The Teesra

Author: Andrew Beaven

  • On excellence – the quest for the perfect outswinger.

    Back in the days when I played regularly on a Saturday afternoon, there was a standing joke among my team mates – that I was more interested in bowling the perfect outswinger than in taking a wicket.

    And when I coach seam bowlers, once I am happy that their action is reasonably sound and repeatable, I will move on quickly to what might be considered by some to be post-graduate deliveries – variations in swing and pace – rather than drilling line and length.

    I strongly believe that the role of the coach is to encourage excellence and the ambition to aspire to the extraordinary.

    Always – what does “better” look like, and how can I be better?

    (more…)

  • Jail-break cricket v1.1 – dynamic zones

    Quick update on jail-break cricket – try moving the JBZ during the game.

    • To challenge shot selection
    • To differentiate a session (hit a more or less accessible target).

    This can be done manually (pick up the markers designating the JBZ and quickly move them somewhere else…get the youngest, fittest coach to do this, not the oldest…), or by setting out multiple zones and calling out “straight hit” or “mid-wicket”, as appropriate, before the next ball is delivered.

    This could probably work with YPA, as well as the original, coach-fed version of jail-break.

    Thanks to Simon Stevens for this idea.

  • “Cricket 2022” – the “master plan” (first draft)

    Darren Talbot posted an impassioned blog last week: View from the Coach: Where’s the plan for cricket in England & Wales?

    I am more positive about All Stars Cricket than Darren, but I do agree with his prognosis – introducing a new entry-level offering for 5-8 year olds can only be the start of a five (or 10) year plan to bring players back to the game, and as yet there is little discernible evidence of that master plan from the ECB.

    So – what should the game look like in five years? (more…)