What question would you ask the greatest all-rounder the game has ever known?
How to polish a cricket ball?
Me neither.
But I heard this from someone who asked this question of Sir Garfield Sobers – just one degree of separation from greatness…and a great tip, too!
The trick is to keep the ball dry, and to polish so hard that the ball becomes hot. Try it – it really does work.
No, I don’t mean it’s just too easy. I mean that a little blind-fold practice can go a long way to improving performance.
It is always helpful for a coach to watch other coaches working, so the other week I took the opportunity to watch a session at the Essex Autogroup Graham Gooch Cricket Centre, at the Ford County Ground, Chelmsford. And while I was there, I got into a conversation with the father of one of the young players being coached.
He explained how his son had problems with his batting until he improved his footwork.
How did he manage that, I asked.
By closing his eyes, replied the father. (more…)
Will Saeed Ajmal unveil a new mystery ball in the series against England? Perhaps the fabled teesra?
I would love to see it, and especially to see how the England batsmen, now so well supported by their coaches and intense video analysis, react to the new challenge…if it exists.
Is Ajmal playing mind games? Graham Gooch seems to think so – but what if Ajmal really does have something new?
It should be fun to watch!
The Teesra 