Pitchvision Academy
Animated Fielding Drills Get Fit For Cricket


Hi,

Trigger moves are some of the most discussed and most misunderstood parts of batting. This week Gary Palmer dispels the myths in a free video all about how to do it properly. Menno Gazendam adds to the technical side too with his article on how to bowl the mysterious doosra.

For the coaches we examine motivation. Some kids have all the talent but none of the get-up-and-go. How do you instil it? Once your motivated players are out in the middle we look at the new tactic of targeting the first ball of the over. And the miCricketCoach Show is back again with more audio tips for you to download.

Have a great weekend,

 



David Hinchliffe



How to use a trigger move to bat against fast bowling

This is part 1 of a 3 part series on trigger moves by Gary Palmer. To go to part 2 click here.

How do you pick line and length of fast bowling on quick wickets?

It's very difficult to do, and even more so if you are trying to stand still. One way to help with this is to adopt the 'back and across' trigger movement.

In this free video Gary Palmer, the PitchVision Academy Batting Coach, demonstrates how to adopt this trigger move and improve your batting:

You can find out more about Gary Palmer's coaching at www.ccmacademy.co.uk. If you can't get to Gary for coaching advice, why not bring him to you by buying an online course at PitchVision Academy?

 



Discuss this article with other subscribers


How to motivate young cricketers
 

As a coach, have you ever wondered about the talented player who seems to cruise without putting in the hard yards?

How much better would Player A be, you wonder, if only he had the motivation of the les talented Player B? The frustrating part is that motivation is more complicated that a simply telling Jimmy to buck up his ideas.

So until the develop motivation transplants you are going to have to work out a way of keeping your whole group of players hungry for success and prepared to put in the hard work.

It's not easy, but it's possible.
 
What do you want?

People play cricket for a simple reason: The want to have fun.

Once you know this is the biggest motivating factor in your players you are at a huge advantage. So the first trick is to keep your players engaged and enjoying things:

  • Fit the difficulty to the skill level. All players are challenged but able to experience success.
  • Add in variety with lots of different activities.
  • Keep everyone moving: avoid long talks or having lines of players waiting for a turn.
  • Don't be afraid to just play sometimes. Not all training has to be disciplined and drilled.

When a coach forgets that it's important to enjoy playing cricket he or she can strip motivation away from players rather than boost it up. Don't make that mistake.

Other reasons for playing cricket include wanting to feel part of a team and needing to feel successful at something.

For naturally good players the second reason can easily be met without much effort. So while it seems they are not motivated, it is more like they no longer need to motivate themselves because they are already getting what they want from the game.

Your job with these players is to get them to fail.

You might put them in a better team, give them more difficult skills to learn or add pressure to them by setting harder and harder goals for them to reach. Eventually they will fail and failure will lead to them realising they need to put in more effort to be successful.

Take care though, as there is another reaction (which is more common in less talented players).

It's equal natural to respond to failure by putting in less effort.

Players like this are protecting themselves from failure not trying. That way they can always say they only failed because they "couldn't be bothered".

I'm sure you know a player or two like that.

Hand over responsibility

Once you know a players motivation you can start feeding it.

By far the easiest way to do this is to allow your team to control their development.

That doesn't mean giving free reign. But it does mean having the confidence and self-awareness give the right level of responsibility to a player. Research has shown that the more control people feel they have over situations the better they do.

The tricky part is knowing how far to go with each individual. That's where coaching becomes an art rather than a science, but once you are looking to do this, opportunities arise all the time:

  • Tactical decisions
  • Setting goals
  • Deciding how to achieve those goals

As coach, you would still be involved in this process. If a batsman is making a glaring technical error you would show them how to correct it for example. However, if they are mature enough perhaps they would decide when the corrective drills would be done. It would be a personal decision based on their own motivations.

For me, that's the key to motivation. It's not something you can deliver by shouting at someone, or even something you can coerce players into. Motivation is giving players enough responsibility so they do it themselves.

How do you motivate the players you coach? Leave a comment and let us know.

image credit: Kaustav Bhattacharya



Discuss this article with other subscribers
 


How to bowl a doosra
 

This article is an extract from Spin Bowling Tips. Master the art of spin bowling with the most comprehensive eBook on spin bowling ever produced, available now at PitchVision Academy.

The doosra is bowled by an off-spinner. Unlike the traditional off-break that spins into the batsman from the off, this ball behaves more like a leg-spin delivery and spins from leg to off. Therefore, this ball is a surprise variation for an off-spin bowler.

The doosra (meaning 'the other one') was first perfected by Saqlain Mushtaq but was made famous by Muttiah Muralitharan. Other notable bowlers to use this delivery with big success are Saeed Ajmal, Harbajan Singh and Johan Botha. In fact, this ball is almost used as stock delivery by Saeed Ajmal.

Thre are two ways to bowl the doosra. If you want to use the doosra as a surprise variation then I would recommend Method #1. However, if you would prefer to use the doosra as your stock delivery then Method #2 would be the best.

Method 1

This method is best if you want to use it as a surprise variation as the action is the same as the standard off-spin action and easier to hide from the batsman. Therefore, it is very effective in deceiving batsmen when they expect the ball to turn the other way. The drawback of this method is that the ball does not turn very much and is thus not as effective as a stock delivery. This is the method used by Saqlain Mustaq and Saeed Ajmal.

Grip

The grip for the doosra is identical to the standard off-spinner’s grip. The seam of the ball runs across the fingers and most of the spin is being imparted by the index and middle fingers. The ball should not be held too tight and the thumb should bend back to be out of the way.

Action

As you are using the doosra here as a stock ball, you must stick to your standard off-spinner's side on action.

Just Before Release

To disguise the doosra, follow a regular bowling action similar to bowling an off-spin delivery. Just before the time of the release, you will rotate the wrist so that the back of the hand faces square leg. Drop your shoulder (of the delivery arm) and bend the elbow a little more than during the standard off-break delivery. Your point of delivery will be a little lower than your off-spin stock delivery. Be careful not to straighten your arm during the release.

 
Figure 1: Off-Spin Doosra Wrist Position (Method #1) Back of hand faces towards mid-wicket and seam is angles towards 1st slip.
At Release

At the time of the release, the back of your hand should face towards square leg and your fingers should spin the ball similar to an off-break. The changed wrist position causes the ball to behave like a leg-break. This finger spin along with the rotation from the wrist and shoulder imparts the spin to leg-break.

The doosra can be bowled with plenty flight or as a quicker delivery just like the standard off spin.

Do not be fooled into thinking this is an easy delivery. Although it is most certainly not impossible as there are many examples of bowlers who can bowl this delivery. Work hard at bowling the doosra and you will also get there!

Method #2

This method is best if you want to use the doosra as your stock delivery as it will be very difficult to hide it as a variation delivery. The ball turns very bigger with this method if you get it right. It is not as effective for a surprise delivery as the action (at release of the ball) is quite different from the standard off-spin action.

Method #2 is discussed and illustrated in the full version of Spin Bowling Tips.

 



Master the art of spin bowling with "Spin Bowling Tips" the most comprehensive eBook on spin bowling every produced. Download a copy today and start taking more wickets.

 


 



Discuss this article with other subscribers
 


Why the first ball of the over is more important than the rest
 

Teams that score the most runs from the first ball of the over are more successful than teams that don't.

That's a statistic that English, Indian and South African fans may have missed, but not by the international coaches in the new world of every statistical nuance being uncovered by laptop analysts.


Read More...
 
Cricket Show 57: Pro Coach Cricket Academy
 

More interviews this week as Sam Lavery of Pro Coach Cricket Academy joins David and Kevin. Of course the regular guests Menno Gazendam and Gary Palmer also make appearances.


Read More...
 

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.

 
Pitchvision
 

Take a tour
 
Want Coaching?
 

 
Send to a Friend
 

Do you have a friend or team mate who would be interested in this newsletter? Just hit "forward" in your email program and send it on.

If you received this email from a friend and would like to get subsequent issues, you can subscribe here.

Enjoy!

 
PitchVision Academy
 

irresistable force vs. immovable object

 
Thank you for subscribing to PitchVision Academy.
 
Read more at www.pitchvision.com
 
 

 



To unsubscribe eMail us with the subject "UNSUBSCRIBE (your email)"
Issue: 75
Date: 2009-12-04