they had requested meaning players batted on for a long time while others stood around waiting. At one point there were nine bowlers in the net and one guy - who I had essentially banned from bowling - standing by the bowlers because he couldn't think of anything else to do. There was no doubt it was a disorganised mess.

Also in the meantime the "hit the gaps" drill disintegrated as players decided to stop fielding and have a bowl or pad up.

Now, I have to take the blame here.

I reasonably expected that - as an adult - if you ask for a net, you are going to organise it. I left them to it without either taking responsibility for keeping time and managing bowlers, or assigning that job to someone else. For that reason, no one did it. I took my eye off it to work with fielding drills.

That said, what annoyed me most was no one spoke up. I heard at least two people grumbling about it but not one person thought to either take control of the net, or ask me to take it over. The cornerstone of my coaching philosophy is that players have to take personal responsibility. That's why I stood off and that's why I was saddened my the response.

Strangely, we had two under 15 boys at the session who took it on themselves to work together and spent the entire session doing unsupervised, productive work both batting and bowling. They showed this can be done.

Lessons learned

The lesson learned here is that I have assumed too much responsibility on the part of the players and need to reign in this aspect until they are more ready for it. As one person said to me after the session, "we are used to being sheparded like sheep, and are lost without that". I don't want sheep, I want lions and tigers, but I need to bring in these things more slowly and piecemeal.

My plan for future sessions is;

• Continue to stress the idea of personal responsibility; players must come to every session with a clear idea of what they want to achieve. Constantly challenge players through the session to stay mindful of their aims.
• Ask people to speak up to me if they feel something isn't working. However also have the ultimate aim of removing me from the process so they can adapt drills without my input.
• Be more mindful of people choosing to stand around doing nothing. Take a moment to speak with them and find out if waiting 20 minutes with your pads on is the best use of your session. It isn't.
• When dealing with nets or complex drills, assigning responsibility to a single person to ensure the net is managed.
• Returning the whole group fielding session to set a more organised tone before breaking people off.

• The good: the session was actually alright. We did a lot of fielding, lots of people got a go in the nets. Activity was high.
• Needs work: Organisation (ideally player-led).

Game Notes: Twenty20 Game Five

With great relief I can report a First XI competitive victory in the Twenty20.

We are off and running, and while I always try to keep my response to results as even as possible, the length of time it took to achieve this win leaves me feeling more satisfied than usual.

Playing away, we took a strong, aggressive-minded team across the city. I was there as coach not player. As is often the case with evening matches, the preparation was rushed. The captain and opener was stuck in traffic and arrived five minutes before the start. Lucky for us a senior player was sensible enough to toss, win and elect to bat first.

Once we were all arrived the game and settled we could relax and watch the top three make a solid start. 32-1 after six is about par batting first on a dusty track with a slow outfield.

The good batting continued against some frankly poor bowling and after 11 we were on a healthy 59-3. Our "pinch hitter" was going well. From here I was hoping we could kick up a notch and score another 60 or so runs to take the game away. My guess was anything over 100 was a winning score.

What happened next was some very clever bowling, mixed with some luck, that saw a brilliant triple wicket maiden from their old-stager skipper. He bowled off spin with a run up that started at short mid on because he was starting his run from behind the setting sun. He took one over (10th) to get into this weird run up that went for 12. Then he bowled three overs for three runs and five wickets!

This collapse was not entirely self-inflicted. The bowling was slow and straight and clever and hard to pick up. It set us back to 67-8 in after 16. That five over period went for 8-5 and cost us a par score. Nevertheless, the tail are sensible and know how to rotate and pick the balls to hit. They took us 88, mainly thanks to a "block or hit" run a ball 13 from our young leggie. Kudos also goes to our agressive number three who held the middle of the innings together during the collapse and scored a useful 30 at 75 SR and 45 SB%.

We faced 73 dots, scored 59 singles and six boundaries.

We knew we had to bowl well to have a chance, despite their weaker batting line up.

So, we came out straight away, hit up some catches, took some ground balls to get the feel of the bumpy outfield and got ready to bowl at the stumps with a tight ring. And we did exactly that, after five over they were 15-2. After eight they were on 24-2.

This was a crucial moment. They had wickets in hand and with 68 needed in 12, the game was on. Especially as two poor overs from change bowlers took them to 40-3 after 10. However, the bowlers settled down, the fielding was spot on and a double wicket over changed the momentum back to us. 

It was always going to be tough to score 45 runs in eight overs with the long shadows, no sightscreens and with our attack, but it was still on even if we had the advantage. We had to go well, and we did. We stuck to our plan and as the dots kept building the risk taking went up and wickets fell. 57-5 off 14 seems like they are still in the race but when you are behind the rate (they scored 9-2 in the four over period before that) you find it hard to get back on track. They lost the last 5 wickets for 15 runs and finished in the 19th.

They faced 75 dots, scored just 26 singles and four boundaries.

Admittedly, they were poor. We could have beaten them by at least another 20 runs, but It was an overall excellent performance where we were only behind the game for one bowling spell of three overs.

I filmed the game for further analysis later, and may write up how I do this efficiently another time.

• Stop: Being vulnerable to unusual approaches. One bowler kept them in the game. Picking poor boundary options when going for sixes.
• Start: Raising fielding standards higher to turn more half-chances into real chances. With pinpoint throwing we could have had another run out.
• Continue: Playing with a free spirit with the bat, rotating the strike, looking for boundaries. Staying calm under pressure. Excellent ground fielding and catching.

Session Notes: Commit to Basics

I set up a WhatsApp group to discuss training before this session and got some interesting comments about what the players wanted.

One person said they wanted to do the basics but felt like we did the same thing every week. 

I'm not sure how those things marry up as we do work on the basics of fielding, bowling and batting, but always have different drills to keep people occupied in fresh ways. I suspect the truth is, for this person, they want to get a longer bat outside against decent bowling and feel any "fancy drill" is just getting in the way of hitting balls. This is a valid view and I'll think about getting the key batsmen a longer bat at least one session a week.

The rest of the feedback was more practical. They wanted middle practice but with focused fielding and good bowling. As you know, we have struggled to make this work in the past, so we set up a new game. More on that in a moment.

Fielding

At the start of the session, I did my usual trick of self-warm up - which the players are getting the hang of now - followed by three fielding stations.

• High catching with me on the mitt and Skyer.
• Low catching with the Katchet.
• Throwing at a stump.

The last drill had a complexity element. There were two sets of stump set up. Players had to do 10 press ups, then get fed a ball and told to throw at either the red stumps or the yellow stumps. You got a point for getting through wide cones, and three points for throwing through the target (two stumps with no middle).

Basics, covered.

Batting

We then set up the middle practice with a net on the leg side to allow for off side fielding only. The plan was to work on strike rotation; both stopping it in the field and making it happen with the bat. The rules were:

• 1 point for the batting pair for a run
• 1 point to the fielding unit for a dot
• 5 points to the fielding unit for a wicket

Scoring middle practice

We also experimented with making the fielders do press ups for every five runs conceded. This aspect didn't quite work as planned but I like the idea, and will tweak it in future.

Others not in the game went away to get throwdowns or do some more fielding. I liked how this aspect worked as players just went and did creative stuff with no input from me. 

The game worked well for about half an hour then the fielders started losing interest. The score stopped being kept, some fielders were half-hearted, there was no field setting element and one person was throwing his hands up - literally - and moaning about it being pointless. My plan for a leaderboard of scores was scuppered because of these reason.

Stop pointless netting

I had to twice gather the fielders in and give them a dressing down about the point of the session. If middle practice is to work, everyone must treat it like a game where every run matters. This wasn't happening, so I told people to do something else or commit.

My analysis is that the "have a net" mentality is ingrained in all of us very deeply. It means that when you practice it's only a matter of time before you default to mindlessly going through the motions. This is the antithesis of my reasons for training. We all turn up to make sure we do well in a match, so we must treat every session like a golden chance to improve in some way. I will continue to press this home.

I'm happy to admit I could have driven the analysis better of the session. I was conscious of wasting time gathering people together, so perhaps a compromise is to have a huddle after a wicket. This gives the batsman time to consider his approach and acts as a minor punishment of less batting time. Meanwhile the fielders can "reset" mentally and tactically.

Despite this glaring issue, it was a good session overall. Key batsmen got a go against good bowlers. We got some fielding in. The sun shone and we all learned a lesson or two. Not a bad way to spend a summer evening by any means!

• The good: Basics covered, people taking greater responsibility, good middle practice initially. Commitment still high.
• Needs work: Maintain focus, encourage further mindful training rather than default netting.

Session Notes: Good Old Fashioned Nets

Good weather, a dozen players and lots of positive, player-led activity in this session.

I again asked a player to lead the warm up, and will continue to do this with the overarching aim that players turn up and just start warming up themselves. This is an area of self-reliance that should be easy to bring about as soon as we change the culture. 

We then had a fielding completion, where two teams took turns to execute pick up and throws and a catch with the best set winning each round. It was a 5-2 landslide to Team A.

I wasn't planning on using the wet square, but a senior bowler wanted to bowl through to test an injured leg. He, along with other senior players, impressed on me the need for outdoor training, so we got out the net and ran it for two hours. This is exactly the kind of player-led training I am after: People telling me what they want and me facilitating it.

Once the net was running, all I had to do was keep people focused on the tasks. I challenged batsmen in different ways to avoid the "have a hit" mentality, I made sure people were getting throw downs and I asked bowlers to focus on specific things rather than "turning the arm over".

However, these were minor things as most of the time people were focusing on getting productive work done.

This freed me up to find time to do some range hitting with a batsman, some technical drills with a young player and some keeping work with the first team keeper. 

I also brought everyone together at the end to summarise the session, which acted as a way to remind people that the onus is on them to do the work rather than look to me to tell them what to do. I reminded them I will always be available for drills, analysis and conversation around their game, but the rest is up to them. This was a nice little bookmark and I'll keep doing it as long as I can find something to say.

• The good: self-led session, everyone focused.
• Needs work: I'll need to butter up the groundsman after ruining a pitch!

Winning Twenty20 Tactics

Based on a study from 2014, here's the areas to focus on to win: 

1. Wickets in hand are more important than runs in the first 10 overs, especially the powerplay.
2. 50+ batting partnerships win games. Batsmen who score 75+ win games
3. Winning teams score more runs on the off side.
4. Teams who bowl more yorkers and short balls win games.

Game Notes: Twenty20 Game Four

I am moving closer to my aim of coaching and not playing as I got to coach the firsts in the latest T20, including some video analysis.

After batting first and scoring 90-8, we lost with 26 balls to spare, taking two wickets. A hammering. It was a difficult pitch with large, slow outfield.

Despite the one sided feel, I can honestly say I saw improvements. The intent to score was clear but wickets fell and we had to dig in. Nevertheless we kept trying to rotate the strike and the dot balls were more play and misses than defend and leaves. To recover from 37-6 in 10 to get to 90 is a fine effort.  Naturally, it's the 6 wickets that are the issue. I filmed the whole thing and made notes.

After hearing how tough it is to bat second, I was surprised how easy the opposition found it. They started well, played and missed less, and hit more boundaries. We tied them down in the middle with a lot of dots so the dot% was the same, but they hit the ball over the line more often. This was especially true after the 10th over.

Our stats:

• Wickets: 8
• Dots: 48%
• Singles: 39
• Boundaries: 3

Their stats:

• Wickets: 2
• Dots: 51%
• Singles: 20
• Boundaries: 11

The bowling was solid as always. Perhaps a little loose early on and at the end, but a seamer and spinner kept it tight in the middle. They were only 41 off 10, but with wickets in hand they hit out and killed the game quickly.

We dropped five catches. You would expect to take at least two of them, with the others being trickier but taken on a good day. Despite that, heads stayed up and we fought until the last. Spirits were high.

Sadly, I needed to act as 12th man in the field so was unable to film the other innings.

In review,

• Stop: losing wickets in the first 10. Dropping catches.
• Start: turning dots into ones and twos. Hitting boundaries off bad balls. Building a platform with the bat to go big in the last 10; four down should be the most going into the back end.
• Continue: good spirits, tight ground fielding, accurate bowling, lower order calmness when batting.

Here's the review from the captain:

• Stop: Losing top order wickets in bunches. The guys in the top order often get caught playing either overly aggressive shots, or defending without any intent to score runs. We need to find a happy medium which allows them to play freely while not getting out.
• Start: Practicing catching more. Our four dropped catches cost us the game, no doubt. All the culprits are guys you would expect to drop them under pressure because they don’t work hard enough on this vital aspect of the game.
• Continue: We have a good blueprint for playing T20 cricket which we should continue to build on. Our ground fielding was very good, our bowling was excellent. Guys all have clearly defined roles which they bowled to, and the lower order batted excellently. We just need top order runs to become a truly formidable T20 side.

Session Notes: Self Reliant Cricket

I ramped up the self-sufficiency in this session, looking to encourage players to take control of their own development and also realise that I can't be everywhere so they need to work together to get better.

I started by asking someone in the group to run the warm up of 15 players for me. It was a bit of a surprise to him and he blanked on it, but we got something done and I'll keep pushing players to have a warm up ready in case I ask them. They all know how to do one, after all.

To settle them back down we did 10 minutes of skill work, working on throwing technique for power.  We then set up three fielding areas where throwing was the focus. I took the lead from some recent advice from Sam Lavery in my delivery. I let the players work out the drill for themselves with only minor prompting. I also let them work out the groups and the rotation times.

The drills were,

• A simple catch and return working on throw accuracy.
• A pick up and overarm throw drill from three positions, working on strong and weak side throws.
• A diving drill where a player has to defend a goal from two throwers.

They sussed out the drills quickly enough, but the self-organisation is still lacking a little. It worked fine, but I feel the general idea is the coach leads and if he is not about then things drop into default busywork modes. My long term aim for this strategy is to see groups turn up and just start warming up and drilling unprompted from me. This is the first step.

We then added a controlled net. We used the indoor nets for throwdowns and a "live" net with three bowlers and a single batter. I again generally left people to work things out themselves and again it defaulted to having a hit and waiting for coach instruction. I can't fault the guys as this is what they are used to doing, but I will keep pushing the self-reliance mantra.

Not everyone wanted to go indoors, so I left batters to get throwdowns outside. I was pleased to see - despite the lack of the square to use - a group had an impromptu middle practice with bowling, batting and fielding. This is exactly what I was after.

This also gave me time to do throwdowns to a couple of batsmen and do some basic technical work (back foot play and power hitting) with them. I think that's my first chance in a group session to do this work. It was limited in time but it felt productive.

I'm still thinking about how to track performances in training better. We had PitchVision set up, which is a good start but I may need to develop a "testing day" where skills are monitored just for that day. There is not quite the take up for day to day tracking I had hoped for.

I also want to have a clearer end to the session. People drift off early while others stay late. I think I will have a set time to quickly summarise and remind people of the importance of reflection and plan in for the next session.

• The good: Balanced my time better, got some technical work.
• Needs work: Encoraging players to have a plan, performance tracking.

 

Game Notes: Fifth Round (and Development XI)

This weekend saw three games, with the Development XI starting the season with a friendly.

2nd XI

I was in the 2nd XI who won an easy game. We bowled them out for 30 and won without loss in 5 overs. It was nice for the two bowlers and two batsmen, but not a good way to prepare people for the next level. After the game, we discussed changing the league structure and, perhaps something more in our control, batting first by default. 

We fielded well, the opening  bowlers were on target and we stuck to the plan of being ruthless. It was over so fast there was little challenge, but it was also good to see we didn't relax.

1st XI

Meanwhile the firsts were busy making me sound like a stuck record. We didn't score enough runs. We batted first and mustered up a hundred and change. The opposition lost three wickets in the reply, but did it in under 25 overs.

The reports of the batting were as always; batsmen find ways to get themselves out. The opposition bowling is good and accurate but not terrifying. We can survive all day, but when we look to score we lose wickets. I still believe the intent to score is correct, but am starting to worry that no one really believes we can score enough. That is reflecting in a fear of getting out rather than confidence to play. It's a working theory that might be solved with fresh personnel: If we can find someone raw and brimming with confidence.

The question I ask myself is this; how can we set up training to restore belief? That's a tough one.

I was at the ground for the second half. The bowling and fielding again seemed reasonable. We were lacking two of our main bowling attack and the 2nd team opening bowler got some early tap. Our main strike bowler was a little short on his lengths. He's too quick for most to pull from back of a length and he beats the bat a lot but isn't finding the edge enough. I will encourage him to bowl fuller to club players.

However, the game was over fast and so it's unfair to do too much analysis around the bowling and fielding. In short we look solid enough but need more on the board to not have to rely on a tear-through-the-top-order bowling strategy. 

Development XI

The job of the development team is twofold: to bring young players into adult cricket and to give club players who don't play league Saturdays a chance for a game.

We played a 40 over friendly on Sunday with a mixed team: Three players on debut (including a 12 year old batsman/leg spinner), a few first and second team players and a couple of guys who are not quite league standard yet. The game was played in friendly spirit with retirements on fifty and every bowler getting a bowl. We scored 198 and they got 175 in reply.

What mattered more was getting people into the game and the captain did that very well. I wanted to join up the preparation of the younger talented guys with a review post game, but they ran off, so I'll need to follow up with them another time.

I know it's a friendly, and results don't matter as much as enjoying the day but good habits are part of a culture, so I would like to sharpen up the intensity of fielding and running a little more. A short pre-match and post-tea warm up will focus body and mind there. My thinking is that when a player steps into league cricket he will understand the basics and the only change is in intensity rather than culture.

I'm also hoping that when we get a chance, we can slip in a declaration game or two just to mix up the pressures on batters and bowlers.

Session Notes: More Indoor Work

It was another wet day, so we dodged the showers for 15 minutes of fielding then hit the indoor nets with a core of 9 players.

The fielding drills were both new ones to my list. The first was aimed at encouraging a throw at the bowler's end stumps when fielding at short fine leg. Too often we throw to the keeper from here, but the run out is almost always at the far end.

The second was a simple execution of four skills in a row: catch, outfield pickup and throw, underarm flick, and over the shoulder. It's simple but intense.

Then we netted with a spin and seam net setup. I encouraged playing with discipline in one net, and experimenting with freedom in the other. The batsmen batted in pairs and I encouraged real world running and calling to add some realism.

Measuring success

One challenge I am starting to realise is dealing with consistency of training. Very few guys train twice every week. And very few guys take it on themselves to monitor training performance. To counter this I may need to sit down alone and decide what outcomes in training we need to measure more closely as a team, then impress on individuals that to meet their goals, they have to start tracking things consistently based on their individual needs. This is a two way process but neither the players or I have driven it hard enough.

• The good: Made use of what we had, numbers and standards were manageable.
• Needs work: measuring sucess both during the session and over a number of sessions.

Game Notes: Fourth Round

A quick summary of the round four match for the firsts: we batted too slowly scoring 131 in 49 overs, and the opposition knocked it off.

I spoke to the skipper at training who reported the same story as has been all season: players either look to score and find a way to get out, or shut up shop and go at two an over. 

Again the bowling seems in better shape. Defending 131 is never easy but the core seamers seem to be doing everything they can. The spinners are less strong but still capable. Fielding is good and intense.

The key lesson for me is simple: The only way out is up. We have to get the top order scoring fifties. Until that happens, the bowling needs to keep going but we can't even assess effectiveness until we get a good score on the board.

The way we do that is "controlling the controllables" by preparing mentally and physically, staying confident and positive and backing our clear ability to come good. With a couple of super keen youngsters in the side next week, we can tip the balance.

Session Notes: Imperfect Middle Practice

In this session we did some middle practice. However, it fell a little short of my aim of giving important strike rotation practice to senior batsmen.

We had good numbers, so after a quick warm up we used an old wicket to have middle practice with a realistic scenario for each pair batting time. I set the aim to try and rotate the strike because we have failed so far as a first team to do this well. We currently score off one ball in every five. At that rate, 120 is a par score.

I decided to do it timed to allow players to experiment. The first couple of pairs went well. Top order batters came up against good bowlers and there was hustle from the fielders.

Imperfect practice

The problem came when we needed to give lesser bowlers a go, but we still had top order batsmen to have their time in the middle. The standards stopped matching up. At least one player was clearly unhappy with this outcome.

We had one new player who will be joining us in a couple of weeks so I made sure he got a decent bat and he shaped up well.

The imbalance evened itself out as the lesser batsmen had their go and standards matched back up, but some people didn't get to have a bat because of time constraints. Another player was also clearly unhappy about this. Additionally, the standard of fielding was low and dropped away further, so by the end strike rotation became far too easy with the pressure off. I tried to mitigate this by bowling with the sidearm to some better players but this failed as it was getting too dark to see the ball at pace.

At the time I felt I had failed in my role of giving adequate practice to the players. I spoke quietly to both guys afterwards who both said it was not an issue, but I read between the lines that it was. I reiterated to them both that when I am managing a disparate group of 14 or more players, the onus is on individual responsibility to get what you need from a session. And, the more I think about it, the more I realise that there will always be a compromise in a two hour session. If I want to get some decent results for some players I have to focus on them and put others down the pecking order.

No acceptable alternative

The alternative would have been to give everyone their seven minutes in nets against all kinds of bowling standards and no one gets a hint of improving. That is unacceptable and I won't do it. I would rather have four guys get a decent bat and another three a proper bowl than 15 do nothing but busywork.

I told the players again that they are the ones pushing their own development and my job is to facilitate what they need from what they tell me, not run a mass session. I will keep pushing for this to sink in.

I will also push for a stronger "get on with it" mentality. Most people got stuck in, but at least one player got annoyed at the standard of bowling and lost focus, getting out twice to shots he wouldn't play in a match. I had a sharp word for him to focus, but didn't get the chance to reflect with him afterwards about the importance of making the most of an imperfect situation. As he has limited time to train I will try to catch up with him over email instead.

I was happy with the session intensity. It wasn't at full pelt (which would be my preference) but it was good enough considering the vast difference in fielding standards between players. Everyone stuck at it for two hours, which is a long time to stay focused.

• The good: commitment, realistic practice.
• Needs work: Better communication with individuals about meeting ther needs, better matching of standards, better fielding, sidearm.

Game Notes: Scottish Cup

Positive results continue to evade the first team. On Sunday we were dumped out of the Scottish Cup by a stronger side. We scored 135-9 in 50 overs and they got them in 22 overs with four wickets down.

Despite the comprehensive loss, it was a positive day. The team dug in to put a target on the board, then stayed positive even during an onslaught by the opposition openers of 54 runs in seven overs. The atmosphere was confident and relaxed and people worked hard for each other.

As is always the case, when we batted we struggled to turn starts into scores, and build partnerships. Three of the top six scored 16 or more and you have to have at least one to go on to score 50 plus if you want a decent total. The conditions favoured batting. We also only had two partnerships of more than 20. 

That said, the intent from all but one batsman was positive. I asked guys to look for singles, be turning hard every time for another run and find ways to score easily. This was a huge step forward in the progression of the batting unit.

When we bowled, their openers looked to go hard. This was reflected in one opening bowler going for 38 in his four overs. At the other end we tried nine balls in a row of short stuff. This was effective with two bouncers causing a real problem in particular. Then one opener tried to hook and nailed it for six. After that we looked to pitch it up with the keeper up to medium pace. I was happy with the tactics and the shift when they stopped working. In hindsight, perhaps we should have abandoned the idea of a gentle medium pace bowler taking the new ball after the first over went for 15.

We brought on spinners who took some wickets later than was possible to seriously consider winning. The first wicket fell at 121. Again in hindsight, with three spinners in the side (although one was on debut) perhaps we could have turned to spin before the score was 57. But these are minor things, and creative ideas that just didn't work out. The fact is they batted us out of the game in the first 10 overs without making any risky moves. They went hard and hit it cleanly.

We fielded well, with a couple of small fielding errors late on, but no chances dropped and some wonderful throws from the boundary. The ring fielding was tight. We showed we were well drilled and athletic right until the end. This was also reflected in the atmosphere. The encouragement for the bowling kept up through the innings and I felt we were tight together as a unit with no negativity. There was a brief quiet period when they got to 100 without loss and I could feel a collective acceptance the game was gone. But we perked up and took four wickets in the last three overs.

So, in terms of my checklist we did most things right. We batted with intent, we fielded tightly and bowled to a plan. We had a good atmosphere with everyone working for each other and having fun.

We can still improve. We need the top four batsmen to focus on being a bit selfish and making a big individual total. We need to think slightly faster on a tactical note. 

We need to make sure the atmosphere is happy and friendly from here on in. Everyone must understand and respect each other's role. You cannot apportion blame or talk behind people's backs. I have heard a non-credible rumble that some people are in a "be nice, say nothing" mindset. If that is the case - and I'm not convinced it is - then we need to keep talking to each other and helping each other improve rather than quietly fuming about some unspoken issue. Conflict is fine and normal in a team, but it must be in the open.

If I'm right, we are almost there (the second team is totally there). And it will remain one of my points of focus until we nail it. This match was a step toward.

Lastly, a young batsman and leggie made his debut, batted at seven and didn't look out of his depth. He holed out going big early, which I took as a sign of confidence and lack of game sense. He will learn the latter if he has the former. I was quietly happy. He also took two wicket in his first over and took a round of applause in the dressing room. He has potential.

Game Notes: 2nd XI Fourth Round

As previously reported, I was with the seconds this week. What a difference in atmosphere, confidence and execution I saw.

Batting first we scored 198-8, then bowled our opposition out for 89. Clearly from this result we were much stronger, but there were moments in the game that reflected a fighting spirit.

First, we lost wickets regularly through the the innings and at key moments. We were 98-5 at one point and aiming for 160. Yet the lower order rallied and took us to the unassailable target. I admit this was as much down to poor bowling as good batting (32 wides tells the story) but we stayed sensible throughout the innings.

The top order will be unhappy with missing out. We had good stands of 20+ all the way down, but we also got out to some terrible balls: At least three full tosses hit to fielders for example. With better execution we could have scored 50 more runs.

It's here I really noticed how confident and relaxed atmosphere in the side. Winning is a key part of this, but it's not just winning. The conversation flowed, players watched the game but chatted over and around each other. Some were laughing and joking, others talking tactics and others serious about making sure the scorebook added up with coloured pens. Batsmen waiting to go in seemed calm and ready, those who got out sat back down and rejoined the conversation after a brief period of mourning. It was a perfect balance of serious and whimsical. 

Second, in the field we were outstanding. The captain said the first few overs were the most enjoyable 20 overs he ever had in a West shirt. We stopped everything, threw hard and accurately (including a direct hit run out) and caught all but one tough chance. It was a 9/10 effort. Things tailed a little bit in the last few overs as legs got tired and we were clearly going to win. I can handle that.

Lastly, the bowling was good. Our opener from one end was his usual accurate medium pace away swing, dropping in to cross seam wicket-to-wicket with the keeper up when the shine was off. This bowling will win you a lot of games. The rest of the bowling was somewhat rusty and less accurate, but good enough to deal with a weak batting line up. However, it's an area to improve when we come up against stronger batting sides.

For me the role of the 2nd XI is to be the squad 1st XI, that means playing to a standard that is close to the firsts. We did this as well as we could given the weak opposition; with one minor exception of bowling more bad balls.

As I keep saying, this game is about getting the process right and the outcomes take care of themselves. The win was great, but the process was what really pleased me.

Session Notes: Sharpening Up

After the recent losses, we have worked on a few things to sharpen up both in the field and with the bat. In this session, I continued that theme. We had fewer players than usual but we used the session well.

We started with an underarm warm up drill that challenged the players by forcing them to do two things: feed and move, and execute the skill and move a different direction. It's surprisingly taxing to think and move, but exactly what you need to do in a match.

Then we had middle practice with the focus on scoring by working the ball around. We used cones to set the field; red cones were boundary men, yellow cones were in the ring. I challenged the batting pair to score by hitting the ball into gaps with real running.

As I wanted the guys to experiment with different methods of scoring, so we batted for time instead of having a short end for getting out. 

Another way to add pressure is to keep score and put a consequence on the losing pair. I didn't do that on this occasion, but perhaps I will with more evenly matched teams.

However, no one needed this extra motivation as all the players took the session seriously and stuck to the task. When the game is a bit contrived it's easy to default to having a hit. We didn't do that and when it seemed like we might, a little cajoling from me got everyone back on track right away. That was good mental application and grit from all in attendance. As a club, we need this approach to filter through every level.

I was most impressed by a young bowler who considers himself a dreadful batsman. However, he got stuck in and despite getting out several times initially, he found a way to score and was starting to rotate the strike in a realistic scenario for him (batting 11 but having to get through to 50 overs to set a target).

• The good: positive attitude from players, drills did as intended.
• Needs work: better attendance, especially from 1st XI squad players. Playing midweek games is fine but isn't the place to prepare from Saturday if you want to improve. I also feel I need to get the balance of player- and coach-led work tuned up.

One to one

I had a further chance to work with our new first team keeper one to one. We did a range of drills from basic glove work to advanced challenging drills. He has good hands but needs better posture and there is no doubt he's making progress.

We also learned that a standing up drill using the katchet is extremely challenging if you throw into the board from a distance. 

Game Notes: Twenty20 Game Three

It's becoming increasingly frustrating to me that the 1st XI can't win a game. We lost this week's midweek T20 by a large margin against a side we beat easily in preseason.

We lost the toss and bowled on a very low, slow track. We bowled and fielded to a decent standard. We were missing one front line bowler and the two fill-in guys let it slip enough for them to score 120.  Our front line bowlers conceded 73 in 16 overs. The other two 41 in four. This was probably 20-30 more than they should have got.

We set a target of 35 in the first five overs, but it soon became apparent that this was enormously optimistic. Yet again we lost wickets early and regularly. It certainly wasn't exceptional bowling, but the wickets tumbled in all manner of ways from missing straight ones to the ball trickling onto the stumps from a defensive shot! You could partially blame the light, it's becoming more evident that batting first is a massive advantage, and that going round the overs without urgency when you bowl first costs you.

We were out of the game by the 13th over. Eight down and over 10 an over required. The last couple of players took the game to the 19th. That showed some lower order fight, but we were not going for the runs in any serious way. 

In review,

• Start: Bat first (it's a huge advantage), step up the pace to get through the overs faster, have a better option for the fifth bowler. Look to score off more balls, especially against spin.
• Stop: Finding ways to get out, setting improbable targets and trying to force the pace of batting beyond what is possible.
• Continue: Raising fielding standards, bowling well, batting to 11. Putting in work in training.

Training Notes: Intensity!

I had a request for a more intense session to overload the players and make training closer to game pressure, so we put together some drills.

I looked to push the players in both fatigue and mental stress with three stations. Two areas were devoted to different races where ball skills were needed, and one was a throwing drill where the players had to hit a target after performing an excercise to drive up heart rate.

All these drills had cricket elements but were really about dealing with physical and mental pressure. As a group, we are good at this, but it was good to mix it up and encourage the guys to reflect on developing a system for handling pressure to take to the middle.

We then split into four groups. Some went indoors to hit balls. Some did a batting drill where the aim was to hit the ball into a gap based on a call from the feeder. Some did target bowling. The rest worked on some fielding skills, specifically slip catching with some great feeds from our resident hard hitting, big arm throwing batsman. I wore a helmet to do the nicks, just in case. He has a good arm!

Gap hitting drill

Fast bowler nicking drill

A session like this is great for activity, and the challenge becomes linking this busywork into stuff you can use on the field. That's where a review is all important to think how you reacted in that situation, and what you need to do to get the best result in the middle. I need to further stress this process to players as they can do this work between sessions.

I finished the session but had time to do some one to one work with the new first team keeper. We are working on his posture, both staying low and keeping his head and hands in line. He is coming along.

The Player-Coach Challenge

After a poor personal start to the season with the bat, the captain has decided to replace me with our up-and-coming keeper in the first team.

I have mixed feelings about this. 

One one hand, I am delighted for the youngster. He is not 100% ready for the level, but he will learn as he has a lot of talent. You have to get these guys in early.

On the other hand, I'm sad I couldn't make a contribution on the field. I like the guys and felt part of the first team. I would have like to be playing well at the highest level and be a useful player. Yet that was always going to be tough.

Ever since I started, I have pushed to stop playing to focus on coaching. I have not practiced to allow others to get their practice in. It's no great surprise I have been below par (and par is not that high for me anyway).

Now I'm caught in the tricky situation of playing second team cricket on Saturday. The seconds are strong and although they need a keeper I'm not sure they should have only coach at the club. I will be out of touch with the first team. That's bad.

Ideally, we will have enough bodies every week that I can drop out totally and coach the firsts on Saturday. Until that happens, I'm going to have to come up with some creative ways to analyse first team performance and mentality while I'm not there. A fun challenge, and one I hope I can meet!