Special Request: What’s your secret?
If you could give one tip, trick or piece of advice to help someone get better at cricket, what would it be?
I give a lot of advice on this blog, but today I want your feedback.
So do you have any advice to give on:
- Cricket Tactics
- Cricket Fitness
- Cricket Psychology
- Cricket Captaincy
Or anything else to do with club cricket? It doesn't matter how small, large, simple or complex the tip is: I want it.
Here is one to start you off: Always take a pen and small notebook to your games and write down everything you think of to do with your cricket: aims, goals, scores, coaching tips or anything else. If you don't you soon forget the great ideas you have while waiting to bat!
So leave me a comment or get in touch. I'm dying to learn from your own experiences.
- Login to post comments
Comments
One thing I always tell myself to do is to do the bascis right. I know it sounds like an old cliche but when I play a straight drive back past the bowler or beat the batsman outside the offstump, just using the basics without trying to do too much, my confidence goes up and so does my performance as well.
One thing I always tell myself to do is to do the basics right. I know it sounds like an old cliche but when playing a straight drive back past the bowler with a straight bat or beating the batsman outside the offstump with just using the basics, I find that my confidence goes up as well as my performance.
I totally agree about the basics. When you are doing everything right it just flows and you don't have to think about it.
Go to as many practice nights as you can. You may think you're the new Andrew Flintoff, but if you don't practice regularly and stay fit, you will soon be playing in your club's third XI.
Warm up before you start. Throw a ball around in the outfield before you go out to field - medium distance catches, then get in a ring for short catches. if you're opening the bowling, you should be loosening up from the moment you know you're bowling to when you actually start your run up. Before you go out to bat, get someone to throw some balls down at you. (Obviously, if you've got access to a net, use it!) All sounds obvious, but it's amazing the number of players/teams who don't.
When your side is batting, watch the game. Cricket is a team game - iIt can get very depressing when you're batting to look over and see a row of empty benches because the whole side is in the pavilion watching the football on TV. Plus, you might learn something.
Alan, Mark. Simple tips but I agree they are often ignored. Take a search round the site for my own tips on warming up, cooling down and practicing!
i tend to find if nobody is watching, it's because you're not scoring fast enough!
couple of pints before you bat to loosen you up too - can't go out there too tense, or you'll never time anything.
Hi
As a new commer Cricket is a fascinating lot to learn. The key performance tip I can see is to listen and learn and practice what you need to in order to perform but then to relax and enjoy your game when playing.
I was working really hard on my game and everything was a bit stop start, my coach got me to relax and all of a sudden it all came a bit more natural. Bowling was faste and straighter and batting seemed easy and fun.
best regards
Matt
Great tip Matthew. It's sometimes hard to relax in a game situation. Ask Steve Harmison!
Origami, I'm not sure about the requirement to drink before you bat! It certainly would make the innings more interesting though.
Best Batting Tip;
When facing really fast bowling, really try to get your head down and get your foot to the pitch. Everybodys probably heard it but does anybody actually do it. It may seem simple but its the difference between playing and missing and hitting fours off the fastest bowlers you've ever faced. When a fast bowler gets hit a couple of times, they normally slow down a lot. Oh yeah, and WATCH THE BALL