The quick start guide to playing better cricket
photo credit: wakalaniAre you in a rush to start improving your game? Do you need something simple to start you on the road to more runs and wickets? You need a quick start guide to playing better cricket. Success on the field is about more than just talent and more than playing as much as you can. This guide give you the whole picture. 8 simple rules that have been built up over years of scientific research and practical application with real club cricketers:
- Exercise at least twice a week. Excluding training and playing, the cornerstone of performance is fitness. You should be looking to improve your endurance, power, speed, agility and strength through regular training. While you don't have to go to a gym, you do need to do something.
- Train more than you play. There is only so much you can develop while playing. Training is the time to learn and groove your skills, playing is the time to use those skills. If you don't have them in the first place through training, playing will only give you bad habits. To avoid this, train with a good coach or training partner at least one more time per week than you play.
- Plan, plan, plan. You can't know where you are going without a map. Set yourself goals for each stage of the year that are relevant and challenging but achievable. They don't have to be complicated but they do have to be there, even if they are just written on the back of an envelope and stuck to your bathroom mirror.
- Always be learning. Good players are hungry to learn more, great players are never stupid people. To improve your game you need to know how to apply tactics, ideas and strategies to make the most of what ability you have. Of course, reading harrowdrive is a great place to start, as is the recommended reading section.
- Eat well all week. Most people instinctively know how to eat well. You know that they key is a consistent diet of lean protein from meat, fish and dairy, good fat from olive oil and nuts and plenty of fruit and vegetables. Eat well all week and the results will pay off on the field at the weekend.
- Visualise success every day. Brain scientists have proven that your nervous system can't tell the difference between success on the pitch in real life and success you have imagined. This isn't wishy-washy new age rubbish. All it takes is a few minutes a day imagining past success and thinking how it would feel to succeed in the future.
- Have a routine. Cricket, like all games, is unpredictable but people tend to work best when they feel in control. To get this feeling of control during games you can give yourself a routine. It might be something as simple as putting on your left sock first or it could be a full plan with military precision. The more in control you feel the better you will play.
- Train like a professional. You no doubt have very little free time to train and play, but there is nothing stopping you from adopting a professional attitude the moment you enter the gym, go to the nets or step over the boundary line. Run your training sessions like a professional side and always have your 'game head' on.
If you want more details, you can get a detailed outline on all these elements in the PitchVision Academy courses section.
- Login to post comments
Comments
brian specialists (point 6 ) should i assume be brain specialists
No no, the specialist was actually called Brian.
Ahem.
it is great that i got this site.
lalchand yadav
i m trying this,may this will be a path for my success
Let me know how it goes friend.
thanks this has been inspirational. i will take these into my next game. cheers
David,
I really like what you are doing with this site, some of the information is brilliant.
Thanks
It's a pleasure Tommy.
Good site you got here.
Love it mate.
Thanks Aussie.
Hey David,
I'm a 16 year old Aussie girl who only really became interested in cricket when I was forced to watch the 2006-2007 Ashes Test Series. Since then I have come to absolutely adore the game even though I know little about it. I am reasonably fit but sick and tired of individual sports and interested in starting to play cricket. I'm willing to train and try hard but want to know if I'm too late to start? Do you think I shoud give it a shot? Any help would be appriciated. Thanks
Ash, it's not a cliché to say: It's never too late.
What do you want to get out of playing?
David,
Thanks for the advice, its really appriciated. Now down to your question, I'd hope to get a challenge, a few new skills, a sense of being apart of a team and the social, pysical and mental fitness that is required to be a good team mate and also (probably most importantly) enjoyment.
In that case I have not a single qualm in saying you can get all those at ANY age playing cricket. Good luck and keep me up to date on how it goes!
Thanks for the help and I'll be sure to let you know how I go when he cricket season starts again here.
yer i am hoping this will improve my cricket i mde the 13bs after making the 12a's opening bowler and im hoping this will help me get into the a team
how can you detect the line and length of the ball early when batting
Hi abc, Your question is a good one but not relevant for this particular post. Try posting it on the forum at www.simplycricket.net where I am a moderator.
hiiiii,frIEnd this is rohit from india.i want to beceame a crickter brother but iam doing my graduation...and i didn'T JOINANY STADIUM FOR PRACTICE ALTHOUGH MY GAME IS QUITE FINE SPECIALLY MY BOWLING.PLZZZZ TELL ME BROTHER WHAT SHOULD I DO TO ENTER IN IN THIS FIELD AS I DESPIRATELY WANT TO BECOME A CRICKTER AND WANTS TO PLAY FOR INDIA...PLZ GIVE ME SUITABLE SUGGESTIONS....MY AGE IS 19YRS....IAM IN FIRST YEAR OF MY GRADUATION...PLZZZ SUGGEST ME WITH SOME INCOURAGEMENT..IAM WAITING FOR UR REPLY..
Rohit, I'm no expert on Indian cricket but you can get some general tips here:
http://www.pitchvision.com/how-to-become-a-professional-cricketer/
I want the more informations about the techniques.
What information do you need shailesh?
david thanks for ur reply first but u wrote that u have no idea on indian cricket but u tell me 1 thing thatis iam to late to enter in this field.....my age is 19yrs.....i haven"t start coaching yet......
rohit, 19 is not too late if you have the talent and the application to succeed. However, it takes 10 years to reach your potential so you have a long road ahead.
this wedpage is so usful i am currently doing a cource called sports leader award and it totally helped me out
Hi, I'm a 16 year-old boy from Argentina... I also became interested in cricket just a few weeks ago. I'm willing to join a local club and start training, but I have the impression that i'm now a bit "old" to start playing. Should I begin training? I know that it's never too late, but would it be possible to get the skills at this age?..greetings from argentina
thanks david....for suggesting me but plz tell me what should i do means from where i start to improve my strenghth in this field
It's quite possible to get the skills at 16 Rorro. You can take up the game at any age.
Anon, which field do you want to improve?
david plz tell me that my studies r stopping me to play me cricket but i dont want to leave both studies as well as cricket plz tell me how can i manage my time to practice in cricket field
plz brother tell me with suitable suggestions
Time management is a difficult skill but it's possible to study and play with good planning. Read this article and buy the book:
http://www.pitchvision.com/getting-things-done-for-cricket/
Hi, Friend How are you..
I m Aayan from (Pakistan) and i m in under 17 cricket team of Pakistan National Academy. I was not
a good before but when i starts to follow all those
above things, so i can feel that i m getting better
and better.
And its a humble request to the author of this site
that please send me more n more information about cricket at my mail address.
aayan_mughal@yahoo.com or aayan_rocker@yahoo.ca
No problem, just subscribe here: www.pitchvision.com/subscribe
hey dude.. my name is syed from pakistan.. im 14 years old.. i started playing cricket when i was 11 (with a tennis ball ofcourse)ur above rules or should i say help tips are excellent and are indeed alot of help... i surfed this webpage about an year in a half ago and since then i started playing cricket very well!!!
i very nice website and i would recommend every person who is willing to be a cricketer to visit this website...
thnkz
Thanks syed. Good luck!
hi im nathan, i have just signed up to play for under 16's wilston norths team. we start in two months and i need to inprove my bowling, because i always no ball and bowl down the leg side. and my fitness isn't that great either. can you help me ? it would be greatly apriciated.
thank you in advance nathan.
What used to help me when I used to bowl no balls a lot was Dennis Lillee's tips for a smooth and rhythmic runup....he said to "go to an empty field with no obstacles nearby and from a marked point,
do a full run-up with your eyes closed. Imagine you are an old steam
engine looking to build momentum. Walk two or thre paces,
start to jog and gradually build up to about three quarter speed,
thinking of the sound and action of a steam train as you are running". Get your friend to mark where you finish after you do it a few times and then get the average of that. After you note down the average, try using that run up in your games. While bowling, the biggest mistake I used to do was concentrate solely on my run up without concentrating on where I was going to pitch it. Concentrate on the line and length of the ball your about to bowl and let your run up come naturally. For leg side wides,I can relate with this as well. The main reason would be the angle of your arm when you deliver the ball. A good coach I once had told me that to rectify this, I had to try and get my arm as close to my head as possible (Almost making your arm brush your ear on the way through). Hope it helps. If not Daves your man haha!
Nathan, have you tried the above tips?
Kevin, that is a great bit of advice from a great bowler.
Hi. I want to know how do you get to the "free harrowdrive archives"?
That's this site Dhruv. It used to be called harrowdrive.
Dear David, I am Abbas,Indian,15 and my height is 182cms.I am a left arm fast bowler and usually consider to bowl over the wicket. My friends say that I have some great abilities for my age. Well , whenever I go to Bat in the last overs,I often get out when I think of start hitting. Normally when I come in the mid-over I play quite well and score good knocks by hitting some nice sixes too. I need any sort of advice from you because i have an upcoming T20 tournament here in Kuwait.Help me in my tactics and other stuff.Hope you understand. I want a nice coaching to reveal my talent.
Thankyou Sir,
Abbas abs_alr10@hotmail.com
I'm unsure what you need from me Abbas. You are a good bowler and a good batsman you say. Try posting on the forum.
OK, but where do I get the archives?
Right here on the site.
dear David, i just want your help to make the better out of me. by giving any source of advises.
I really need to prove my self so i seek ur help
suggestion - I suggest you split this website into tips for batsmen, tips for bowlers, fielding/keeping tips & tips applicable for all.
I have thought about that before actually. It's a matter of asking if there is enough batsman/bowler specific articles really. Plus there are only so many ways you can give people access. I don't want to overload new readers. Tough call really.
hi everyone, pls anyone send me some cricket training exercises and how to speed up bowling
THANK U
I suggest you get the free weekly newsletter naim. Click on the yellow post it note in the top to do it.
Hi i'm 14 and i've been playing cricket for my club for 6-7 years now.But latelty i've been struggling with the bat.On statistics i'm a bowler but i know i'm just as good to be a batsman.I can play most of the shots and i have been told alot on how well i'm batting by members of the public. i practice batting like my bowling everyday but i'm getting no results. This year i've only batted 4 times making 0,9not out,3not out(injured wrist),0.when i try to bat cautiously i screw up but when i bat attacking i play well.so basicly any tips you could give me to help prove to my coach and peers i am also a batter?
thanks mate sorry about it being long!
That's a tough one without knowing the full picture. Have you tried talking to the coach and asking for a chance?
hi,
david thanks for the tips i have really improved my cricket
It's a pleasure pradeep.
hey david i did ask my coach for a chance and funny enough it was against the two top sides and both times the 3rd top scores for our team! anyway i'm a slow medium paced type bowler and i'm ranked 2nd in my league for bowling and 95 percent of the time it's accurate and so i decided i want to become a bit quicker so any tips to help me become say a more medium,medium fast type bowler with including accuracy? thanks david sorry about the comments i just really want to keep improving my game!
John, there is loads of stuff you can do to move up in your pace. Your best best is to enrol on Ian Pont's "how to bowl faster" course in PV Academy. Click here to see it
Hey David
I have no coach that can come have a net with me every week or so, he lives about 150km away. Also, I don't have a good practice partner who lives close enough to go to the nets at the same time as me. Do you have any tips to avoid these two problems?
Also, does not being in any Region/District Age Group Teams put me at a disadvantage to anyone who is?
Hi David,
I am a 25 year old software engineer. I love cricket and am primarily a batsman. Pretty confident of my technique and ability I also feel myself to be good reader of the game and good at concepts in addition to knowing my own game well. Fitness is where i lag heavily though. Though i play every weekend but physical intensity of that cricket and competitive cricket can't be compared. I am thinking of joining cricket at professional level. Please advise if its achievable at this age. Also, i would be obliged if you could suggest some activities and drills to bring my fitness levels up. I have 4-5 months before cricket season starts here in Mumbai, India.
Thanks in advance,
Shashank
I am a vegetarian. I dont eat meat, fish or even eggs. Can you recommend a proper diet for me so that I can have sufficient amounts of protein, iron, etc. ? Thanks
Yes, email me by going here
I am 14 years old and have a burning desire to play cricket internationally but i am struggling a bit in my batting and would like some batting and bowling tips and a fitness schedule that i could be successful
Take a look at the batting and fitness courses on PitchVision Academy, they are a complete guide.
you r exact like me iam so desperate to play cricket but i dont now where to start from,dont know what course to take and cant find a club in loughborogh. every one in my school sayes iam good at cricket any sport.please some one healp me to be be a propesional cricket player,i know there is someone their can healp me please plezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
iam dieying to play crickettttt.
" "
!
I am 17 years old this is my first year playing cricket at a first class level i been selected for my region under-19 and i just wasnt staying in the wicket for a long time allot of people have told me i have talent so i going to follow your guide and i hope it pays off.thank you
i am 15 is started playing when i was 14 years old and my coach keeps saying to me that my technique is wrong and i cannot bat bowl or feild, i am very unsure of what he means because whenever i go on the bowling machine i get told to do different things whilst batting and i never get to recap over what i did last session, what should i do ?
i am 25 old good player all rounder her but i want me ur club mimbershiper inveted me plz i;m goog player my hight 6.4
I am 12 years old started to play cricket when i was 5 yrs old ever since i practise and practise but my bowls are always swinging to the left and its always fustrating and whenever i try something else then i get all confused and muck up how can i stop this?
hi,,
sir,
h r u,,
i;m 20 age i have been playing cricket for my club for 3-4 years now.i'm a fast bowler but i know i'm just as good to be a batsman.I can play most of the shots. i'm bowler members of the public. i practice batting like my bowling everyday but i screw up so basicly any tips you could give me to help prove to my coach and peers i am also a batter? i want this membership ur culb. plz sir
i;m trying ur culb plz ur help me ?
David n all the members really u guys r running a great website really informative n helpful, i had a question it would be very nice if u could answer it, i have a blazing desire to play cricket and i m playing it from last four years and right now my age is 14, this summer i thought that i should start practicing real cricket and not just play it with friends, so my problem is tht i dont have any coach or anything like tht so i and my other friends wants to be fit,and practice cricket like the professionals practice so any advice how can i act as myself and my friends coach n how can v practice better, thks a lot for your time and reply in advance.
Regards,
Neel
Hi Neel, it's great you have a passion for the game. You can look at the coaching section of this website for advice, or you can pay for a few courses on the PitchVision Academy courses section. I would also say that if you can get on one, do a coach education course run by the governing body in your country. That will give you hands on information.
Have you not got a local club you can join?
i m suyash 14 years old desire to play cricket but here the place where i live is small town seoni in mp here is no any good or proffesional academy.
hiiiiii i m devesh' i m 11 year old' i want to became a cricketer
Good luck.
Thanx for giving a great advice
Hey
We 2 Cricket partners are going to follow this plan, we want to improve our batting, bowling and fielding, we were good players in past, but now we lost our game. thanks to this plan, we feel a new energy in ourselves.
What is the length of a cricket pitch for 12 year olds?
Hi Les - there is no 'official' length for juniors - however, common lengths are to reduce the pitch to either 17m or 15m (from bowling crease to batsmans stumps)
If you are in the UK, the ECB recommendations for junior cricket are here (age groups are base on 31st August the previous year ie if twelfth birthday since 31st August then under 12 for this season):
http://www.ecb.co.uk/ecb/directives-guidelines/ecb-recommendations-for-j...
I'm gone to say to my little brother, that he should also pay a quick visit this weblog on regular basis to obtain updated from newest reports.
dear sir,
I am Deepak Minz from odisha aged 20, doing my +3 studies. Sir i would like to become a cricketer i am not able to play because we do not have the games facilities in my college. Sir pleas do help. Sir please inform me if there is any type of selection so that i will be able to go for that. I will be thankful to you if you please inform me
hay i m all roundar i m off spin brick ....i m join aus cricket ..so plz tell me how and connts my number 03055184196
i hope it will a good cricket academy
sir please enter me in any academy
I am jitu from ahmedabad and my age is 19 but still i have not started coaching..so now this is right time for me to start coaching at the age of 19..plzz give a suitable answr..bro
i want to learn the cricket but no any guide me