The Teesra

Category: Games based learning

cricket games-based learning

  • One hand, one bounce — revisited

    I do like a bit of one hand, one bounce. I use it as a gamified drill, to get the players used to playing with soft hands.

    Yes, I do think there is a place for a little batting subtlety, even in T20 — a couple of drop-and-run singles just might make the oppo change their field, opening up space for bigger hits. In the recent T20 World Cup, batters were even stealing twos on the huge Aussie outfields, with shots that didn’t leave the fielding circle!

    I tried this at the weekend, with a group of u11s, then played a short game to test out the new “strokes”. It nearly worked (most got the idea, but still preferred trying to hit the cover off the ball). but on reflection the game wasn’t quite right (not “representative” enough; not enough reward for playing the drop-and-run).

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  • Hit the reset button! Introducing learning opportunities (for batters) in games-based practice.

    I have been catching up with the winter programme of iCoachCricket Live, the webinar series for ECB Coaches Association members. Not all of the presentations resonate with me, but there are some nuggets amongst the chat.

    In the course of a discussion about the ECB CA’s new “Unleashing Potential” framework, there was some mention of how coaches might make better use of “games-based” practice by modifying the playing conditions to challenge the batters’ tactical (and technical) development.

    Of most interest (to me) was the concept of the “reset button” — if a pre-specified shot or tactic fails and the batter is dismissed, she can “press the reset” and have another go.

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  • Coach as “learning consultant” — can we help players to learn how to learn?

    Coach as “learning consultant” — can we help players to learn how to learn?

    Barney Ronay posted this, typically insightful, article on the recriminations after England’s latest Ashes drubbing — Not all failings of England’s Test team can be blamed on County cricket.

    One line stands out, for me.

    “Root’s complaints about not replicating exactly the conditions of Test cricket in advance are the words of a sports person who has been cosseted through a system from boyhood, who feels it is an oversight not to be spoon-fed the perfect prep…”

    Not, perhaps, that players expect to be spoon-fed, but that they perhaps don’t know how to learn if they are not spoon-fed?

    This might be key, beyond discussion of central contracts and what the England coaches actually do, beyond CAG & Academy pathways and inclusion, right back to how young players are first introduced to the game.

    So the question might be — do coaches know how to teach young players to learn?

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