The Teesra

Author: Andrew Beaven

  • Is the 100 too long? Maybe it’s time for the SIX!

    What a finish in the World Cup Final.

    Right down to the final ball, and the match is tied after 50 overs each.

    Still tied after the Super Over.

    Let’s quietly forget the “total boundaries scored” tie-break.

    But that Super Over. All of the excitement of cricket, condensed into just 6 balls per team.

    When the ECB’s 100 format was proposed, I had jokingly commented that it might still be a bit too long, and suggested that something akin to street20 might be the ultimate short format to “bring back the masses”.

    Now, I wonder if there is something that can be lifted from the Super Over format.

    So — the Teesra presents…

    The SIX!

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  • Coaching for beginners — “we need to develop world class coaches for beginners”

    “we need to develop world class coaches for beginners”

    Frank Dick said exactly this at the ECB CA conference in 2015. Everyone nodded. Nothing much seems to have changed…

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  • Timing — when should the down swing start?

    Timing — when should the down swing start?

    Working with an experienced batter over the last couple of sessions on “timing”, and encouraging him to hit his drives even harder.

    I have been suggesting that he tries delaying the downswing as long as he dares, to create greater bat speed at contact.

    I came across an interesting paper that identified some of the key timings of “skilled” batters (see below) — significantly that better batters appear to more consistently coordinate the initiation of the bat downswing with the completion of the front-foot stride — but this image perhaps captures the delayed downswing better than any words could.

    Hands still high, wrists cocked with the bat raised beyond the vertical, weight transferring dynamically into the stroke, as the front foot is just about to land.

    Stepping out to drive
    Maxine Blythin, Kent Women

    In the interests of outcome-based coaching — the ball was hit through extra cover, on the deck, at a rate of knots!

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