This drill is part of the PitchVision Academy fielding drills series, for more in this series click here.

Purpose: To develop straight ahead speed, acceleration and stopping followed by the skills of picking up and throwing.

Description: Player 1 sprints forwards as fast as possible to intercept the ball rolled by the coach/keeper. Player 2 sets off at a sprint after player 1 runs past.

When player 1 reaches the ball she picks it up cleanly and throws it to player 2. Player 2 throws the ball towards the stump.

Player 3 runs towards the stump in time to take the catch and then returns it to the coach/keeper.

Players rotate around the positions in number order.

Variations: Agility ladders can be added to encourage acceleration out of the ladder.

• The focus of this drill is not on the cricket skill, but the ability of the players to accelerate in a straight line. Focus on good running form (chest up, arm swing, head up)
• Ensure players get sufficient recovery between sprints. An all out sprint of 25m requires at least 2 minutes rest for full recovery. To allow rest you can have 2-3 groups of 3 perform the drill with 2 groups resting.
• To adapt to more skill based work, slow down the running speed and reduce recovery time.