[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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I don’t think it would be unfair to suggest that ECB Coach Development (the group within the England & Wales Cricket Board with responsibility for developing coaches, at all levels of the game, from grassroots to the professional game) has lacked a little direction recently. An interim Head for two years, then a vacant post for another year, and most recently an appointment who, 12 months in, has yet to be introduced to the coaches he is tasked with developing.
There have been a couple of revealing “coach development” news snippets, recently, revealing in that neither said anything at all about developing cricket coaching (or coaches) beyond the professional game or the private schools in England & Wales.
Nor about addressing the genuine issues of inclusion raised by ICEC, nor the ongoing (apparent) failures of coaching (at all levels of the development pathway) in England (& Wales) to develop players ready for the international stage.
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