Preseason Notes: Does Data Have a Role in Club Cricket?

If you are a master chef, you use the right tools to produce the most delicious dishes. You could use just a chef's knife and get away with it, but it makes it much harder to stir the soup.

This is how I feel about data in club cricket.

Data is another tool to produce cricketers. If you use it at the right time it works a charm. Just don't try and stir the soup with it.

Many people don't see stats in this way. They look at numbers and charts and feel wrong. Sport, they say, is about passion. It's about the fire and being in the moment. It's about the meta; the context and the story. Numbers take all that away.

And yes, sport is those things. Those moments where it's a real contest, you are challenged to your limits and you are influential in the result is why I love cricket so much. Where I disagree is that data is the opposite. Used right, stats give you the chance to reach your peak more often.

Using the data tool in cricket

Let me give you some examples from West of Scotland this winter, where we have had unprecedented use of data in a club setting:

Over the last few weeks of training we have kept data on "key measurables" for batsmen and bowlers. Basically, accuracy, pace, batting average and strike rate. Then I update the players every week with a league table of their performance at nets.

Suddenly, popping along for a net means something. As one player said to me this week, "I batted well but I got out a few times. I ruined my average". It's competitive both with others and with yourself. And, let's face it, all cricketers are super-competitive.

Beyond this, the numbers also start to show me things that I suspected:

• The young all rounder who has improved his accuracy and batting strike rate dramatically with high volume erratic training.
• The unreliable batsman who has committed to training so much he has the second highest number of balls faced at nets.
• The fast bowler who has doubled his accuracy.
• The spinner who has added several mph to his pace without losing accuracy or turn
• The paceman who has bowled more than anyone else but recently lost some pace and accuracy suggesting he's slightly over-bowling.

All these things are clear in the data but less clear to the eyeballs. Chances are I would have thought all the above were true without PitchVision, but with it I KNOW it to be true. It's right there.

Once we know things, we can plan around them better. Selection can be made more on proven facts. If we want to reward those who train more with selection preference, then we can look at who has faced or bowled more balls. If we are mulling over two players we can look at their training data alongside match stats to see who has a better chance of success.

For individuals, it highlights areas to work on. Whether we are building strengths or flattening weaknesses, we can apply time and attention to tactics and mental skills rather than focus on technical changes that are easy to spot but hard to implement (especially in season).

For example, one batsman has been concerned with his technique when playing straight. It is slightly unorthodox and - in theory - might make him vulnerable to swing bowling.

In fact, he has topped the batting averages all winter and has performed against some very challenging swing bowling on the bowling machine. He has learned what he needs to do to "switch on" early in his innings simply by measuring outcomes. Due to these numbers to support him, he is more confident his technique will serve him in all situations, rather than being worried he may not survive against good bowling.

Another good example is the right length to bowl to get wickets. With the data gathered we can see what lengths are "good" for different bowlers. It's easy to compare length bowled that took wickets with length that went for runs. In one case we adjusted a players length back by about 50cm. You might argue this is so small no one cares, but games are won and lost on much smaller margins. The more you hit your most successful length to more wickets you take. As proven by data.

Where does this leave the narrative?

As you can see, there are a lot of ways to use data to improve cricket at club level. But I want to stress, there is still a huge place for the other, instinctive side of cricket: the narrative.

Cricket is best played as a story. The raw challenge is batsman vs. bowler. The wider contexts of the match and the season loom overhead. We talk long into the night about those days where we came up against a challenge and overcame it. We speak of the drama and the emotions. The numbers are too cold to tell the story.

Telling stories is a powerful human need. That's why books and movies exist and why all cricketers need a narrative to make things interesting. This not only must continue, it always will. As long as we are human.

Stats don't add much, if anything, to this basic need. They may even take away from it. But what they can do is help you tell more stories of success because you are better prepared.

Use the numbers to help you with selection, tactics and self-awareness. Then train hard to get you skills right and go into your game ready to tell your story.

It doesn't need to be a dichotomy. Use stats, use stories and enjoy your cricket all the more.

Preseason Notes: Commitment and Creativity

Preseason is progressing well at West. The three times a week sessions have proven popular and the senior squad numbers 20, averaging over 1000 balls each since February nets began.

I've been proud of the commitment the guys have shown because it's hard for club players to find the time to practice. I feel my role has been to put on as many sessions as possible, follow up with everyone and making sure they get good, focused practice when they get along. So I have got creative.

I learned last year that some old habits are harder to break than others, so I have taken a softer approach this time, looking to gradually learn how each player responds to my nudging towards self-reliance. 

We have been restricted to our indoor school because of light and weather. With two small lanes, nets are the only option. While this means we can run multiple group and one to one sessions every week, it also provides a constraint.  So, rather than do "PONP" (Plain Old Net Practice) I have tried to spice up sessions in a number of ways. Here's what I have done. 

Adding focus and pressure to nets

It's easy to turn up, have your go in nets and go home, having not improved. I wanted to make sure people had a better focus and felt like they were actually competing. 

Last year I did this by asking players what they wanted to work on. This lead to mixed results so this year I generalised it with what we call "the runs game". 

In this game we have a normal net with several bowlers and a batsman. The runs part is that batsman "keep score" by saying how many runs they think they got each ball. Clearly this is impossible, but you do get a rough idea based on the field set, the match scenario and how well you struck the ball.

These runs, along with any wickets - including self-confessed catches in the outfield  - are recorded on PitchVision. We then keep a running set of "net averages" recording balls faced, runs scored, average, strike rate and scoring ball percentage.

The benefits of this simple tweak are huge: balls matter more to the batsman, they try and play as they would in a game instead of playing "smash everything" net cricket, there is a competitive element of having a league table and I get data on players strong and weak areas.

Its also great to see the bowlers celebrating wickets like it really matters! Often the energy in the sessions is super high and intense because the competitive juices are flowing. 

We simplified the system to stop too much discussion over runs by making the batsman decide everything with no comeback from the bowler. The batsman also could only score a single or four. This stopped worry about whether it was a two or a three or if that hit over the top was a four or six. My theory is the extra ones and fours batsmen natural assume they get make up for the lack of these runs.

As the runs game is decided by the batsmen - and frankly some are easier on themselves than others - it wouldn't be fair to keep bowling averages too. So instead I monitor pace and accuracy of the bowlers with PitchVision. There is also a case of keeping track of wickets but I have not done it so far (although it's trivial with the PV data analysis we have). Again, bowlers look to compete with each other over who is most accurate and fastest. Again, I get to analyse the data for strengths and weaknesses.

But the real strength of the runs game is everyone plays it all the time. Often, accidentally playing it when they are not in the PitchVision net!  That's so much better than last season's bad habit of letting games drift into having a hit. Not bad for a silly, imperfect game huh? 

Creative ways as to make indoor nets feel outdoors

With a good focus on building tactical skills under pressure, my next challenge was to make the sessions feel more like outdoors. With a concrete surface, very cold weather, artificial lights and short run ups for bowlers, this is a big challenge! 

That said, I also challenged our assumptions about the way the conditions are different. We all assume that there is much more bounce inside, especially compared to early season wickets. However, when I compared the data from PitchVision, I saw only a 10cm difference in bounce! Admittedly the ball "skids" more than it "stops" indoors, and the light and temperatures are different, but it's not as crazy as we all assume.  

Nevertheless, the closer the better. Here's what we tried: 

• Always bowling and batting to a given scenario, rather than working on technical elements and getting nowhere.
• Adding a "game in a game" by playing the runs game while also giving batsmen 10 points that they can lose with certain mistakes such as play and miss or hit on the pads. It racks up the pressure as your score drops because when you are at zero, you are out.
• Bowling with the Sidearm to recreate the same pace as outdoors, while also allowing the batsman to see the ball being bowled (something you can't do with the bowling machine). I can bowl up to 80mph with it (although the average is 64mph, still decent 1st XI seamer pace).
• Using the bowling machine at higher speed to overload players reactions. Some of the better batsmen were facing 85mph for some drills. Against the machine, this feels much faster.
• Piling the mats on top of each other to deaden the bounce. This worked brilliantly and made the skiddy bounce become "tennis ball" bounce, just like outside. 

This last hack worked so well, I am itching to intergrate the idea further with more mats permenantly piled up in both nets. 

Keeping score adds pressure to net practice. All from a whiteboard. 

Despite all this, there is still nothing like getting outdoors. Even if it's just to bowl and field until we can get a practice wicket ready. So, I have been pushing the excellent groundsman to get something as soon as he can. I think he was a little surprised I'm asking for a wicket in March, but if weather allows what is stopping us? It's all about being creative and challenging dogma and getting the heck on with it!

Awesome commitment: West of Scotland Cricket Club 1st XI players stay after practice for fielding work.  

Preseason Notes: Attacking Tactics and Confidence

I have been writing and thinking a lot about tactics recently, and I'm wondering if it's time to rethink the classic club plan.

My thinking was sparked when I was watching a rejuvenated England ODI team blaze the ball around for fifty overs, even when wickets tumbled. It was brash and confident and "modern". It had been long called-for by those who saw other countries do the same.

I idly wondered "can the same be done at club level?"

Does aggression work? 

My first thought were to the negative: bad pitches and outfields, worse bats, balls that swing and seam more often. Average early season scores are often closer to 150 than 300. Most days, even in midsummer, 200 will win you a game.

If you consider these reasons as insurmountable barriers, you will not like the idea of being more aggressive. Taking an attack minded approach over a sensible "build a foundation" approach will reduce scores as you get bowled out within your 50 overs.

This is why club teams persevere with slowly building. It makes sense. It's tried, tested and effective.

But, I have seen club games where 300 has been scored in May too. It is possible to post above par scores in the amateur game, even if it's rare.

It made me wonder if we are "leaving runs on the pitch" by being over-cautious.

I suspected we were.

The Brendon McCullum happened.

It was a dodgy pitch against skillful swing and seam bowling - much like club games. He walked to the wicket after watching the top order shuffle to 32 in 20 overs. He then blazed the fastest ever hundred in Tests. This gentleman is not for scratching.

His tactic was born in simplicity: He was likely to get out to good bowling at any moment. There were gaps galore with all those slips. Why not smash it at the gaps as often as possible until you're out?

He knew it was his best chance of success. He was right. He left with New Zealand on 253 in 45 overs.

What would we do at club level if we scored 32 in 20? Look to get up to 50 or 60 by 30 overs then take a few more risks in the last 20 to get up to 120. There's every chance that would be enough. I've seen enough games where 140 is a winning score. I've played a game where 98 is a winning score!

253 would win you most games.

What McCullum personified was the "screw it, let's do it" mindset that can get you way past a par score. Yes, he was lucky, yes he was brilliant. Yes, his efforts can be emulated by lesser mortals.

That's when I knew we had a chance to grow and become a fast-scoring club side.

The attacking mindset

I think it's more about mindset than skill.

At club level we don't trust our skills as much. We feel we have to play safe. We don't want to be accused of making a "silly mistake" and we don't want to waste our one weekly chance with a frantic swipe.

Yet, we can change this fearful thinking and score more as a result.

Like McCullum, think of batting as a chance to get as many as possible before you inevitably fall (after all, you are out almost every time no matter how you play).

You can still play with skill and controlled risk, but I'm certain you can score more quickly. Even the fearful blocker has a way.

I talked about how to do this in detail over at PitchVision Academy.

Tactics, culture and practice

Now, team tactics and roles are not up to me at West. My job is to advise the captain and senior players, not set the policy. That's right and proper because the captain has to run the side on the day. He is ultimately responsible for the result so must set the tactics. I'll work with players within context of the captain's vision for success.

I also cannot set the culture at the club. I can influence it as coach - strongly - but I can't make up people's minds for them. That culture is crucial because we must continue to allow players to have the freedom to make mistakes if we want them post bigger totals. It means still not judging a "silly shot" by either ourselves or others. It means accepting days where the tactic was right but the implementation needs work. I will push for these things but the ultimate culture is down to the players.

As coach, what I do is help players see what they are capable of when they push themselves. So, when any given player walks out to bat in any given role he knows exactly what to do to push the score along.

For many, that's not McCullum style swinging but it is a more positive style of thriving by working the ball around and hitting boundaries in strong areas. For others it's knowing when to unleash the power shots. We have several players who have it in them.

It all goes back to knowing your skills and trusting your ability to put them into action.

Attacking is not slogging, it's confidence

What is my conclusion?

I believe club sides do leave runs on the table through over caution.

I believe that through a combination of practice, confidence and culture we can feed more runs into a par score.

As a result, sides who do this - as I hope we can do at West - will leave other club teams struggling to compete.

Preseason Notes: The Journey Begins

2016 Preseason nets at West of Scotland Cricket Club

Preseason has begun at West of Scotland.

I'm excited about the next few months in the run up to the start of the cricket season. The aim is to raise the standards of the entire club, from part time third team player through youth players all the way up to first team stars.

It's a huge challenge.

So how are we approaching it?

If I was going to put it into a statement I'd say, "Focused and flexible training".

Focused because I believe you improve by practicing specific things and flexible because the range of abilities, available time and motivation to train is wide.

We have started this year with an new experimental weekly structure, all based in the two lane indoor nets:

• One club net session
• Two junior net sessions
• One batting session, done in small groups.
• One bowling session, done in small groups.
• Multiple one to one coaching sessions

The joy of this is the flexibility. Casual guys can come to the club session and enjoy the usual banter. Serious guys can focus on their main skill in a more focused and skill-matched environment.

It's so flexible, even the exceptions can get what they need. For example, one player is mainly a batsman but can only get to the bowling session. So, he comes down half an hour early and faces the bowling machine. Then, when the fast bowlers arrive he faces them in the nets before finally bowling at the end.

I run the specialist skill sessions in small groups of 3-5 players an hour at a time. This means the batsmen get 40 minutes working on specifics and batting in tactical situations. The bowlers get 40 minutes working between target bowling and tactical bowling. There is no way this would happen if we had simply general nets.

Of course this is all backed by PitchVision to track both bowling and batting as much as possible.

I keep "averages" for the batsmen based on a game we play, and accuracy stats for the bowlers. This is designed to be a motivational tool

Is there a down side?

There is a heck of a lot of coaching for me to run: Planning sessions, setting up, throwing balls, talking through things, tracking and updating data. Even for a badger like me it's tiring.

It means I rely on players to take control of their own game and help each other because I can't be everywhere. However, even in this first week back I have seen guys swapping advice, helping each other and walking into to nets knowing what they want to do rather than "having a hit".

From my perspective, the first week was a huge success. We had high numbers at all sessions and the intensity was brilliant. Time will tell if I can maintain this frantic pace and players can keep standards as high as week one, but I believe we can.

If this experiment works, we will hit the new season more prepared than any team in the country.

I'll keep you posted.

Session Notes: Focusing on New Goals

An outdoor net session at West of Scotland CC. 

With better weather, we finally got some sessions on the square and took advantage by having some middle practice.

I was cautious as the last time we tried to do this it failed badly. I didn't want a repeat so we chatted as a group and came up with a set of rules based on building realistic pressure. Here's what we said,

• Bat in pairs with the minimum of a run every third ball.
• All forms of dismissal possible
• Two bowlers in tandem, bowling from one end.
• After 4 wickets, the pair are finished

Overall it was a success, despite their being one pair who got a longer bat and one pair who got out fairly quickly. This didn't go down well in all quarters so I pointed out that cricket is like that sometimes. We don't all get our 15 minutes to bat in games. I also said that how you respond to an "unfair" moment tells you a lot about your character. Sometimes, like cricket and life, training is unfair. The ability to shrug off the unfairness is part of your skill as a player.

On the plus side everyone fielded with intensity. Hopefully this was due to the words I had beforehand about staying up for it, and also the multiple run out chances because of the third ball run rule!

Then, as a counter-balance, we had a more traditional net at the next session. The session was low in both numbers and player motivation. I think this is because the season is drawing to a close and there is not much to play for. I let it drift along just keeping a general eye on people and offering some quiet words. It's not exactly what I wanted to do, but sometimes you have to read the tone of the day.

With three senior sessions left this season, I may give people a new focus to finish the season well. 

Session Notes: Intent, Intent, Intent

I have to hand it to one of our young players. He gets what I am trying to do, as proven by the evidence of a net he had during our last session.

He knew he had trouble against spin, so he asked for only  spinners to bowl, while setting up target areas with cones. He then set about trying to hit the target areas along the ground and trying to hit everything else over the top. In short, a  self-driven net with a plan and an easy way to track the outcome. Brilliant.

Playing spin with a goal in mind

After the session I heard a criticism of this approach saying it was tactically wrong to think you can use your feet and hit spinners over the top in club cricket. Whether you agree with this or not (and I don't), we can't possibly criticise a player for making a plan then learning how to execute.

As our skipper said in response, "If you want to learn to use your feet, then use your feet to every ball in the net. It teaches you which ones you can hit, and which ones you can't". Quite right.

A few words of coaching advice...

Weather Notes: One Game in Five Weeks

Recent weeks have seen very little except battles against rain. The First XI have had two matches called off. The 2nds have managed a game but lost a tight chase against top of the table. There has been no Sunday, senior T20 or junior cricket for what seems like a month.

Frankly, it's depressing. The Firsts have completed one game in the last five.

We continue to train twice a week come rain or shine. It's mostly rain, but the indoor nets save us every time. Numbers have dwindled: This is understandable considering the lack of chance to play or train outside. From a training viewpoint this is is fine because there are two nets here, so any more than 10 is a tight squeeze.

I have also felt the lethargy. Training feels like "going through the motions", with people putting in work at nets - and even coming up with new fielding drills when the rain stops - yet the thought looms large that it will simply be grim on Saturday and no one will play.

One highlight has been a fielding drill for 5-7 players that is highly realistic and the players seem to enjoy it. 

I stand with a bat by a stump and a player feeds a ball to cut or back foot drive. 2-3 players field in the covers and try to stop it and throw down the stumps at the other end. The others back up and return. After 10 tries the teams swap, and most hits win.

I like the realism, and the fact I can hit it hard at fielders, or drop in into space. The forces players to anticipate much more than usual drills where one skill is practiced.

Alongside this drill, we have come up with some crackers this year. I am sure not original drills, but I am loving the creativity of the players.

Also, the hardcore of guys who train are putting in some serious work. We have a couple of bowlers who are striving for better accuracy and will bowl at cones on the outfield for hours between showers. At least four batsmen have put in some good technical and tactical work under the constraints of using the machine indoors.

Yet, without the challenge of games, we feel down. In season training is supposed to be about review of the previous game and prep for the next game. This feels more like the off season with so few games in the last month. If we had known we had a block without matches we could have planned something better, but they say it's the hope that kills you!

Let's focus on finishing the season with sun and wins.

Experimentation in nets

Experimenting is such a key part of practice.

We just finished a small group session in the nets where the aim was to try and put a batsman under pressure. 

After discussion we decided that setting a scenario was not enough because you could hit the ball in a net well and think it's gone for runs when in reality it hits a fielder. So we improvised.

First, we tried bowling from 17 yards. This made the bowling much quicker. We then tracked the control of the batsman. After 50 balls we realised he was in control 75% of the time, so there was very little pressure.

We chatted again and decided to give him a stump instead. This made it much harder and his control went down and focus went up. It was more pressure and more challenge and teaching him to adapt.

Was it perfect? No way, it was contrived. Did it do the job it was designed to do? Absolutely.

This kind of session should be the bedrock of our quest to improve. It just takes a little creative thinking and commitment from players.

Game Note: Low Confidence Chase

Saturday's First XI match saw one of our best performances of the year, yet resulted in another defeat. We were unable to chase 187.

Despite the result there were a lot of positive moments. We bowled well and recovered back from a weak start. One of our spinners finally got figures worth talking about. We took wickets and restricted scoring. The fielding was excellent.

The batting had its wobble moment, but the top four all got starts. That's a huge improvement on the collapses we have seen all year. It set us up to be on an unprecedented 57-2 after 20.

From this point, there is no doubt we should have won. The required rate was 4.4 and the opposition were tiring. We had two good, experienced batsmen at the crease.

Instead, the opposition set ring fields (only fine leg and third man outside the circle) with the keeper up and bowled tight medium pace. It's a classic strategy that we should have been able to overcome with no issue. However, we scored 26 runs in 12 overs. One batsman took 45 balls to score 12 runs and when he was out the rate had jumped to 5.5.

Afterwards he told me that he was frustrated with his inability to get the ball away. He was playing good cricket shots, but hitting the ball to the phalanx in the covers (five men in the ring on the off side). He couldn't hit a gap and didn't know what to do other than keep trying. He was out trying to hit over the top and miscueing. Sadly, it was this phase that had the biggest contribution to the loss.

With the rate climbing, the middle order started to try things and all failed. Between overs 31-41 we scored 36 and lost four wickets. The worst of them was a young player who was clearly feeling the stress before going out to bat. He looked incredibly frustrated by the slow scoring, but is really good at working the ball around. When he went in needing to score six an over he should have played his "hit the gap and run hard" game, but he felt the pressure and ran down the wicket to be stumped. It was synonymous of our lack of confidence and experience in a chase. 

A confident team could have easily scored five or even six an over for 10-15 overs. We needed 86 runs in 84 balls with six wickets in hand. That's at the top end of our skillset, but possible. Yet with an atmosphere of failure in the dressing room and no experience in knocking off the runs, we found the challenge too great.

In one last gasp we pinned everything on a big hitting lower order batsman who delivered hope in a 21 ball 24. It was fun to watch but the challenge of scoring 64 in 54 balls (the situation when he walked in) was highly unlikely by that point. All out for 154.

It's clear to me that we are as strong as ever in all departments. However, our lack of experience at a chase cost us. We didn't know how to react to the situation and let it slip away. My job with the batsmen at training is to try to build a method they can use to score in this situation.

Session Notes: Standing About Fears

We have hit an good rhythm with training now. The structure of sessions has settled into starting with fielding, then breaking into batting and bowling and finishing with fielding. Hopefully we will start seeing some results in the middle from the way these sessions are going.

Players are self-managing well, and I have pulled back on the more stat-based drills and games for now. I intend to return to the tracking element shortly. Turn out has also improved, with 20 players at the session.

I focused on the bowlers, specifically hitting length. This is a "feel" thing so is hard to coach other than to set up a target and talk to players about locking in the feel of the right release point. We had about eight bowlers going, and I spent time with the mitt alternating between general encouragement and specific chats about how it feels physically when you are bowling well. The aim is to highlight the importance of being aware of how you body feels when you are hitting a good length.

I also had a chat with one of our spinners about better planning and field setting. He tends to run in and bowl without much of a plan, but has a lot of good tools that could see him be a very effective bowler if he can think a little more ahead of the game and try to set batsmen up.

I also made sure I spoke to a couple of batters as I let them do their own sessions on the machine this time, but wanted to stay engaged with the group. However, I am pleased at the progress of batsmen working on specifics. We can do more, but this is a good first step.

The standing about dilemma

One final note about the fielding: a few times I have noticed players impatient if they are not doing volume work. They call it "a lot of standing about". 

Now, I appreciate the value of both volume and and activity in large group drills. That said, I also feel there are moments when adult players don't need to be active to get value from a drill. Some drills have less activity because they are focusing on something specific. On those occasions we need to stay a little more focused.

An example from this session was an underarm pickup and throw drill I set up with 10 players. 

The first part was a warm up so they queued up, did their drill and did a little run round to go back the the queue. I would estimate one throw per minute per player.

I then split the group into two sets of five in the classic "run out game" where one team tries to run out the other; a fielder against a batsman. After one go each we swap round. This added some pressure to the skill and allowed players to do a sprint finish to the warm up. The number of throws dropped to one per player. Each player also had on sprint to complete and the whole round (both teams) took about 3 minutes. Not high volume but much higher pressure and a good way to finish.

However, even in that 90 second period of waiting for a skill, someone said "there's a lot of standing about here". 

The take home point for me is to keep the wait times low in these mass drills. It's also to stress that it's fine to "stand about" if you get something useful from it. The fear of missing two throws because you have to wait longer should be overcome by what you learn about working under pressure. As always there is a balance between viewpoints to be had.

Game Notes: 11th Round

The first XI game was another lost to rain, although we did get the full first innings in, bowling and conceding 287.

I'm starting to notice a lack of wickets up top is hurting us. We have only one bowler who has taken a wicket in the first 10 overs, and his strike rate is 36. This means decent opening stands that translate to a platform to hit out.

Combine this with some horrifying RpO stats for the last 10 (6.6 is the best, then 7.7, 9.8 and 16.3) and you see the knock on effect. We are stronger in the middle overs but the top and bottom are poor, with the top being the root cause.

There is not much to comment on with the batting as we only made it to 16 overs. The top three hustled hard to try and get ahead of the D/L par, which was impressive. We had a couple of specific tactical issues with two guys in the middle that I will not discuss here, but gave me food for thought to work on individual things.

2nd XI

Meanwhile the seconds won a battle that was more about bearing the weather. They batted first, got a decent total then made short work of the opposition barring to win before the rain came. A solid performance.

One question that came up was the overall role of the 2nd XI. We have a team that are a mix of first hopefuls and second regulars. So, when a first team squad player who trains hard comes in, do you play him ahead of a regular seconds guy who has less chance of moving up but is doing well?

My thought is that priority goes to the ambitious player regardless of form. This player is better for the club as it creates a first team squad and it better for the culture because it shows that training, ambition and results gets priority.

Session Notes: State of the Coaching

At this point in the season, I have seen the culture at the club alongside the strengths and the limitations of players. It's not been totally as I expected, and there have been some important lessons.

Batting

The biggest issue is still first team batting. My challenge has been to try and bring players up to scratch. I identified three batsmen who could do the job with help from me, but none have done well, and one has done awfully.

Supporting batsmen have also not found ways to improve. I think we have seven other potential top six batters in the club, plus eight who could contribute. All of the former have played without making an impact and most of the latter are the same.

We have tried throw downs, bowling machine, bowling in nets and middle practice. We have added pressure and context and even - despite my protests - had a hit. Nothing has clicked into place for anyone batting in the top eight. No fifties, no one with over 150 runs in total for the year, and no one with a Sb% over 29%.

Some of this is down to training volume: No one can train every week through various other commitments but some don't train at all. We have a generally good attitude to training at the club and those who don't train understand it hurts their chances of playing. On top of this, we get a lot of guys at training who don't want to bat in the top six of the first team but they do want a go in nets. That reduces time available to to the better guys, so volume is lower again.

It's fortunate we have the indoor school as this allows us to get something done.

The other challenge is getting the right bowling to the right batting. We often have six to 10 first team batsmen to practice against three or four first team bowlers. At 15 minutes each, eight batsmen take two hours and there is no way our opening bowler is doing that much work. I wouldn't let him even if he wanted it!

The final element is training quality. When we are focused and mindful we improve, yet we still don't have that culture at the club. Very little deliberate practice occurs and we are patchy in the way we review things. I'm huge on the process of practice-review-improve and that has not settled in, as reflected by the lack of progress.

Instead we simply talk about volume to much. 

We say things like "I need to feel bat on ball to get my timing". There is an assumption that hitting more balls is all you need. Yet, I strongly believe hitting more balls is a way of preventing further decline rather than getting better. To get better you need to work on something specific, measure if it's working then review and adjust at suitable intervals.

In hindsight, this is a big change that won't happen in one season or with everyone. Instead, it's  a matter of identifying core players who can buy into the idea. We have a enough passionate, committed players to make this work in the long run.

Outside of training, there are lots of opportunities for top order batsmen to get "time in the middle". We play a huge number of games (this week gone saw six adult fixtures and anyone wanting a bat could have played four times). The top order generally don't play much outside of their one first team game a week. Personally, I think that is fine for experienced guys. Match experience gives you game sense more than anything else. That said, I would rather see someone play than come to training to hit balls mindlessly. At least in a game you could learn something about pressure and shot selection.

On the other hand, there has been plenty of run scoring in the other teams. In fact, several failed first team players have bashed big scores in the seconds and thirds.

My theory here is that there is a much larger gap in standards between the firsts and other other sides. If you can bat a bit, you can plunder plenty of runs against weak attacks in lower teams. However, in the firsts you get at least 30 high class overs. A pro can bowl 15 overs, so you only need one other very good bowler and you are 60% covered. Many sides have three or four classy guys so there is little respite. If you can bat a bit you won't ever get a fifty in the firsts where you might have easily got one in the seconds. You need to be bang on your game.

Of course, all that means training is crucial for those dozen run makers who could make up the top seven. That's without even considering eight, nine, 10, jack who also need to improve their batting skills.

I would say only three guys are training right for their needs. Two are close to being in decent form. The rest fall into the "don't train or train and hit balls" camp. Only one guy is an automatic pick for the first team because he is a "natural" (although he has also not performed this season). The others have shown very little improvement despite mostly training hard. This is where the problem lies, as they don't have the skill to overcome good quality bowling and are not getting better because they lack focused training.

And really, it's that lack of progress that is hurting us most, and is my biggest failure as coach this year.

Bowling

As we don't have an overseas bowler, we rely heavily on our local talent. This area is a lot better in the firsts and is also looking good for the future.

We have three very good seamers: Two line and length guys who can bowl good pace and one out and out pace bowler. The latter has found a much better length as they year has gone on and has taken 20 wickets in nine digs. He plays a lot of cricket and knows how to manage his workload. 

The other seamers are experienced bowlers and don't need a lot of input from me. Both will bowl on the spot all day and get it nibbling about on a good day. We could do with some more variation to complete the seam picture but it's still at least 35 good overs from those three.

The backup seamers - barring one guy - have less pace and train less often as a general rule. That said, they still manage to be one of the best second XI seam attacks in the league. We have five guys in that category.

Training for all these seamers is not tough. They are happy to bowl as much as they need to bowl and most prefer to bowl at a batsman. I have brought in a lot more target bowling this year without a batter and have used middle practice. It's a lot easier to do mindful practice as a bowler because you are controlling what happens, so for me it's a matter of managing workload and making sure bowlers feel more than just a human bowling machine.

I have tried to introduce a few technical things here and there to mixed success. One guy was dead against anything technical so I left him to it, while another came to me with a run up issue that we have tried to iron out. I'd like to do more technical work with the bowlers but have left them mostly to drive it and not had a lot of requests. Performances have been reasonable all season.

The spinners are a different story. We have a lot of talent bubbling under (three youth leggies have broken through into adult cricket this year) but the senior spinners have not bowled well this year. We have used two in the firsts, but neither have bowled well and have had few overs. Even the seconds have not seen many wickets come from spin.

The senior spinners practice hard, with one working on some technical stuff with me, but have not seen any huge signs of improvement over the year. I feel the answer is to drill down hard on some ball tracking, especially as the wickets get better for spinners in August. If we track performance across sessions as well as from ball to ball, we can see improvements much more easily.

I'm also considering a "spin hothouse" idea, where the spinners get together for a few specific sessions possibly under the eye of an experienced spin coach. We have seven proper spinners playing senior cricket so I am sure we can get some great cross-pollination going in this art.

Fielding

When I started I wanted fielding at the centre of our performances. I wanted us to have the highest standards for throwing, cartching and stopping in the league. I think we have those standards but there is a long way to go.

Everyone who trains does a lot of fielding. We have done technical work on throwing and volume work on everything. I love hitting balls and will make sure we get something in every session and before each game. We use several Skyers, various stump targets for throwing and two Katchet ramps. Players do a variety of drills and are good at making up their own. It's our best area at all levels.

Our catching is generally good, but we have also dropped a lot as a club this year.  Groundwork and throwing has been impressive. We can do more: We can hit the stumps more often, pick up more cleanly in the infield and take more flat catches. These are all advanced skills and I'm pleased we are looking at them as realistic aims.

One of my goals is to track all fielding stats better so we can see improvement, rather than assume we are bad because we made mistakes. Every team makes mistakes, it's how many over time that matters most. The challenge is to get all the drops, runs saved, stumps hit and missed, and misfields recorded every game. Our scorer has plenty to do, and I have not settled in to coach every game as yet, but I plan to record things for the last games this year to have a benchmark for next year.

Nevertheless, I see fielding as my biggest success as well as the area for easy growth this season and next.

Session Notes: On Track

We had two sessions this week that were different but both influenced by the rain, and both on the right track.

Tuesday saw a small group suddenly become 15 players when a game was called off and most of the players had a net instead. We did some outdoor fielding drills with the small group and focused on hitting the stumps. This is an area that can always be improved, and I feel we are especially poor. We hit less than 10% in practice. To counter this we did some volume work, first aiming at five stumps and going down to two as we hit.

When the group got bigger we went inside for nets as the square was unusably wet. Six players went indoors and the rest I left to self-lead fielding. 

Inside, we had three or four bowlers in an open net, and one guy up on the machine. Everyone is getting the "bat with intent" mantra a lot better and we rotated batsmen through, all working on specifics. The challenge now is to make a difference to player's in the short time available.

It certainly seems that way. One batsman wanted to work on judging the ball outside off stump, and he nailed it for three buckets. Another wanted to learn a pulled shot and was getting it dead on within 10 minutes. The proof will come in games, but it certainly looks good in training.

Thursday was a low turn out with a 3rd XI game on the same night. However, it was the perfect situation for a net in the middle: The pitch was one that had only been used for three overs in an abandoned match, all the players were first team standard bowlers (except one who was a dab hand with the sidearm anyway) and they all wanted a bat. Everyone got a good 20 minutes against good bowling on a good pitch. The bowler's were fired up. Everyone got something from it with none of the usual frustrations of net sessions.

However, I have decided to chase up individually some guys who I have not seen much in recent weeks. There has been a big tail away in numbers. A lot can be explained by reasonable things like games and holidays but I would like to remind people we are still only halfway through the season and there is still a good chance we can stay up if we put the work in.

Game Notes 10th Round and Session Notes

One more quick update before returning to fuller articles in future.

The weeks training was all done indoors due to rain. We have settled into a compromise way of training were there are fewer games and scorekeeping and more traditional netting, only with a clear intention from each player. This is working well, although my ambition is still to get better on tracking training performance.

The Saturday matches were rained off, and the Sunday Development XI managed 60 overs from 80 before being abandoned. I was pleased to have one of the Under 15s make his senior debut and bowl eight overs for a respectable 50 runs (he was bowling to some very good players). He bowled well enough for a wicket but couldn't get the luck for one. Still, it was a fun and tiring experience for him.

I also noticed a couple of the guys I have been working with on batting playing with a better technique. This is highly satisfying as I can see some results from the hard work they are putting in with me.

Game Notes: Ninth Round and Session Notes

It's a very busy time so updating is a little patchy. To bring the site up to date here is what happened:

The firsts lost with the usual story of not enough runs. However, our opener and captain carried his bat which was a thing we had lacked, so it wasn't all bad.

The seconds won at home defending a low score and not playing at their best. That is a huge plus.

Tuesday training was indoors due to a game in the middle and we worked on individual batting skills and technique with 11 players. One player decided to do some coaching instead of batting as he felt time away from hitting balls was worth a try. When combined with an ex-player coming along to help out with the mental side, it was a very positive session. I'd still like to get more focus on the right goals, but we have found a good middle ground and more coaches takes the weight off me a lot.

More detailed updates when things get a little less intense.

Session Notes: Getting Focused Indoors

Every time it rains I thank the forethought of West of Scotland to have an indoor net. The members might complain about it's fast pace and short run ups but it undoubtedly better than watching it rain.

So, in this session, after 20 minutes in the wet with incrediballs to get some fielding done, we went inside for a session on the bowling machine. 

The outdoor drill was designed to get the heart rate up. A pair were asked to perform three skills in a row: chase down and return, take a catch and take a low catch.

The variation was that I had two Katchets set up in a line so I could hit a ball onto them with the new Skyer (we bought this week). It flew! The feedback was also encouraging. The players loved the challenge.

Once indoors we ran an open net against bowlers and a net with the machine set round the wicket swinging in to the right hander. I chatted to players about their intention, as always, before going in to the net. This time I spent more attention on making sure we got the intention spot on and was clearer about what I thought was right when a player was unsure. This worked much better than just saying "do what you like".

Most players worked with me on the machine on a technical point: staying more open and learning to hit the ball through mid on off the front foot. I saw some kind of progress with every player, including four guys who were able to hit away swing through mid on while still playing straight. That takes awesome balance.

To make sure the bowlers had a goal too, I set down a generously sized length area. In the nets the bowlers tend to bowl too short so I told them to hit the length target and keep score of how many they hit during the session. This was also stuck to relatively well and the ball was pitched up more.

• The good: Clearer planning of intention in the nets, group worked well together with focus.
• Needs work: I wasn't able to monitor the open net as I was running the machine. Possibly encourage another player to take more of a coaches role.

Session Notes: Back to the Bola

The Third XI were playing a midweek game so we had a small group in the nets for this session. We used the newly repaired bowling machine for the first time this season.

Turnout was low, but the 1st XI top seven were all either playing or training (bar one who had told us about a prior commitment). This is a great sign to me; players ar willing to put in work and even when they can't make it to training, they let us know. That's a strong culture. If games were won on culture alone I'm sure we would be top of the league.

The session itself was mainly nets, with some fielding to warm up. We took the boundary rope in 10 yards to do some ground work and throwing at the stumps. We only hit about 10% at a single stump so there is work to be done there.

Inside, we had the machine in one net and bowlers in the other on PitchVision.

I have mixed feelings about the machine. It gives you a lot of reps in a short time and lets you work on things you can't get reliably from a bowler. However, it also locks you into a rhythm that is very different from batting in the middle. Plus, some people really can't deal with the way the ball pops out with no real bowler there.

However, at this point in our batting progress I am keen to try anything to stem the tide of wickets. The machine might not be the golden ticket to runs galore, but it's a new thing to try that might just get someone over the line.

I set the machine up to be bowling inswing, pitched up at 62-66mph. Players worked on driving the ball through mid on and midwicket. I like this drill because it forces you to play straight without falling over. However at that pace you can't just use the pace of th ball to hit it. Everyone who wanted a bat got a go and everyone decided to work on that aspect.

We also got a couple of overs of back of a length bowling to drive and cut. 

I did intend to have a points game in the other net, but with the low numbers I decided to focus on the machine instead and didn't even mention the game. I suspect they did the usual thing of having a hit with no intentions or thoughts of game scenarios. Certainly no one mentioned any thoughts to me. I must be careful not to let this happen too often as I can see myself "giving up" and letting the kids have their way for an easy life. That's not going to help in the long run.

That said, the machine time was super productive for all five batsmen who used it. If I did it again I would take a moment to speak to each outgoing batsman to get their reflections on the session and plan for next time.

• The good: Lots of productive ball hitting with a technical purpose. A good fielding activity session outdoors.
• Needs work: Better run "live" net (give it an objective). Hit the stumps more often. I'd like to see a 30% hit rate as standard. Allow for better reflection after a machine session rather than just saying "next".

Game Notes: Eighth Round

Saturday's league game was a crushing defeat for the First XI. I coached as the opposition scored 236-8 and our reply was essentially over at 46-5 after 20. We ended up on 125-8.

The bowling and fielding remained solid, although mistakes cost us and we did not seem penetrating enough to cause problems. An opening stand of 87 in 23 overs put us in a weak position. We dropped a catch in this period but generally the batsmen looked comfortable against the opening bowlers.

We exerted tighter control between overs 15-30, again without much penetration. Our leg spinner - who has bought us valuable wickets in the past - didn't take a wicket until his 10th over and was attacked heartily. We didn't take another wicket until the 35th over, leaving them on a strong 145-2. Four an over seems a little slow in these days of sevens at international level but - as it turned out in the second dig - it was plenty.

They gave it the long handle in the last 10 and lost wickets but also scored 77 runs. It was a classic old fashioned, effective tactic; set a base, rotate in the middle and swing at the end. 236 was well above par.

As you know, our batting line up has not looked effective this year at all. Our reply was in keeping with the usual state of affairs. 

Our main opener ran himself out trying to rotate the strike. The other opener got worked over with the short ball and couldn't play his role of hustling singles and hitting over the top. Number four was run out by number three and number five, by his account at least, got bowled by a complete jaffa. It did look good. Number six and I had a quick chat about what to do, and he decided to counter-attack because we already needed six an over. He has the style to do it but his first attempt didn't clear mid off. 45-5 in 18 overs.

Yet again, we had a plan, we tried to execute and we were found wanting. Their opening bowler was as penetrating and difficult to play as we were toothless. He hit his lengths, made it sing off the seam and took wickets as we struggled to survive until it was too late. His 15 overs got him 4-16. Their spinner was also ragging it and causing issues, in contrast to our spinner.

The rest of the innings was basically a block job. I understand the need to bat the 50 overs, but I didn't agree with batting out the time. Yes, it gave our number three chance to get fifty (stumped on 48 in the end) and it gave nine and 10 time at the crease, but it was a waste of time. On one hand, who cares? The game was lost. On the other hand, it's hardly going down fighting. Their spinner stopped trying to rip it in his last few overs and it made batting look much easier but if the game had been tighter he might have tried harder.

We can't even blame conditions as overnight rain and cloud in the first inning was ideal for swing bowling. The sun came out for out innings. We could not have asked for kinder weather. We were simply outplayed in every department.

We had a long chat afterwards and their was a lot of resignation rather than anger. There were many suggestions made, including giving batsmen more time in training against good bowlers (a fair point) and changing out approach to be more attacking without fear. Both are worth examining further.

• Stop: Finding ways to get out. Bowling without teeth.
• Start: Possibly playing with less fear and trying to hit the ball into gaps rather than blocking. Looking to build inning and take responsibility. Swinging the new ball and spinning the old one. Taking the fielding a notch up in the ring. Improving the wicketkeeping.
• Continue: keeping a positive and happy environment. The culture at the club is one of hard work, personal responsibility and good mates. There is a lot to applaud and if we keep getting that right we are doing all we can. The field was also at our usual solid standard overall.

Time for A Rethink in Junior Cricket

As part of my job as Head Coach, I manage the Under 15 team. It's a duty I am not keen about because it doesn't involve any coaching.

The way I see the core of my job, at any level, is to prepare players to be at their best. In season, the process should be,

1. Play a match.
2. Review the performance.
3. Practice, based on the review.
4. Play the next match.
5. Go to 2.

At junior level, this does not happen. Players are often busy with other activities, including a full programme of school cricket. Two of the boys are at boarding school and we see them only during the holidays. These are valid reasons. 

Yet the DNA of coaching is that five step process. Without it we are just filling fixtures.

Take last night's game where, due to a school tour and a festival, we had nine players with four under 11 guys way out of their depth. Only three players were there in time to warm up. I had to score and umpire the game. We got the fixture completed but there was no coaching or developing happening.

We got hammered but it didn't matter. Our star batsman hit 30 not out with no real challenge to him (he plays for Scotland Under 15 and our adult 2nd XI). None of the smaller kids batted or bowled. One got hit on the knee fielding. He was OK, but it was hardly a fun experience. It's the type of night that puts kids off cricket forever.

So, what's the solution?

In my mind, the development of young cricketers in a good environment is more important than anything else at this level. So, I would like to see a change in the structure of the game.

• Tier 1: Introduction to cricket from about six years old can be done with soft ball cricket played in tournaments, as it is now.
• Tier 2: When they are ready, kids can move up to hard ball pairs cricket played in midweek. This could be done by age group, but I would prefer it done by skill level. Most kids will be in the 11-13 age range.
• Tier 3: Above the pairs level is full midweek cricket played by any age, but with a focus on the 14-17 ages. This will be fully competitive, although still with a focus on development over trophies.
• Tier 4: Sunday 40 over cricket played with adult players.

Most of all, all these groups must have a training session where they can go through some version of the coaching process. This will clearly be different for a six year old than a 16 year old, but the basic process is the same, and the basic aim to get better does not change. Better juniors can attend adult training and those not ready can go to the junior session.

My thinking is that by grouping players into broad skill levels rather than narrow age groups, you can have better player availability (and perhaps even a selection meeting) and match player skill to games. For example, we have a talented 12 year old who plays adult cricket and would have no trouble with the top level junior games and adult training sessions. We also have a couple of 14 year old players who would be better off playing pairs as their development is slower.

You could even have adults playing in the tier 3 games to help players develop further and solve any issues of player numbers. You could certainly encourage more club members to come along to score or umpire so the coach can do actual coaching. Admittedly, this might be an issue with both admin (getting criminal checks done) and cheating (playing good players to get the win), but I'm sure it's possible.

If you wanted to get really crazy, you could also switch the Teir 3 and 4 games to eight a side. I made my case for that bonkers idea here, and it's not as crazy as it sounds. And it's a no-brainer to give the teams funky T20 names: "Partick Panthers"rather than "Under 11".

There are questions about this system; notability how you stop competitive coaches and clubs fielding strong teams to win within the rules but not the spirit of development.

But it's worth sorting them out because, for me, development and enjoyment should be way ahead of filling fixtures at junior level. This system puts our aims back at the heart of junior cricket.

Session Notes: Better Intentions In the Wet

This session was wet, so we were indoors with a core of 8 players for most of the time. We did get outside to do some wet weather fun stuff, that made the session relaxed and fun.

We warmed up outside with some throwing drills. I'm constantly working on throwing technique with players because it's an easy win. You can throw harder and straighter with a couple of simple changes. However, as is often the case with older players, despite the obvious and instand benefits of "baseball" style throwing, old habits die hard. I feel it will be a never-ending battle to remind people!

We used incrediballs to both save hands and stop cricket balls getting too wet.

We then moved onto a sliding drill, where the players had to run out, slide, pick up a stationary ball and throw it back to me. They were aquaplaning miles over the fresh mown surface and not taking it totally seriously. I didn't mind, it was a bit silly, but I also stressed how rarely we get to work on sliding skills and how it is a chance to get better at it. In the end they did it seriously enough to get something productive as well has have fun.

We finished with a few catches, because you can never take enough.

Then we had a net session indoors. One net was live with bowlers, the other was me giving throws and technical tips.

Again, I asked players to think about what they were aiming to achieve before they walked in, and spoke to them afterwards to find out if they achieved it. 

In general this focuses the mind, but what has surprised me is the resistance to this approach. 

For example, one player went in with one aim, got bored and started smashing it. He then said afterwards "I changed my mind and wanted to practice death hitting". It was clearly an excuse because he's a top order batter who has no Twenty20 to play. It seemed to me he wasn't getting much from the net and decided to have some fun instead of doubling down. To me this seemed like a wasted chance to bat with discipline in an imperfect situation. He - as I still hear people say - wanted to "just have a hit". 

Another player self-identified that he wanted to bring back his driving as he feels he is missing out because he has worked so hard on running the ball into gaps square of the wicket. I threw him half volley after half volley, and told him to drive everything as an experiment. He drove about 25%, nudged about half square and defended the rest. Again, I find this odd that he says he wants to do one thing then ignores both his and my advice on the matter. Again, I suspect his real intention was not to improve the drive but to "have a hit" and made up the drive thing to keep me happy.

I'm still wrestling with how to deal with moments like this. I'm not the type to shout at people to play properly as players are in charge of their own game and should know what works for them. However, often they are making the one mistake I am desperate to avoid; mindless netting. I have tried cajoling, insisting and plain old shouting, yet the culture persists, hidden behind excuses to keep the coach happy.

It's frustrating on the level of people not getting better. In my mind, players are free to use their training time as they wish, but I so often see wasted nets despite my efforts to lure them into self-improvement. There is always lots of activity, people feel good they got their 15 minute bat and we all stay exactly the same skill level; wishing the form fairy will bestow her magic on us.

This might be all right if we were scoring 200+ every week but we are not and we have not been for a while, so we need to get better rather than just have some activity. For me it goes back to the key question "have I done everything in the time available to feel ready for Saturday?"

However, there were plenty of positives too. A young tail end level batsman nailing the on drive, and two guys with balance issues (one not getting forward enough, one falling over) working hard on getting into better positions. Overall it was a positive feeling session.

• The good: Fun, relaxed session. Some productive technical batting work done.
• Needs work: More technical focus on the bowlers, better linking the batsman's stated aims with the actual session.