The Teesra

Author: Andrew Beaven

  • Over rates…get on with it!

    “Get on with it!”

    All too often, as the over rate drops and the game drags, you will hear this cry from the stands, or the lone fielder stationed out on the boundary.

    I have railed against slow over-rates before, without ever setting out in any detail what I thought needed to be done. Shouting “get on with it”, whilst heart-felt, doesn’t actually help!

    Fines for slow rates, or penalty runs, can really only be applied when the game is run by independent match officials.

    So –  can anything be done by the players to speed up the game? (more…)

  • More on coaching philosophy – getting better at getting better?

    I was delighted to read recent a post from sports psychologist Dan Abrahams outlining exactly how all sportsmen (and their coaches) need to set out to “profile the next level” of performance.

    I have written previously about my coaching “philosophy” – slightly glib, perhaps, but I do believe that the aim of all coaching has to be to help the players to “get better”.

    But what is “better”?  And how do we get there? (more…)

  • Net practice for young players – yes and no

    A thought-provoking post this week from David Hinchliffe at PitchVision Academy (@PitchVisionAcad), on the loss of young players from the game, and ways to keep them engaged and coming back for more.

    Over-reliance on net practice, especially for younger players, has been highlighted by some of David’s readers as a contributing factor.  As I explain to the players I coach – in a typical net evening, you might spend 10 minutes batting (if you are lucky), 10 minutes actually bowling, and the rest of the time watching the others bat and bowl.  Not much fun, really!  And no wonder concentration levels flag towards the end of the evening.

    There has to be a better way.  And there is.

    (more…)