miCricketCoach

miCricketCoach introduces a brand new contributor

David.Hinchliffe — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 12:05:28 +0000

If you are a regular reader (and if not you can become one here) you may have noticed a couple of changes to the site. Well spotted eagle eyes.

Yes, we have a new regular contributor to the site. You can find out more about that in a moment.

The first thing is this part of the site has changed it's name to PitchVision miCricketCoach to distinguish it from PitchVision Academy. We have also dropped the references to the old site: Harrowdrive. It's been over 6 months since the switch so it's time for that to go.

Don't worry, miCricketCoach is still the free part of the site and will always remain so whether you read the site or get the free newsletter.

Introducing John Hurley to the miCricketCoach community

John Hurley is a cricket coach in Australia who has agreed to become a regular contributor to miCricketCoach. His style fits very much with the rest of the site and his 20 year experience in the game is vast. He once played over 60 innings in a single English summer (also taking over 120 wickets)!

John now coaches players of all ages at Activate Cricket Centre in Mortlake, New South Wales.

He has moved the articles and videos from his old website over to miCricketCoach as of today. He will be producing brand new content just for us from now on.

In the past miCricketCoach has been one voice with the odd guest chipping in. From now on it's a community. One we encourage you to participate in too. You can contact any contributors through the forum, comments section or via email.

You can read more about miCricketCoach and its contributors here.

Please join me in welcoming John to the fold. It's the start of the next chapter in the story of helping you play better cricket.

How to motivate yourself to be healthier

David.Hinchliffe — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 09:06:13 +0000

This is the third part of the "Healthy living for club cricketers" series. To go to part one click here. To get all the other parts delivered to you get the free newsletter.

So far in this series we have looked at the cricketing reasons why you would want to be healthy and the myths that surround what 'healthy' actually is. Hopefully I have begun to convince you that the idea of good health is important to good cricket and not as difficult as you may have thought.

You may even be wondering how to go about it.

Before we get into my advice on that area, we need to clarify something.

Knowledge alone is not enough

How many overweight people know everything there is to know about losing fat yet they are still podgy?

Knowledge is the start but you have to back it up with motivation and action (you can't act unless you are motivated, so it's one in the same). The thing is, it can be hard to act in one way if you are in the habit of acting another way. If you regularly skip breakfast then starting to have a 6 egg mushroom, spinach and cheese omelette every morning might be a leap too far.

So how do you bridge the gap between knowledge and action?

Fortunately there has been a great deal of research into human motivation, especially around diet and exercise which are the key pillars of good health. The scientists have found there are certain things that make us more able to make decisions and changes to habit no matter who we are, how old we are, what our genetic makeup or where we live.

In other words, you can literally fool yourself into changing habits. Here are those tricks.

Back yourself into a corner

Choice is bad when it comes to doing something you don't want to do. Let's be honest, changing a habit to something healthier can be hard because you don't want to do it. You might look at the big picture and decide it's a good idea but when you are tired and grumpy on the way home, popping into the gym is the last thing on your mind. That's a flaw in the human condition.

So, at least at first, you need to back yourself into a corner and not give yourself a choice. What are the ways you can do that?

Announce your commitment. We all have a strong desire to be consistent. Nobody wants to be a hypocrite. So if you make your new commitment to health public you will be forced to see it through. You can do this in a number of ways. You can start a training log online, tell your friends and family of your plans or start training with someone else (a friend or personal trainer). Anything that makes you commit yourself to someone else will work.
Plan ahead but remind yourself why. Planning ahead stops you having to think. You can just follow the preset plan and not have to make a choice. In nutrition terms this could mean cooking food ahead of time to take with you when you know you will be hungry and near a Burger King. In fitness terms it could mean making an 'appointment' to go to the gym. The clever trick here is to not put "Gym" in your diary for that time but put your motivation down: "Gym to become stronger so I will be a faster bowler this season". What pace bowler can ignore that?
Use Social Proof. If everyone at your cricket club trained twice a week and went to the gym regularly would you be more likely to do the same? Hint: The answer is a resounding yes. That's why Weight Watchers and Crossfit are popular: social proof. So find some likeminded people to all start on the road to health together. It has the added benefit of making you accountable to others, but getting a gang together makes you greater than the sum of your parts; whichever way you cut it.

There are plenty of other tricks you can use, like finding a gym that's close to home, and allowing yourself a 'cheat' now and again but nothing is as powerful as forcing yourself to act like in the three methods above. If there is a secret to health it's not in how you get there. It's in getting there in the first place.

But that said, I'm sure you still want to know what I think is the best way to be healthy for cricket. That's a topic I cover in the next part. Get the free newsletter to have the update delivered to your email.

What are the 7 myths of good health?

David.Hinchliffe — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 09:04:00 +0000

This is the second part of the "Healthy living for club cricketers" series. To go to part one click here. To get all the other parts delivered to you get the free newsletter.

If I took a quick poll asking: "would you like to be healthier" I'm betting 100% of the honest answers would be in the affirmative.

As we have discovered, there is no downside: you look better, you feel better and you play better cricket.

The trouble is, with so much conflicting information around, how do you really know what healthy is? You probably have a vague idea: More fruit and vegetables? More exercise? More sleep? Less drinking?

But it quickly gets complicated.

Some experts claim drinking moderately is healthy; some say fat is bad while others say it's good. We are encouraged to get 15-20 minutes of moderate intensity cardio three times a week by some while others say the benefits are greater in high intensity interval training. The list of controversies is as long as your arm.

Where do you start to cut through all the conflicting information?

A good place is with the myths of health that are always untrue no matter what you position. In other words, the things you can ignore and still be healthy.

Being healthy means having no fun. Contrary to the image, you don't have to be a martyr to be healthy. You can still have a life. Enjoying yourself is part of being human and it would be bad for your overall health if you were a perfect example of healthy living but unhappy. You would not stick with the plan for long like that.
Being healthy takes too much time. We all have busy lives and many priorities. Healthy living needs to fit into that, but it can with some forward thinking. There are some simple strategies you can use to fit health into your life without much pain. However, you will also have to learn new habits which can be hard but not impossible.
Being healthy is just a matter of taking the right pill. If you believe the health supplement advertising you can do anything with the right pill or powder. Sadly, it's not true. Some supplements can help but healthy living starts with you doing the work, not a magic potion.
Being healthy is going on a diet. The problem with diets and exercise programs is that they end. The secret is to form a habit instead. Healthy living doesn't end when you can fit back into your old jeans or got your cholesterol under control. It's a lifetime habit.
Being healthy is complicated. You don't need to be a nutritionist or fitness professional to know the rules of being healthy. However you do need to come up with a set of rules that both work and allow you to stick to them. These are simple as you will find out.
Being healthy is all spiritual, man. Another false image of health is the guru on top of the hill doing yoga, chanting, finding inner peace and eating alfalfa sprouts. Maybe that works for some, but I prefer the tried and test route of science.
Being healthy is something you do alone. This is not only a myth; it can scupper your chances of success. The single biggest factor to making a lifelong change in habit is accountability. If you do something alone you are more likely to fail.

Avoiding these myths gives you a framework to work from no matter what path to health you take.

In the next part I'll talk more about the realities of this framework, especially how to use accountability to help you.

To go to part three click here.

Image credit: Irishcricketphotos

Why does being healthy make you a better cricket player?

David.Hinchliffe — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 10:39:48 +0000

This is the first part of the "Healthy living for club cricketers" series. To go to part two click here. To get all the other parts delivered to you get the free newsletter.

What has healthy living got to do with cricket? Let me tell you a story to illustrate.

There was a time not so long ago when I wasn't the picture of health. My diet was poor, I was overweight, I rarely trained and my cricket was suffering.

Even worse, I didn't feel well. I might not have been sick, but I was never on top of things. I would be sluggish in the afternoons, coughs and colds would linger for weeks and my skin was bad. It was the kind of low level stuff you don't really notice grinding you down every day and making life tough.

It was a far cry from the fit and healthy 21 year old me who left University with a shiny new degree in sport and fitness. It was a case of 'do as I say, not as I do' for the people I was training during that time. I was being hypocritical.

Then the 2005 Ashes happened.

As a dyed-in-the-wool Englishman I rejoiced. Life was good again. It made me want to play cricket to my best. Looking at the supremely fit and healthy England side I realised that I needed to start again from scratch: Become a healthy cricketer.

I went back to my degree notes, poured over the latest research and read the books of trainers and nutritionists on the cutting edge. The more I worked the more I realised being a good cricketer is not just about what happens when you cross the boundary line.

It's about your whole life.

The 24 hour cricketer

It made perfect sense. Why would you perform well if you mistreated your body most of the time?

Being at your best requires you to be free from injury, strong, fast and alert. A healthy lifestyle gives you all those things, but only if you work at being healthy 24 hours a day.

There are other benefits as well as increases in sports performance.

Improved self confidence. If you look and feel better you will be more confident in yourself. Whether bigger biceps or a smaller waist, a healthy lifestyle is the way to go.
Better health and function. Being healthy reduces your risk of preventable diseases in the long term and makes you more resistant to the 'low level' daily ailments that I was suffering from back in 2005. It's something Greg Chappell experienced and wrote about in his book too.

The hard journey to health

I had no reason not to try back them, so I took the plunge and changed my life. I wasn't easy. I worked full time, didn't earn much and had a young family.

I stuck with it though; I trusted the benefits would outweigh the costs.

Now I have never been healthier and I have never been a better cricketer even though I am in my mid 30's. It's still hard to stick with it sometimes but it's a habit now. The players I have worked with over the years have had similar positive experiences.

This stuff works and I have proven it.

As I write this it's the start of a new year. Now would be the perfect time for you to become a healthy cricketer too. (In fact, any time is the perfect time. Why wait?)

How do you do it? Start by making the commitment.

If you decide to do that then I'll show you how you can become healthier this coming week.

To go to part two click here.

Image credit: chris_jd

How are you going to keep your New Year's resolution?

David.Hinchliffe — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 09:04:07 +0000

New Year, New You.

That's the idea a lot of people have in early January and why not? It's a good time to start self-improvement after the excesses of Christmas.

Just as most of us take a golden opportunity to do something positive, most of us have given up as quickly as we began. How are you going to stick with it this year?

The 30 day trial

One of the most effective ways of motivating yourself to start a new habit is to cut yourself some mental slack. This is where the 30 day trial comes in.

Instead of trying to make a change for the rest of your life, tell yourself you are going to throw yourself into it for just 30 days. At the end of that time you can, if you want, go back to your old ways.

This works in two ways. Suddenly you are not depressed at the thought of doing things this way forever and second you will probably be in the habit by the end of the 30 days and will not want to stop.

Simple eh?

As long as you do it right.

How to start a 30 day trial right now

Imagine for a moment you are thinking of giving up smoking, starting at the gym, developing a slower ball, learning how to play the reverse sweep, giving up chocolate, upping your vegetable intake, reading more and procrastinating less at work. You make a start without telling anyone and have already blown at least 2 promises to yourself by the middle of the month. 30 days seems like an age to last out.

This is too much too soon. It's certainly not how the 30 day trial was designed to work.

In our fictional example, you would pick just one goal as your 30 day trial. Let's pick joining the gym and going twice a week.

When you have your goal you need to do two things:

Write it down.
Tell everyone you can you are doing it.

Both of these bring in a key element: motivation.

Writing it down and putting it somewhere you can see it often (but not too often) will be self motivating. Perhaps you can set a reminder in your phone on Tuesdays and Thursdays to remind you to go to the gym. Telling others will encourage them to support you when you forget or feel unmotivated that day.

One great way of doing this is to hold yourself accountable online with our training log forum. You could just as easily tell your friends, family and co-workers in 'real life' too.

As this is a 30 day trial, every day of the trial you need to report on how the day went. In our example you could start writing down the workout with the amount of work you did. Seeing this increase will motivate you further to keep the gains coming.

At the end of the 30 days, take a step back, look through your notes (whether online or just kept in a private notebook) and decide whether it's worth continuing.

Sometimes you will decide it is and will carry on without the need for daily reporting and feedback. Other times you will stop, but it will have been a conscious decision.

So what are you waiting for? If you start today you may have a new good habit in 4 weeks time!

Image credit: enggul

How to read the pitch as well as Botham

David.Hinchliffe — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 09:01:35 +0000

Ian Botham is the King of Sky Sports pitch reports. But you can't have him at your game. How are you going to fathom out the way it will play without Beefys help? Reading a cricket pitch is a fine art and even the best readers are surprised when some pitches behave totally differently from expected. This is especially true at club level where the quality of pitches can vary widely depending on the skills and motivation of the groundsman. However, there are certain things to look for to give you a clue. Once you get out to the pitch here is what you should be asking yourself:

How wet is the pitch? The wetter the pitch, the slower it will play. Also, if it is drying out the ball will turn considerably, but will get easier the drier it gets.
How much grass is on the pitch? A green top pitch with a lot of grass will have a lot of seam movement, especially if the pitch is hard. It will be hard for spinners to turn the ball. Pitches with no grass tend to help spinners, especially if dry and dusty (although they tend to be easier to bat on first before they have deteriorated).
How hard is the pitch? Hard pitches will have a higher bounce and the ball will come onto the bat a lot more quickly. Pitches like this are hard to prepare in the UK so they will rarely be seen. They tend to give an equal chance to bowlers and batsmen. It will feel firm to the touch
When is the pitch most likely to help my bowlers? Conditions change throughout a day. Green pitches tend to get easier to bat on. Wickets can get more dry or wet (if it rains). They can start to break up if they are soft (which will help the bowlers). If it is going to get easier to bat, bowl first. If it is going to get harder, bat first.
What roller will be needed between innings? If you have the option of a roller between innings you should usually take as heavy a roller as possible (the laws state you are allowed 7 minutes if you are batting 2nd). The exceptions are dusty wickets that can break up under rolling.

What are your experiences with cricket pitch reading? Get in touch to let me know.

Review of the year: Thanks for being part of miCricketCoach in 2008

David.Hinchliffe — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 16:45:57 +0000

With the year over it's time for a look back on the events of 2008, look forward to 2009 and say thank you for being a big part of what makes the site a success.

If you were reading this time last year you will have been amazed by the changes that have gone on in the last 12 months.

The biggest of these was the change of name from 'Harrowdrive': the independent blog to PitchVision miCricketCoach with the backing of miSport. You can read all about the change by clicking here.

This has been exciting because it has given me the time and resources to bring some really excellent content to you. I now work on the site full time writing articles for you. Video is now possible, I have been making a weekly cricket coaching podcast and the name of miSport has allowed me into places I could never think of reaching before (including the media centre at Sofia Gardens).

I also released a free eBook on cricket psychology.

All stuff that is hopefully helping you get better too.

Another change was in the weekly email newsletter which saw a big upgrade and an increase in readers.

So yes, there are now many more of you than this time last year. As I write this you are in the company of almost 5,000 others: A number that grows weekly, every one as welcome as the last.

Sadly for the stat fans (if there are any) I changed my stats package this year too meaning there is no meaningful information about the number of visitors for the year. I can say its way more than last year.

What is 2009 bringing?

The plan is to make 2009 even bigger than last year: More exciting content from cricket coaches, first class level cricketers and world class support coaches in nutrition, psychology and fitness.

However, the key to it all is going to be the support system we are launching called PitchVision Academy. Here you can get the best advice from the best in their field on a range of topics, all online.

The really clever part is that it is designed to hold you accountable to other people who are going through the same thing. Say you want to bowl faster. You log on to Academy, do the things that our elite level fast bowling coach tells you and then you talk about it to the other fast bowlers in the Academy from all over the world.

You can't fail to get better that way, especially when you combine our exciting, innovative coaching with the PitchVision system, also ready to go this year.

So thank you very much for spending time here in 2008. If you like it, tell your friends about how I'm helping your game. If you think I could be doing a better job, email me and tell me why. Constructive feedback is always welcome.

When is a mid off not a mid off? (Or how to manipulate the field without changing it)

David.Hinchliffe — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 09:01:15 +0000

It's possible to make changes to your field without actually moving the fielders.

Tradition dictates that changing a field involves moving a fielder from one position to another. Mid off may go to deep mid off in defence or silly mid off in attack for example.

However, there is great scope within each fielding position for the tactically aware bowler, captain or fielder to exploit to their advantage. It means forgetting about thinking of any position as a static point. Instead it's a large area. Mid off, for example, could be up level with the stumps or three quarters of the way to the boundary. They could also be fairly straight or quite wide.

It's important to know this mainly because these subtle changes can be very effective in slowing scoring and taking wickets. Good batsmen also understand this so they can see how the opposition are trying to get them out.

You can split theses type of tactics into three general areas:

1. Close fielding

Slips, gulley, short leg and other close fielders should all be aware of the clues about how far from the bat to stand. The obvious part is the speed of bowling and pace of the wicket. Generally the faster either of those factors, the further back you can stand as the ball carries extra distance.

Slip fielders can get their cue from the wicketkeeper in the normal way: First standing slightly further back than the keeper and second about level. Gulley can be more difficult as the position can cover a very wide area from fifth slip to backward point. You need to decide if you are there for the mistimed cut or the thick edge off the top of the bat. In the former case you will be further back. You also need to take into account the technique of the batter. The more open faced they play the straighter you will need to be (with the slips possibly wider than usual).

Leg side close fielders and off side fielders in front of the wicket need to be an excellent judge of how far the ball will carry to them. This can be difficult at leg slip or leg gulley especially. Again the decision on how close depends on bowler pace, wicket pace and whether you are there for an attacking of defensive shot.

All close fielders will need to be closer for batsmen who play defensively with soft hands than they do for those who go at the ball at lot harder in defence.

2. In fielding

In general the in fielders are positioned to save batsman scoring singles first and boundaries second. Where your fielders stand depends on how fast the ball is coming off the bat. The faster it arrives the further back the fielder can stand.

Batsman can take advantage of this through tip and run tactics, drawing a fielder in until they are too close then hitting it past them before they have time to react. Because of this it's a good idea that all in fielders on the same side of the wicket stay in line with each other as a way of checking positioning. If one fielder chooses to adjust for a certain batsman, the rest must follow suit, ideally through the bowler and captain.

Speaking of batsman, if one batsman has a favourite shot it's possible to move the two closest fielders closer together, cutting off the gap. It's also worth trying to place a fielder deliberately a little too deep sometimes. This can backfire but is useful against the player who likes to try and hit over the top.

Another exception to the general in fielding rule is when you are playing in a match with fielding restrictions and a fielding circle. Here you will often find fielders posted on the very edge of the circle, too far back to save a single but not permitted to go outside it to save the boundary properly.

3. Out fielding

The outfielders are generally deployed to save boundaries and take catches in the deep. Every schoolboy cricketer is aware that they should be on the boundary to save the embarrassment of the ball going over their heads but landing within the boundary.

This is sound advice most of the time, although bringing a fielder in 10 yards from the boundary is a risky but legitimate tactic against the batsman with ego enough to think they can clear them. You can also station fielders some way in on longer boundaries, especially when it's clear the batter will not hit that far.

On the other hand, very short boundaries are more difficult. You may often find it worthwhile to move an in fielder to the boundary to save the four and give one away. On balance it might work out costing less than having a man in an orthodox position.

Just like the in field, the technique of the batsman also needs to be taken into account. Two players may get the same ball and perhaps even play the same shot but the ball rarely ends up in the same place. It may be obvious to say it, but adjust positions to be where the ball is more likely to go, especially if it is in the air at the time.

Who decides?

Finally, it's important to remember who is in charge of all this micro-field changing.

The captain should always have final say as they are looking at the bigger picture and have overall command on the field. Captains usually work with their bowlers; sometimes even letting them set their own field. Fielders should keep a close eye on both.

Experienced fielders can also make these micro decisions based on what they see. Care must be taken before taking a decision independently though. It may be worth confirming with the skipper until you can build up his trust in you.

Wherever you are fielding, remember not to let yourself slip out of position accidentally and only move based on sound tactical knowledge or the instruction of your captain.

How to stop another batting collapse

David.Hinchliffe — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 09:01:43 +0000

Last season my team were cruising to an easy victory in a one day game. We had skittled the opposition for 144 and were 120 for 2 in reply.

I was down to bat at 6 but had not bothered to pad up, a situation which rapidly changed when we lost our best batsman to a rash shot followed almost immediately by the new batsman muttering something about unplayable deliveries as we passed each other.

What was interesting was how our team's mindset had changed during the collapse.

Amazingly we lost 3 more wickets chasing the last few runs, finishing 7 down but crawling over the line. Each new batsman seemed increasingly worried about the demon bowling and the pitch seaming around.

Yes, it was green and the ball was keeping low but it seemed to me to be more about us fearing something based on the evidence of wickets falling suddenly. We seemed to be convincing ourselves that the collapse was being caused by external factors like the pitch or bowling. But this is the same pitch we had been batting on easily for the first half of our innings.

Ex-England batsman Ed Smith calls it a 'low score mentality': Batsmen go into their shell and become hell-bent on defence to stop the collapse. If it has happened a lot before (as it does with most club sides) the team may be already in the mindset of "here we go again"!

To me that is the wrong way of thinking. It would be like me asking you not to think of a banana. The fact I mention it brings it to mind. Think of stopping the collapse and all you have in mind is, well, a collapse.

Ask yourself this about your team: How many collapses have you had that were down to brilliant play by the opposition and how many were down to your side making mistakes? I imagine the latter happens a lot more than the former.

So if it's a mental thing to collapse, how do we stop it?

Get the focus right

If there is a secret to stopping collapsing I think it's about focus.

Many captains and coaches may advise the incoming batsman to 'just don't get out'. You might even be thinking exactly that as you walk to the middle and your batting partner comes up.

But there are so many more positive things you could be thinking about:

Where are the areas I can score?
Who are the weak fielders we can take a run to?
Play the ball on its merits

You do need to be highly focused as a batsman. You do need to be calm as a batsman. You can achieve both of these things without even looking at the scoreboard. Instead, use the stop technique to get rid of the negative thoughts, control your breathing and watch the ball onto the bat.

Thinking ahead

What can help this process is talking to each other about how you deal with a collapse before it happens.

That is simpler that it sounds. Just take 5-10 minutes after training to sit down with the rest of your team and talk through a collapse situation. Ask people what they would be thinking about and how they might play.

You can do this kind of planning for any situation but is particularly good for when things are going wrong. We rarely plan how we will act in the field if the score is 214-1 or if we lose our top order in the first 5 overs. Talking it through and imagining how we can get out of the hole is a useful way to stay positive when it happens.

I know this works because guess who stayed calm and hit the winning runs that day? I might not be the most talented batsman to walk the earth, but at least I have learned to keep my head under pressure out there. If I can, you can too.

The complete guide to in season training for cricket

David.Hinchliffe — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 09:05:00 +0000

How much training can you do during the season?

Many people might say the more the better. I think it's more complex than that. After all, most club players will not have the time or resources to spend all day training. That's without the risks of injury and fatigue through overtraining.

Getting the balance right is a science and an art.

This complete guide covers the articles on this site that give you the answers to the questions:

How much should I train?
What types of training work in season?
Can I balance work, playing cricket, practicing and fitness training?
How much rest do I need to be at my best?

And a lot more.

I have split this guide into several sections to make it easy for you to get to the information you need. If you want to know more, please contact me.

Nets and practice

Mental Approach

Fitness and Injury Prevention

Recovery

Tactics and Skills

Batting

Bowling

Fielding and wicketkeeping

Healthy Eating

Other Tips

If you would like to compare your off season training with others, have a look at the training logs section on the forums.

If you like the articles in this section, why not get the free weekly newsletter? It will keep you up to date with all the new articles on the site.

Photo credit: penguincakes