The Teesra

Author: Andrew Beaven

  • 2014 – nearly over (1): Coaching 3 year olds, and a 63 year old.

    2014 has been a year of cricketing extremes, with coaching sessions with both the youngest and oldest players I have ever worked with.

    At one end of the age range, I have enjoyed coaching several “Little Legends” groups this year – 3-4 year olds.  I have also delivered 1-2-1 sessions for club and social players, the oldest of whom is over 60 and still playing on most weekends in the summer.

    Very different players, but all with one thing in common – they wanted to enjoy themselves, playing cricket.

    Very different challenges for the coach…and surprising similarities.

    (more…)

  • “Don’ts for Cricketers” – on preparing to play the ball

    Don’t forget to stand still, or you will never make a player. It is a good plan for a young player to have his right leg pegged down if he cannot naturally stand still.

    Here’s one I can’t agree with. Head still, eyes level, perhaps, but I don’t think we can be so dogmatic, anymore. A consistent trigger movement is fine, so long as the batsman can watch the ball at release and is able to make appropriate movements to play the ball.

    As to the “good plan”…

    Of course, back play was not encouraged back in the day! And I have, on occasion, resorted to placing a space-marker (cone) behind a batsman’s back foot, as a physical reminder to the player not to move that foot away to the leg side. But pegging the leg down seems extreme!

  • How to win at cricket – what the skipper really needs to know

    This summer (every summer, it seems), questions were raised about Alistair Cook’s performance as captain of England.

    And around the country, I suspect that (almost) every Club captain has been criticised, at some time in the season, for changing the bowling at the wrong time, for not changing the bowling, for setting the wrong field, for getting the batting order wrong, for picking the wrong team, for the wicket, for the teas…

    Get it right, and everyone will say – “what a good team”; get it wrong, and it will be “find a new captain”.

    So is it any wonder that we sometimes struggle to find volunteers to fill these essential Club roles?

    The challenge, as with most cricket skills, is that talent alone (assuming you have any…) will only take you so far as a skipper – to become truly competent you need to practice.  And that means putting up your hand at the next AGM, taking the reins, and taking on the captaincy.  And hoping that the criticism you receive won’t be so depressing that you give up after one season, vowing never to stand as skipper ever again. (more…)