Pitchvision Academy
 


Hi,

There are a lot of stats and drills in this newsletter. We analyse a bowler and come up with some tips, discuss the trouble with stats as a tool and give you a drill for keeping that will help improve things.

Have a great weekend,



David Hinchliffe



Analysis: Improving a Fast Bowler

This is a guest article from Waqas Zafar: video analyst, cricket enthusiast and computer scientist based in Lahore. Read more of his work by clicking here.

In this article, I’ll be analysing a seamer from a cricket club who has bowled a total of 368 balls in the indoor nets. The deliveries were tracked on PitchVision's PV/ONE ball tracking over the course of a preseason in the UK.

 

Here is a breakdown of the lengths he has bowled.

  • Short 10.05%
  • Good 45.38%
  • Full 44.29%

Here is the beehive placement of all the balls.

 

The system shows that the average length bowled by this bowler is 5.75m. This is generally accepted as a good length for English club cricket. Let’s look into detail about each length.

Short

This bowler hasn’t dug the ball in short as we can see in the breakdown of the lengths. His average pace from this length was 67.82 mph which is quicker than his average, but won't rattle most batsman. The percentages above clearly illustrates that the bowler wants to get the ball up closer to the batsman).

This is a good tactical approach on slower wickets that see plenty of seam and swing. The bouncer is a far less powerful weapon, and the bowler's pace can't overcome the weakness. Good club batsmen are only troubled when the ball passes 75mph and often this number is higher (such as pro cricketers playing club cricket used to 85mph or more).

Good length

This is the length which isn't quite short enough for the horizontal bat shots and not full enough for the drives. Here is the beehive placement of all the balls in the good length.

We can see some of the balls sliding down the leg side. Some of them have deviated down the leg side, may be due to lack of control but there are a number of balls on off stump and outside.

The average deviation from this length is 0.5 degrees. Good length set by this bowler is 8.0m–5.0m. By applying filters on the PitchVision system, we’ll dig down into the details of this length.

Back of a length

34 balls have been recorded in the 8.0 – 7.0 range. The average bounce recorded from this length is 0.94.

There has been variation in bounce in this region. For example, the ball hitting the stumps pitched on 7.6 m from the stumps meanwhile a ball pitching on 7.0 m from the stumps bounced close to 1 m. All these balls bounce quite high and there is movement on offer as well.

This means at back of a length the bowler can take wickets. Batters are on the back foot and looking to play away from their body can be caught.

Or if the batsman leaves these balls on length, then the bowler can push the ball further up. The bowler is recommended to learn to adjust depending on the strengths and weaknesses of the batsman.

Middle good length

This is the 7.0 – 6.0 range. 58 balls have landed in this spot and the average deviation from this length is 0.6 degrees. The bowler has generally looked to keep it outside off and hasn’t attacked the stumps a lot.

When he did attack the stumps, he bowled someone.

The wicket ball was pitched on 6.8 m whereas a ball landing on 6.4 m took off from the surface. Balls outside off stump which have bounced normally can lure the batsman into coming forward and any movement can bring the keeper and slips into play. When the batsman comes forward, it becomes hard for him to adjust to any sort of lateral movement.

Therefore, it's recommended that the bowler works on bowling most stock balls in this length and at or just outside the stumps.

Fuller good length:

This is the 6.0 – 5.0 range. 70 balls have landed here. Average deviation from this zone is 0.5 degrees.

The seamer has kept it outside off but has looked to attack the stumps more. This is hopefully because he has realised that there is uneven bounce.

We can see a lot of balls on top of the stumps in this beehive placement. This is because of the unpredictable bounce, as they have missed the stumps. For example, the wicket ball (pink ball smashing the off stump) pitched on 5.6 m. Another ball pitching on 5.6 m missed the stumps by a fair margin.

It is recommended that the bowler continues to bowl this length and attack the stumps. Most wickets he will bowl on will have 0.2-0.1m lower bounce and the stumps will come into play much more than happens on this bouncier indoor wicket.

Full balls

The bowler has landed 163 balls in the full zone. These are over-pitched balls that the batsman will look to drive or flick. The balls which didn’t deviate were put away but that shouldn’t discourage the bowler as wickets can still fall when you over pitch either with bowled, LBW or catches from mistimed shots.

By breaking down lengths, the bowler can work on specific things like:

  • To be able to maintain consistent lines as we can see a lot of balls sliding down the leg side.
  • Look to bowl within stumps if there is any unpredictable bounce.
  • Not overpitch a lot of times as we can see from the beehive placement.
  • Hitting the block hole at the death.

This is a guest article from Waqas Zafar: video analyst, cricket enthusiast and computer scientist based in Lahore. Read more of his work by clicking here.

In this article, I’ll be analysing a seamer from a cricket club who has bowled a total of 368 balls in the indoor nets. The deliveries were tracked on PitchVision's PV/ONE ball tracking over the course of a preseason in the UK.

 

Here is a breakdown of the lengths he has bowled.

  • Short 10.05%
  • Good 45.38%
  • Full 44.29%

Here is the beehive placement of all the balls.

 

The system shows that the average length bowled by this bowler is 5.75m. This is generally accepted as a good length for English club cricket. Let’s look into detail about each length.

Short

This bowler hasn’t dug the ball in short as we can see in the breakdown of the lengths. His average pace from this length was 67.82 mph which is quicker than his average, but won't rattle most batsman. The percentages above clearly illustrates that the bowler wants to get the ball up closer to the batsman).

This is a good tactical approach on slower wickets that see plenty of seam and swing. The bouncer is a far less powerful weapon, and the bowler's pace can't overcome the weakness. Good club batsmen are only troubled when the ball passes 75mph and often this number is higher (such as pro cricketers playing club cricket used to 85mph or more).

Good length

This is the length which isn't quite short enough for the horizontal bat shots and not full enough for the drives. Here is the beehive placement of all the balls in the good length.

We can see some of the balls sliding down the leg side. Some of them have deviated down the leg side, may be due to lack of control but there are a number of balls on off stump and outside.

The average deviation from this length is 0.5 degrees. Good length set by this bowler is 8.0m–5.0m. By applying filters on the PitchVision system, we’ll dig down into the details of this length.

Back of a length

34 balls have been recorded in the 8.0 – 7.0 range. The average bounce recorded from this length is 0.94.

There has been variation in bounce in this region. For example, the ball hitting the stumps pitched on 7.6 m from the stumps meanwhile a ball pitching on 7.0 m from the stumps bounced close to 1 m. All these balls bounce quite high and there is movement on offer as well.

This means at back of a length the bowler can take wickets. Batters are on the back foot and looking to play away from their body can be caught.

Or if the batsman leaves these balls on length, then the bowler can push the ball further up. The bowler is recommended to learn to adjust depending on the strengths and weaknesses of the batsman.

Middle good length

This is the 7.0 – 6.0 range. 58 balls have landed in this spot and the average deviation from this length is 0.6 degrees. The bowler has generally looked to keep it outside off and hasn’t attacked the stumps a lot.

When he did attack the stumps, he bowled someone.

The wicket ball was pitched on 6.8 m whereas a ball landing on 6.4 m took off from the surface. Balls outside off stump which have bounced normally can lure the batsman into coming forward and any movement can bring the keeper and slips into play. When the batsman comes forward, it becomes hard for him to adjust to any sort of lateral movement.

Therefore, it's recommended that the bowler works on bowling most stock balls in this length and at or just outside the stumps.

Fuller good length:

This is the 6.0 – 5.0 range. 70 balls have landed here. Average deviation from this zone is 0.5 degrees.

The seamer has kept it outside off but has looked to attack the stumps more. This is hopefully because he has realised that there is uneven bounce.

We can see a lot of balls on top of the stumps in this beehive placement. This is because of the unpredictable bounce, as they have missed the stumps. For example, the wicket ball (pink ball smashing the off stump) pitched on 5.6 m. Another ball pitching on 5.6 m missed the stumps by a fair margin.

It is recommended that the bowler continues to bowl this length and attack the stumps. Most wickets he will bowl on will have 0.2-0.1m lower bounce and the stumps will come into play much more than happens on this bouncier indoor wicket.

Full balls

The bowler has landed 163 balls in the full zone. These are over-pitched balls that the batsman will look to drive or flick. The balls which didn’t deviate were put away but that shouldn’t discourage the bowler as wickets can still fall when you over pitch either with bowled, LBW or catches from mistimed shots.

By breaking down lengths, the bowler can work on specific things like:

  • To be able to maintain consistent lines as we can see a lot of balls sliding down the leg side.
  • Look to bowl within stumps if there is any unpredictable bounce.
  • Not overpitch a lot of times as we can see from the beehive placement.
  • Hitting the block hole at the death.


Discuss this article with other subscribers


Here's the Trouble with Cricket Stats
 

Have you been watching the BBL?

The stats have been impressive through the tournament. We are getting insights like never before, with new ways of analysing teams and players: Fielding scores, dot ball percentages, player's impact at different times in the match and much more.

None of it has detracted from the fun and drama either.

But throughout this romp, there is danger.

And if you want to tap into the power of stats and analysis for your team, you better be careful.

Averages are average

Let me give you an example from my own club team's Twenty20 campaign in 2016.

The average winning score batting first was 144 (7.2 per over, 70% SB%). The average score batting first was 134 (65% SB%). From this it's easy to think that to win the match you need to score 145.

But this is dangerous.

It's good to have a target in mind, but to know that 145 will win you most games can also lock you into fixed thinking.

If you think like this you can't either:

  • Take advantage of a better than usual start to go way past 145.
  • Stay in control of a game where 134 is not as easy to get as the average.

Averages are useful as broad targets but are flawed as predictions of the future. There are too many other things involved to ever be sure. So, play the percentages, but never get locked into fixed thinking. Instead, try stretch goal setting.

Gaming the system

The other danger with stats is when players try to game the system to look better.

In the old days, we called this "playing for the red inker", when a batsman would set out to get a not out to improve their batting average, rather than risk getting out to win the match. That's not going to happen much in T20, but you can get other things.

One example is players looking to protect their catch percentage by only going for the easy catches and dodging the potential world-class ones. You can try to prevent this. For example, the BBL stats only count dropped catches if they are simple and expected to be caught. This means players can safely go for a harder catch and are not punished for a drop.

However, no matter what you do, there will always be people looking for ways to exploit the system to make their stats look better. That's human nature.

So should you forget stats?

Are they too flawed to be useful?

No.

Like any tool, they have a place when used well. The motivate people to great things when used to inspire, and they create a competitive edge. So, know their limitations and use their powers for good.



Discuss this article with other subscribers
 


Cricket Show S8 Episode 1: Fielding Average
 

The podcast returns for 2017 with more discussion between Mark Garaway, Sam Lavery and David Hinchliffe. This first show hits it's stride with a discussion on the new fielding average in the BBL.

Then, questions are answered on injuries caused by the front foot block and how to deal with fear of the short ball.

Listen in for details.

 

How to Send in Your Questions

If you want to win a cricket coaching prize, you need to send in your burning questions to the show. If your question is the best one we give you a free online cricket coaching course!

Send in your questions via:

Or you can call and leave your question on the Academy voice mail:

  • +44 (0)203 239 7543
  • +61 (02) 8005 7925

How to Listen to the Show

Just click the "play" button at the top of the show notes.

Or, the show comes out every Friday and you can listen to it on your phone or tablet every week automatically. Simply choose your favourite podcast player and do a search for the show:

Or subscribe manually with the RSS feed. Right click here, copy the link and paste it into the appropriate place for adding new feeds in your podcast subscription software or RSS reader.

You can also download this show onto your computer by clicking the play button at the top of the article, or clicking on the mp3 to download.

 



Discuss this article with other subscribers
 


Use the Fumble Challenge to Create Classy Keepers
 

I love it when a new coach comes onto my team, it means that I can start stealing his coaching drills!


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Cricket Batting Tips: Stop Playing That Stupid Shot Again by Surfing the Urge
 

Admit it, you have played a shot you regret.


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About PitchVision Academy
 

Welcome to this week's guide to playing and coaching better cricket.

I'm David Hinchliffe and I'm Director of the PitchVision Academy team. With this newsletter you are benefitting directly from over 25 Academy coaches. Our skills include international runs and wickets, first-class coaching, cutting-edge research and real-life playing experience.

 
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Issue: 446
Date: 2017-01-20