Based on a study from 2014, here's the areas to focus on to win:
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:
Their stats:
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,
Here's the review from the captain:
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,
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.
This weekend saw three games, with the Development XI starting the season with a friendly.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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,
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.
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!
In short, the game on Saturday saw us compete for 20-30 overs, collapse and get saved by rain.
After losing the toss and being inserted after overnight rain, we knew it would be a tough ask to set a target. So, this week we decided to set clearer targets for the batsmen by doing it in 5 over blocks.
This certainly seemed to focus minds but it didn't stop the wickets from falling at regular intervals. Still, after 30 overs we were reasonably placed to hit 160.
After that it fell apart. We have to bat as a team as we can't rely on stars, but we need people to build partnerships. We can't seem to do it yet. I feel we are close to it: Tactically we are solid, the batters are good enough, the atmosphere during the innings remains positive and if there is a lack of confidence it's not showing outwardly. We just need to crack it. We were bowled out for 101.
With rain the highlight of the second innings, we abandoned the game after 16 overs. The opposition were moving slowly to DL victory between frustrating breaks for rain. We bowled to our plan but fielded poorly, dropping several tough but possible catches in dark and wet.
The one small tactical point I would make was we again looked to our main opening bowler a little too long. His natural spell seems to be three or four overs, but never bowls less than six. I will challenge the captain to consider an alternative plan.
But this is a small point: The issue is still the batting and we will again look to address this in training and conversations with players over the coming week.
As you might know, I spend time working with top cricketers and coaches producing coaching videos for PitchVision Academy. What has amazed me in the years since we started doing it, is how professional productions you can have without the need for professional level gear.
So, as I get ready for a shoot today at a top secret location, I thought I would share what I do to make a multi-camera HD video with just two people and no more than 20kg of kit (to get it on the plane).
We can use up to four cameras.
The main one is a Nikon D3300 DSLR with a 18-55mm lens. The image quality is incredible. It's adaptable enough to be used while running around and also locked off with a small depth of field that makes interview look really good.
The other three cameras are an iPhone 6 Plus (not shown because I took the picture with it), and HTC One M7 android phone and an iPad Air. These offer great options for cutaways and establishing shots because you can keep them in your hand and run around while the main camera is locked off. The iPhone is almost as good a camera as the Nikon, and with the image stabilisation, is actually better at steadicam-style shots.
We can also mount any of the cameras on two large tripods, or one small one using the attachments shown.
This gives enough flexibility to cope with any situation a cricket coach might want us to shoot. Short of drones that is.
We also shoot everything from two angles to make sure we have backups of everything in case something goes wrong.
Most audio is recorded using as high quality digital audio recorder and lavalier microphone worn by the coach. This is easily the best quality audio solution we have found below professional level radio mics. We sync the audio to the video in post-production.
To make sure we get the audio, we also triple record everything. First through the boom mic show attached to the DSLR via the hot shoe. Secondly through the built-in mics on the secondary cameras.
We always take a couple of basic lighting softboxes and a reflector (not shown), but I find we rarely use them because we are either outdoors in very good light or in an indoor school that also has excellent lighting. For me it's there as a backup.
We keep the shooting schedule on hand (on the iPad) throughout the day, and let the coach guide the way based on this. Some coaches are naturally more talkative than others, but all are excellent with their knowledge and so I tend to focus on getting a good shot and letting the coach do their coaching. It's more natural that way.
We usual have a practical element in an outdoor setting (unless it's raining) and a close up interview with a nice backdrop.
The next shoot is happening today, so keep your eyes on PitchVision Academy for who it is when we have edited it together!
After some of the clear mental blocks of the last three games, I decided to draw up a check list for senior players that is designed to get them and keep them in the frame of mind to succeed.
This method is a it hit and miss with players, as they know themselves better than I can know them. However, when it clicks with a player it really helps focus the mind on the process more than the outcome. And that's the key point.
I'll see how many of the guys take it on board compared to haw many have their own method and how many don't think about at at all.
Here are the questions:
I was running training so didn't get to the 2nd 1st XI Twenty20 game this week. Here is a summary report from the captain:
Chasing 168, we kept up with the rate until about the 11th over, eventually scoring 128-9.
Bowling was weaker that usual but the top bowlers did reasonably well. A lot of runs came from the non-1st team bowlers. It's hard to set a field to a guy whose smashing it out the ground.
Batting was more encouraging. The top order had real skill and intent, taking advantage of the field restrictions in the first six overs, and keeping up with the rate for over half the match, running aggressively and hitting sixes.
However, when the middle order came in momentum was lost. Some players looked out of their depth in a run chase, and couldn't rotate the strike or hit boundaries. Despite a late rally, it was all over.
What do we need to start doing that we didn't do?
What do we need to stop doing that was in error?
What do we need to continue to do that was well done?
We had a small session as most people were off playing another Twenty20. The sun was out so we had some middle practice with 5 players. (Another also had throwdowns earlier in the day.)
To make it more real, we dispensed with the net and placed markers for fielders. One guy bowled, one batted and the rest fielded.
The open situation felt much more realistic than smashing the ball into a net. Everyone got about 15 minutes with the bat and played with purpose. It was fun and useful, despite the low numbers.
The coach even got a bat!
It's not often I'm truly disappointed with a team effort - there's always something you can take from every game - but the insipid effort of a run chase in last night's Twenty20 competition left me reeling: We lost without a hint of a fight.
In summary, we bowled first with a strong side: Three bowlers and four batsmen from the firsts alongside several contenders and no true passengers. They scored 124-6 in 20, which was a challenging but not impossible total.
Our response was to score 86-5. Here's the obvious and heart-breaking fact; we just made no attempt at pacing the run chase. More on that in a moment.
To return to the first innings, There was some good work done. We didn't take a wicket for nine overs and the openers put on 72. This was hard work but everyone kept putting in the effort. Heads stayed up. This payed off as we bowled the next six overs for 16-3. They rallied with some big hits in the last four.
We dropped some key catches that might have seen us take 10-20 off the score. We also plucked a couple of belters. The bowling was good and the ground fielding excellent overall. Going into the break I was positive.
We started our reply cautiously, with 27-0 from the first 36 balls. It's here the acceleration should have begun. Instead we slowed down, hitting 19 in the next six overs. You might ask if the bowling was tight and the fielding efficient, but it wasn't as exceptional as the figures suggest, we didn't look to pick up singles, work the gaps or even have a swing. We let them bowl to us.
One five over period in the middle garnered 10 runs.
We lost one wicket in 13 overs, showing that the top three really struggled with an effective game plan. After 10 overs we needed 85 runs and I remember staying confident. You can win with wickets in hand even when the rate is quite high. If you have an over of 12 or more you are back in the game. Two overs of slow batting later and my confidence had turned to concern.
We needed 79 off 48 balls by this point. This was now getting out of hand, and we needed some lusty swinging to give ourselves a sniff of a chance. We started going for it at last, hitting 20 in the next 24 balls and trying some things.
Yet, despite only losing five wickets, we couldn't score more than 40 in the last 48 balls. We needed to double that, which was always going to be a tough job. We had not accelerated in the middle and couldn't connect when we did try the long handle.
Some more stats:
What this last stat tells me is that they were significantly worse in the field. This matched what I saw with the wicketkeeper looking poor and lots of misfields.
Chasing runs takes experience and confidence. I was shocked by the lack of tactical nous of the need to accelerate and the inability to play aggressively against an obviously weak fielding side. We lacked both art and heart.
I would rather see us get bowled out for 100 in 15 overs than what happened in this game.
So, what do we need to work on? Understanding the game situation better, knowing how to score at a run a ball and knowing when to take a calculated risk by going over the top or pulling out a swipe to leg. In short, learn how to chase runs!
Midweek T20 is a strange animal: Games are rushed after-work affairs, feature weaker teams and are not treated with the same attitude as Saturday. It's clear to me now that we have to change the culture of these games if we are to take them seriously. This is not a practice match, it's a game in its own right and we need to play as if we mean it.
The challenge for this session was to deal with the many disconnections between it and the weekend: A junior game meant we could only use a small outdoor area for fielding. Indoor nets barely help with the main weekend issue of strike rotation. Finally, several senior players are away this week and turnout was down to 12.
Nevertheless, I set up the session to make the most of what we had, and I am confident it worked well.
After some simple fielding drills, we went inside.
I split indoor nets into "faster" and "slower" (we didn't have enough genuine seamers and spinners to do otherwise). Batsmen had 12 minutes each split between nets. Then I challenged the batsmen to a 10 point game:
Once you lose 10 points you are out, even if your 12 minutes are not up.
The idea is to add some jeopardy to batting, whilst also encouraging the batsman to play as he would in the middle. "Never cut until June" is a good general maxim to have, so we factored it in.
For the batsmen who were doing well, I added another rule that they lose another point for a cover drive, as represented by a cone in the net. You had to stay one side of the cone while driving. While this was a false restriction, the point was to challenge the player to restrict himself and feel similar strain to playing in the middle where you don't often have total freedom.
Someone suggested five press ups to all the bowlers in the net if a leg side wide was bowled. I loved it, and it gave the bowlers a bit of extra pressure.
Everyone who wanted to bat got a go, and got some good work done.
I've also done a couple of one to one sessions this week.
The first is a keeper working on leg side takes standing up. We did some technical work and talked about the difference between good technique and effective technique. The player tends to be hard on himself if he doesn't do something "the right way" and assumes mistakes come because he is doing it wrong. I stressed that there is a lot more flexibility in technique than he thinks. At one point I said "No one cares how you took that leg side stumping, as long as you take it".
If I can help him over that mental block he will be less hard on his errors and more likely to recover from missed chances that we all have from time to time.
Second is a batsman who wants a bit of confidence in playing shots. He feels like he only has a drive, and when that is failing he gets stuck and can't score.
We talked about developing a "get away" shot he can play with confidence at these moments, but didn't have time to work on it. So, instead I encouraged him to think about how he watches the ball to try and pick up length earlier. That way he can be in position to drive or pull much more quickly and feel better about the shots he can play. He still needs some work but we have a path for him now, whereas at the start of the session he was not clear about how to move forward.
