Cricketclub Qui Vive

Pairing Up

Details: Category: Trivia; Published on Sunday, 19 February 2012 10:49; Written by Nitin R Potdar; Hits: 27

In the last few years modern innovative shots have become far more common.

But without tactics, all those dil-scoops, switch-hits, fine sweeps and charges down the wicket are ineffective.

How many times have you seen a sweep into vacant fine-leg, only then to be stifled by a man moved to short fine leg? The results are nice looking shots, no runs and a build up of pressure on the batter and the team.

How do you help players make it all work together?

At Somerset in 2005 we had that exact problem.

Despite their clear talent, we needed to build some structure and strategy to make each player more effective in limited over and Twenty20 cricket.

We started to work on pairing up.

Pairing up is simply using two shots in combination to control the field and keep the scoring rate up. Brian Lara was exceptional at this.

The net result is that the bowler can’t keep batters quiet and bowls some big scoring balls as a result of frustration and the pressure that you apply on him.

Let’s look at some real world examples.

The sweep and roll pair

Remember our sweep example?

Using pairing up, the first shot is swept into the gap to move a fielder from another position.

Then on the next ball, when there is another gap – say at square leg – the player rolls the ball into the new gap for a low risk single.

The best way to do this is taking a more offside guard; you can then take balls from off stump into that vacant square leg position.

People have asked me “isn’t that risky?” And I reply that if you respect the fundamentals of batting then you reduce the risk factor:

Starting in a balanced position
Being balanced at contact
Hitting the ball late
Watching the ball as hard as you can

Ian Bell is a magnificent exponent of this, making it difficult for a spin bowler to build up pressure on him.

The drive boundary and single pair

Kevin Pietersen and MS Dhoni are especially good at taking the pressure out of the game with this pair. They use their feet to clear both men back to the fence and then milk easy singles down the ground.

Lots of players find it easy to ease the ball up and over mid off and mid on from spinners which then causes the captain to put one or two men back.

I’m amazed at how many players can then not hit the ball for an easy one along the ground by beating the bowler on either side.

Does this sound familiar to you?

The trick is first create awareness of the tactic then teach it by bringing use of feet into practice so players get used to meeting the ball on the half volley or full toss.

How to practice paring up

Before you work on the game plan elements, make sure you players are good enough at each shot in the pair.

Fine sweep, back foot maneuver to square leg and front foot maneuver to square leg.
Lofted on drive, lofted off drive, on drive and off drive.

Use throw downs and under arm feeds to increase player’s flow and efficiency in the movement patterns that you are honing.

In their own time players can also use mirror work and visualisation to further improve body awareness.

Measure and track success by hitting sets of 6 and noting down the success rate.

This will monitor progress, build awareness and provide confidence to players that that their skills are developing.

Then once you feel the players are consistent, you can test it in a match situation.

Play a game in the nets with spinners bowling to an imaginary field.

The batsman’s aim is to make the spinner swap his square leg for short fine leg or vice versa in as short a time as possible and then see how long it takes for him to have to move him back again because of pairing of shots.

Do the same with mid-off and mid on and seeing how many times in a session batters can force a change.

Once the player is confident they can take the tactic into a match, knowing that it works with the evidence to prove it.

Pairing up became an effective tactic for the Somerset players, and it will become one for your team too when you create the right training environment for the batters to work on their game plans.

Away Game: Lethargy

Details: Category: Trivia; Published on Sunday, 19 February 2012 09:52; Written by Nitin R Potdar; Hits: 25

Away Game: Lethargy

The car pulls up into the car park and as you get out you groan a little, stiffened by the long journey.

Dragging your gear to the changing room, you change and catch up with the banter of the others who have arrived.

But the atmosphere is subdued. Even in warm ups there is the unspoken away game lethargy that always shows up. You find it impossible to get into the groove no matter how hard you try.

The lethargy spills over into the match and you end up putting in a bad showing without ever quite knowing why.

What’s going on?

It’s all to do with that hour in the car.

It doesn’t feel like it should influence your performance. We travel every day. But the difference here is that you need to be physically and mentally switched on to playing sport.

Sitting down just doesn’t get you in the right place to play cricket well.

Luckily, the answer to beating that feeling is to simply become aware of it.

Once you know you are not up for the fight because you have been sitting in a warm car you can do some simple things to nip the cause in the bud and start playing harder when you are not at home.

Beat away game lethargy first thing

We all know the initial feeling of stiffness when getting out of a car.

One simple way to reduce the effect is to make sure you stretch before you even set off. Stretching irons out the imbalances in muscles caused by everyday life and – if you do it regularly – improves the quality of the muscle tissue.

While you want to avoid the classic “static” stretching too much on the day of the game, you can do a solid stretching session for 15-20 minutes in the morning.

Combine foam rolling with static stretches, really focusing on getting to the stiff and tight areas and unlocking them. Foam roll slowly, use a bowling machine ball to get to hard to reach areas, and hold stretches for long periods (20-30 seconds doesn’t cut it, get at least 2-3 minutes in)

The important part is to work on areas that will tighten up in the car: legs and hips, neck and chest are classics but let your body guide you.

Avoid stretching your lower back though; there are other things we do to sort that problem out.

Fidget in the car

When you are nicely loose and mobile you go and spoil it a bit by getting back into that sitting position and locking yourself back up. Blood starts to pool and your muscles turn off.

You can overcome some things by making sure your posture is good while you sit, but also fidget as much as you can.

When you stop at lights get your neck moving and pull your shoulder blades back and down. Waggle your ankles and lift your knees a few times.

If you get a chance get out of the car and stand up. Even standing for a minute just gets the circulation going again and you take the edge off the lethargy.

Have an away game warm up

Now you have arrived and you will already feel better, but you still have a bit of work to do to get your head and body in the right place.

The warm up is the place to do this, but it’s not just a matter of a game of football and some fielding drills.

To do that is missing a key element because the warm up should be like a ramp from “everyday” up to “game ready” at the top.

When you play after a long drive, you are even further down the scale at “lethargic” so you need to do more work even before you start to warm up. There are 3 stages lasting about 15 minutes in total:

Foam roll: do 30 seconds on 4-5 muscle groups that are tight areas: these are commonly the hip flexors, adductors, t-spine and pec minor but do your own areas.
Re-activate sleeping muscles: When you sit, key muscles realise they are not needed and ‘switch off’. Then they get lazy and don’t switch back on, forcing other muscles to do the work and causing pain and stiffness. You can counter this with simple activation exercises for the glutes and shoulders. 5 minutes is plenty.
Mobilise joints: Lastly, you need to get your mobile joints going back through their full range of motion after they are locked in when travelling. Do 5 minutes of active mobility drills like these. They also serve to raise your heart rate.

Once you have done these three steps you can move to your normal drills and specific warm ups. You will find yourself feeling physically loose and more ready mentally for the task ahead.

And with that lethargy gone you will be more focused and win more matches.

Nitin R. Potdar

Qui Vive History

Details: Category: Trivia; Published on Wednesday, 15 February 2012 07:08; Written by Jacob Eikelenboom; Hits: 40

Qui Vive Cricket was founded in 1982 as part of Sportclub Qui Vive which also has a hockey and tennis department. The club grounds are in Uithoorn.

Because of the growth of the hockey section new hockey fields had to be layed out with the result that there was no longer space available for a cricket pitch. Since then crciket was played outside Uithoorn, first in Hoofddorp where we shared the pitch with Kikkers. This setup was ended in 2010 and the 2011 season was plaued on the pitches of ACC Amstelveen.

Tips about how to keep yourself fit.

Details: Category: Trivia; Published on Wednesday, 15 February 2012 07:14; Written by Jacob Eikelenboom; Hits: 28

This information was collected by Grant Holt.

classic warmup video on youtube.. including Indian team SCG
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=cricket%20warm%20up&searc...

I would recommend google on fitness (cricket) - but actually you need to do
2 sessions a week of aerobic fitness (cycling, running, swimming,
rollerblade skating, walking) & stretching/weights/yoga/WiiFit etc
- adapt to your own fitness and requirements, a gym or sports coach can
help you set up a program (or colleague - train together).

there are a lot of websites offering tips, google youtube videos, podcasts
loads of top players have videos/DVD's on all aspects of cricket &
fitness.

http://www.pitchvision.com/the-complete-guide-to-cricket-fitness/ one of
the best I have seen - see below.

http://www.netfit.co.uk/crickettrainingprogram.htm

<http://www.netfit.co.uk/crickettrainingprogram.htm>
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=cricket+fitness+dril...

<http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=cricket+fitness+dril...>
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=cricket+fitness+videos&meta=&a...
<http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=cricket+fitness+videos&meta=&a...>
but shoulders/arms, stomach & leg exercise need to be in balance.

or take this great site and link it on our site -- any other good cricket
resources could also be linked.

http://www.pitchvision.com/the-complete-guide-to-cricket-fitness/

<http://www.pitchvision.com/fast-bowling-tips-with-ian-pont/>
The complete guide to cricket fitness
Posted by David Hinchliffe on 25 Nov 06 at 09:07
Filed in:

- Cricket ;
- Drills ;
- Fitness .

There are not many certainties in club cricket, especially when it comes to
making runs and taking wickets. However, one thing you can be sure of is
that the fitter you are, the better you will perform on the pitch at the
weekend.

Cricket fitness, though, can a complicated and difficult subject. You just
have to look at the hundreds of personal trainers, fitness books and strange
looking equipment available to know it's a confusing world.

I'm here to unpick the facts from snake oil so you don't waste a moment of
your precious time on useless training. Plus you get the added benefit of
feeling and looking good. So here is the complete course on cricket fitness,
including drills:

*Part 1: Introduction*

*Part 2: Planning*

- Goal Setting<http://www.pitchvision.com/the-complete-guide-turning-your-cricket-dr...>
- Planning your
year<http://www.pitchvision.com/cricket-fitness-periodisation>

*Part 3: Conditioning*
<http://www.pitchvision.com/running-to-cricket-success/>

*Part 4: Strength, Speed and Power*

*Part 6: Position Specific*

*Part 7: Injury Prevention*

- Injury prevention
tips<http://www.pitchvision.com/cricket-injury-prevention>
- Balance training to prevent
injury<http://www.pitchvision.com/cricket-unilateral-fitness>
- Preventing back pain <http://www.pitchvision.com/back-pain>
- Choosing the right boots <http://www.pitchvision.com/cricket-boots>
- How to stop cramp<http://www.pitchvision.com/how-to-stop-cramp-cricket>

*Part 8: Other Fitness Tips*

Cooling down after cricket
Posted by David Hinchliffe on 20 Jul 06 at 14:39
Filed in:

- Cricket ;
- Fitness .

If you have ever hung around after an international cricket match you will
see a strange sight: The players will get themselves back onto the field to
do even more exercises and stretching.

They are cooling down. You have probably heard about cooling down before but
never done it yourself.

In fact, as high performance players prove, the cool down is an essential
part of improving your cricket.
[image: stretch]

*Why is cooling down so important?*

Cooling down after a game helps your body return to normal after the
stresses of batting, bowling and fielding. This speeds up your recovery time
for the next game.

When you exercise, you body suffers damage (even when you don't get an
injury) and builds up a waste product called lactic acid.

When this happens, your muscles start to feel sore.

Muscle soreness is not only annoying, it stops you performing at your best,
increases your risk of injury and may even stop you training.

Cooling down reduces the amount of soreness you feel by gently removing the
buildup of lactic acid and provides your muscles with nutrients to help them
repair themselves, allowing you to recover more quickly.

Think of it as a gentle wind down instead of a sudden stop.

So before you jump in the shower after training or a game, make sure you
spend a few minutes recovering.

*What makes a good cricket cool down?*

A good cool down need not take long. The pros may take half an hour or more
over it but you can take far less time.

At the end of a training session, innings or game do the following:

- *Gentle Warm Down*. 5-10mins. I find a gentle walk or slow jog around
the outfield does the job
- *Static Stretch*. 5-15mins. Pick a few stretches that are static (ie.
You don't move during them) and concentrate on relaxing the muscles as you
stretch for at least 30s per stretch.
- *Refuel*. Have some water or an isotonic sports drink, you can have a
healthy meal (low fat, pasta, rice or potato based) or you can snack on food
that gives instant energy (like bananas).

Cricket fitness for older players
Posted by David Hinchliffe on 19 Feb 07 at 17:05
Filed in:

- Cricket ;
- Fitness .

Cricket is a great game because you can continue to play it long after you
have had to give up other sports. International players can go on well into
their 30s (or 40s<http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/england/content/player/13399.html>)
and many club players are still turning out in their 60s.

The older you get the harder it can be to maintain your own high standards
and the more you need strategies and tips to keep playing at your best.

This week I will be covering these tactics in detail to help you continue to
perform at as high a standard as you can muster as you move from talented
youngster to hardened campaigner.

What is an older player? Anyone who has passed the first flush of cricketing
youth can benefit from this series. At the more youthful end you will
probably be in your late 20s and the sky's the limit at the other end. The
older you are the more you can benefit.

Here are the topics:

The importance of eating
well<http://www.pitchvision.com/cricket-fitness-for-older-players-eating-w...>
What are the risks of getting
older?<http://www.pitchvision.com/what-are-the-risks-of-being-an-older-crick...>
Mobility and balance<http://www.pitchvision.com/cricket-fitness-for-older-players-balance-...>
When to retire from
cricket<http://www.pitchvision.com/when-to-retire-from-club-cricket/>

there are plenty of coaching clinics, masterclass videos/dvd's out there -
search on your favorite player ( that is also fit. most of the aussies, top
Indian players/coaches offer tips/masterclasses on the web. or country
cricket websites

e.g. cloverdale masterclass videos on youtube

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=cloverdale+masterclass

some other useful sites for our cricket resource site:

cricinfo.com
bbc cricket academy
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/skills/6132662.stm

http://www.cricmotion.com/video/3031/16-Science-of-Sport--Cricket

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iIHSnLwEOY tendulkar -the legend

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Pairing Up

Away Game: Lethargy

Qui Vive History

Tips about how to keep yourself fit.