Interesting post from Simon Hughes, via The Analyst Inside Cricket Substack, in which he bemoans the lack of opportunities to play cricket in inner City locations, and proposes a new format to make the game more accessible.
The problem is genuine. Who just plays cricket, any more?
But is yet another match format the solution? Why is “cricket” so shy of proclaiming cricket to be a great game? Do we really need the gimmicks, or the fireworks, to sell the game?
(more…)[This article originally appeared in my Substack feed, on 13th March 2026.]
An odd confluence of articles and posts in my social and news feeds, back in March.
All interesting, in their own right, but with a linking thread of alcohol.
And that’s without mentioning Noosa, nor the Kiwi bouncer.
Does cricket in England have a problem with alcohol?
(more…)I am a great believer in games- and scenario-based learning.
Games engage games players when drills don’t.
Well designed games retain important elements of the real activity to help players develop “skills in context”, not just drilled technique. Using the terminology of the constraints-led approach (CLA), games need to be representative of the playing environment, and retain important specifying information.
I also like the whole-part-whole session structure — play a game, modified to reward a specific skill; practice that skill; play the modified game again.
But sometimes, the initial “whole” maybe needs to be primed, put into context.
And with the proliferation of access to video highlights of so many great moments from the past, perhaps it is time for a new session format.
How about Video-Part-Whole?
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