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

Purpose: To develop agility while using the skill of picking up the ball after a chase in a competitive situation.

Description: Place 4 markers in a half moon shape with 3 cricket balls on each one. There is an empty bucket or container at the top (the red circle in the diagram).

The fielder runs from the start point to any ball, picks it up using correct technique, runs to the empty bucket and puts the ball in (throwing it in is not allowed). The fielder then runs to any other ball to repeat the process until all the balls are in the top bucket.

Ideally (but not essentially) the player competing will be attached to some elastic tubing which is anchored to the floor at the start point by another player.

The drill is timed and a team leader board can be created to make it competitive.

Drill notes:

This drill will improve speed and agility if you do it regularly enough. You can track changes by seeing how player’s times improve and the competitive element means players love it.

The tubing is highly recommended to be used because it allows players to self-correct technical flaws in the techniques of changing direction. For example, imagine you have a player who has a habit of sitting on his or her heels and standing up too straight when the ball is hit in his direction, meaning he loses valuable time turning and chasing the ball. The tube teaches him to lean forward into a more stable and athletic position.