Drills | Cricket coaching, fitness and tips

High Catching Drill: The Starting Station

I have been chuffed with the development of one committed player that I coach. This poor fellow couldn't catch a cold three weeks ago. He was getting frustrated and embarrassed in fielding practice and was dreading a high catch being hit his way.

Today, he is transformed.

You'll Coach Better Slips with These 4 Cutting-Edge Methods

How vital is a good slip catcher?

We work all year on developing bowling fast bowlers and spinners with the intention of taking the edge of the bat to create catching opportunities. So develop fielders who can convert those chances into wickets!

So, as a coach, lets assign some quality time to slip catching skills. Including your own. Read on to find out more:

Batting Drill: Death Hitting

Here's a fun drill that can teach players about hitting at the death of an innings. Perfect timing for the World T20, where batsmen will be in the death from almost the first ball.

How to Play the Short Ball

This is a guest article from Gary Palmer, batting coach.

Without a good ability to bat against the short ball, you will never make the step up to a higher grade of cricket. It's the stumbling block that finds out many talented players. It's the difference between making it and not making it.

But, it's also counter productive just to go and practice against fast, short balls. You have to build a foundation of technique first. It's not about being brave or "having bottle", it's about eliminating technical errors to build confidence.

Who Knew it Could be Fun Warming Up for Cricket?

Filed in:

Let's be frank, warming up is boring.

Essential for injury prevention yes, but it's not the reason you picked up a bat and ball. So if we can come up with ways to make warming up both fun and functional, we are winning at life. And if there is one coach who knows his way around fun and function, it's Iain Brunnschweiler; author of the Inspired Cricket Manual.

Here's an example of what we mean:

Use This Simple 3 Stage Drill to Improve Batting Decision Making

Last week I talked about the missing two thirds of batting and focused on helping batters pick up visual cues. The next phase of the batting process is to build up our decision making capacity.

One of the ways that works for me is to build up the number of resources available to the individual: That is to say which options can be used.

I then to test which ones are most effective in a variety of scenarios and match conditions. This way, the player starts to decide for themselves.

I ran a session based on this today around playing spin using the Merlyn spin bowling machine variation mode which subtly shifts lengths by 10% either way.

The session went a little bit like this:

Discover the Missing Two Thirds of Batting Coaching

We coaches are generally very good at developing one part of batting:'shot execution'. That is the mechanics of each shot. But this is the last phase in a series of three.

Before you can play a shot you need to pick up the visual cues and decide on the shot. These are the missing phases for many of us.

So how do we go about developing the first two phases?

EXCLUSIVE: Inside MCC Lord's Club India Coaching Camp Drills

Filed in:

What do you get if you combine exceptional facilities and coaching from the Marylebone Cricket Club with young, underprivileged boys in India?

You get the MCC Lord's Club in India. You get a genuine chance to become a cricketer.

And PitchVision was there. We wanted to give you a peek behind the velvet rope to find out what happens when an exclusive camp is opened up to those who could never experience it. Read on to find out more.

Make This One Change to Your Drills to Stop Them Feeling Like Hard Work

Technical work is called "work" for a reason: It's hard and boring. But it doesn't have to be.

That's according to ECB coach Iain Brunnschweiler, a man who knows a thing or two about creating engaging coaching sessions that improve players. He's made coaching courses about it!

So how do you make your drills fun without compromising?

How to Land a Yorker

James Faulkner turned certain loss into monumental victory in the 2nd ODI against England in 2014. He was brilliant but - it has to be said - England were poor in the last gasps of that game.

One TV expert commented in review that "Surely England can’t be practising their yorkers." An easy assumption to make based on the outcome of the game.

However, the bottom line is that all International teams do practice bowling yorkers a lot. So, why couldn't England land them?