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Q: Hello, I’m 19 and want to play grade cricket in Brisbane next season.
I’m a top order bat and would like to ask about players mindsets when they go out to bat. Do you have a plan to get to 10 or 20 and what’s your process in building an innings. Thanks.
A: When you 1st come in as an opener there are lots of gaps, so singles and boundaries are at their 'easiest', but you are more chance of snicking out, so openers have to leave a fair few.
Best place to be in the 1st 5 overs is up the other end. Don't worry about getting to 10 or 20, just worry about the next ball and get up the other end.
To plug those gaps, fielders eventually come out of catching spots, so the batsman needs to change gears too.
The ball is older, so you can play shots with less risk and try to pierce the field and hit loose balls to the boundary
Eventually fielders drop back and gaps open up for singles again, so you have to change gears again, but by now you can feed the strike to your batting partner who may be a bit fresher + is being offered more gaps.
Understanding that might help you make a plan about how you are going to bat in between gear changes. You have to turn the dial up and down, if you keep dialing it up you'll make a mistake eventually
Nothing more frustrating that seeing the field drop back a few yards and seeing guys trying to smash it through - I tell kids I coach "nice shot no run" Much better to drop n run and take the 'easy' runs.
It doesn't matter so much how you get them, but the game is about scoring runs.
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Q: Waverley Cricket Club (now Eastern Suburbs Cricket Club – 4th Grade Premiers 1998-99
Back Row – B. Langley, D. Morrow, B. Wilson, S. Silvanivich, T. Ryan, R. Deutsch, J. Harris, H. Smith, D. Dillon, R. Horsell, R. Burnett
Front Row – I. Bromill, D. Paveling, B. Cooper-Fogarty, R. Tomosilio, W. Geber, B. Gibbons, A. Morris
Absent – J. Smith
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Q: My son is 15 and loves cricket. During the off-season last year, he worked really hard on his batting.
He was opening the batting and really enjoyed it and wanted to get a lot better. But after two games and he scored 33 and 41 the coach said he batted too slow and for the rest of the season he was batting down the order and didn’t get many chances.
No, he says what’s the point of training this off season. It’s sad as he really does love batting and the game. What advice could anyone offer?
A: Tell him to stick at it. Game awareness, understading tempo and the strategic stuff doesn't really kick in till 16-17. Until then it's just ball striking.
I remember getting 80 odd in a trial game for a junior rep team and being pretty happy.
Stuart Webster ( former NSW bat) came up and said, "well played, some great shots .... but, you put yourself under an enormous amount of pressure and if you'd worked the ball around more you wouldn't have needed to bomb them at the end."
Stuey just taught me the difference between ball striking and batting, although it took years for the message to sink in.
It's like the difference between hearing and listening. To listen you must engage the brain - when you bat you have to as well.
This winter get him working on getting off strike - add that to his 33 and 41 ball striking and you'll build him into a much better batsman
Drew Sommersby
3 weeks ago
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Q: I was never much of a bowler, but I believe that if a batsman is hit on the pads without offering a shot ALL the benefit should go to the bowler.
If the umpire says not out and DRS shows it clipping the stumps by 1 mm, to me that's out, fair and square.
It happened a few times in 22/23 to Nathan Lyon, where the batsman got the benefit of DRS because less than 50% of the ball was hitting.
For 'not offer a shot' LBW decisions, surely DRS is there to protect that batsman from the umpires howlers, not to protect the umpires from their own howlers.
As it currently stands when not offering a shot, a batsman is afforded the same protection as one that actually took a risk and played a shot but missed.
Fair enough to send it upstairs if you've been robbed... but otherwise use your bat, that's what it's there for.
blog post
I was never much of a bowler, but I believe that if a batsman is hit on the pads without offering a shot ALL the benefit should go to the bowler.If the umpire says not out and DRS shows it c ...
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Q: Hi Josh, is 14 years old and he has never had any coaching and hasn’t finished growing. He rips in and has a great follow through. His take off landing is a little unconventional. Josh’s dad and I have been discussing should he try and iron it out or embrace it. We’d be grateful for any guidance.
https://vimeo.com/934449723
A: https://vimeo.com/934449723
question
Q: Hi Josh, is 14 years old and he has never had any coaching and hasn’t finished growing. He rips in and has a great follow through. His take off landing is a little unconventional. Josh’s dad and I have been discussing should he try and iron it out or embrace it. We’d be grateful for any guidance.
https://vimeo.com/934449723
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Q: Round 9 of the 2023-24 NSW Premier Cricket season takes on a special significance for Western Suburbs District Cricket Club and Manly Warringah District Cricket Club.
On Saturday 16 December 2023 Western Suburbs and Manly will play an historic day night at Wade Park in Orange in the Central West of New South Wales, some 250 kilometres west of Sydney.
It is a tremendous initiative by both clubs and an exciting weekend for all cricket fans in Orange and surrounding districts.
The brainchild of Manly’s Vice President David Gainsford and Western Suburbs President Mike Swan. Both should be congratulated for their proactive support for regional cricket in New South Wales.
David Gainsford has a very strong connection with cricket in the country as he spent his early years in Narromine and his father Brian was a long serving Chairman of Country Cricket NSW.
https://www.cricconnect.com/profile/32/paul-ryan/blog/1818/western-suburbs-and-manly-warringah-to-play-an-historical-nsw-premier-cricket-day-night-game-in-regional-nsw
A: Legend has it that George Bonner hit a 6 at Wade Park that landed on Moulder St, then bounced up into a rail car across the street. The ball was retrieved in Sydney the next day
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Q: How important is leadership and culture to a winning team or club and who would be considered the important influencers and drivers within a club?
A: Without great leadership and culture you don't have a winning team or club.
A lot of unsung work goes on behind the scenes to ensure the survival of the club and allow the players to enjoy themselves on game day. Behind any successful club is a great committee who along with the senior players who command respect and lead the culture.
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Q: The funniest thing on the cricket field is unfortunately for me, it’s at my expense. First game of the season Centennials v Rugby Union in about 1994/95 in Bathurst.
We were 0-112, Kevin Geyer and I both on 50 plus. Kevin whacked one back at me, and the ball collected me on the arse as I tried to swerve away it knocked me off my feet. The ball ricochet back to the bowler and I was run out before I could get to my feet. Kev got a beautiful ton that day.
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Q: I’m on the committee of our cricket club and we find it difficult to get everyone involved. It always feels as though it’s the same two or three people doing the work to make sure the club functions. We’d like to get some advice or ideas on how other clubs structure their committees and share the workload?
A: It's not just a problem with cricket clubs - most amateur community club/group are the same. People that bring along enthusiasm and fresh ideas generally get worn down by 'the way we've always done it'. Others see what happens if you stick your hand up, so their energy goes into criticizing rather than helping.
In pipe bands the struggle is real. Each year we are on the wrong side of natural attrition - numbers are dwindling and in 30 years time there will be hardly anyone left. In their lifetime , on their watch and right under their noses, the current committee of PB's are watching this happen but keep doing the same expecting things to change.
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Q: What is the most surreal moment you've experienced in cricket?
A: Facing former Aussie quick Geoff Lawson in 1998/99. (he was 41) Tried to fire him up saying he used to look faster on the telly
CricConnect Fans
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Q: My son is 15 and loves batting but not scoring a lot of runs at the moment. I think it’s because he’s not practicing the right way. I’d like to ask about how many balls he should be hitting each week before a game and what drills should he concentrate?
A: 1. set up a ball on string, if you haven't already , 15 mins a day technique work
2. hitting balls is not batting - it's like hearing v's listening. You need to engage the brain to listen and same with batting
Get him to think about the next ball and watch it closely.
