Cricket coaching, fitness and tips - Captaincy

Stop Insane Mistakes With Sane Post-Game Reviews

David Hinchliffe — Tue, 27 Feb 2018 06:44:00 +0000

They say that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Yet how many times after a game have we "reviewed" performance with a bunch of fleeting clichés about bowling better, taking our catches and taking responsibility as a batting unit?

How many times do we actually do something about this complaint other than hope things will change next time?

In my experience, that's rare. We think we are simply out of form and having a net will help the magic fairy sprinkle us again with the sparkling form dust.

But if you really want to stop the insanity, you need a good review after every game.

Reviews don't need flipboards

Of course, the classic image of a post-game review is a team, after getting thumped, are locked in the changing room by an angry captain (or coach) and made to under a death by flipboard rant.

That's not a review, that's someone letting off steam.

A good review doesn't need to be after a loss. It doesn't need hours of discussion and spreadsheets of data. It can be done in a few minutes and - more importantly - has some action to take away that will help in the next game.

Makr Garaway uses a very simple template of "Stop Start, Continue" to bring ideas to the fore quickly. I like that method because it can be applied at any level.

An example of a sane post-match meeting

So let's say your team have just been thrashed, and you are in charge of reducing the chances of it happening in the next game.

So you call the guys together while it is still raw. However the goal here you start to pull out actions to take into training and tactics for the next game.

Maybe a batsman wants to work on something technical (a "start" action). Make an action to cover it off in nets. Not just for one week though, give it three at least. And really make an effort to make the difference.

But mainly, it's not going to be technical changes, it's going to be about attitudes. For example, perhaps the side crumbled under the pressure of an attacking batsman. The "Stop" would be reacting differently under pressure to when you are on top. The action to take is to spend a number of practice sessions adding pressure to nets.

The take-home point here is that if discussion is vital, it's actions that make the difference. Do something with the outcome of the meeting or it's just hot air.

Remember to sing when you're winning

The other big mistake about reviews is that they are only undertaken in extreme losses. The theory goes that when everything is going according to plan there is no need to rock the boat. Just carry on doing what you are doing. You only need to review things when the plans are failing.

Of course, this is nonsense.

It's even more important to "stop, start, continue" review when things are going well because,

It allows you to keep improving
It allows you to prevent a turnaround of form before it happens

So review things after the game, or before a training session, or both no matter what the result.

Make is short, efficient, friendly and - most importantly - sane.

Playing as a Unit: How to Use a Cricket Cliche to Improve your Cricket Team

David Hinchliffe — Mon, 12 Feb 2018 06:02:00 +0000

International players and coached these days are always going on about how they “performed as a unit” – fielded, batted, bowled.

Lurking in the depths of this moribund press talk is a grain of truth we can use at any level.

You see, whatever level you play, from first-class to under-11, we all have something in common.

We are all human beings.

And human beings all share the need to feel part of a group, to belong to something greater than their individual selves.

Even the most selfish people crave that feeling.

That’s where we can use the idea of a ‘unit’ to make us play the game as a team, rather than a group of individuals (which is always the danger in cricket where the focus is bowler vs. batsman).

Knowing your unit

If you don’t know what your job is, how are you supposed to know if you did it or not?

With that in mind, a ‘unit’ is just an extension of individual roles: It packages up a bunch of roles and puts them into a team within the team.

So the batsmen become a unit, with jobs to do and ways to do it. As do the bowlers and of course there is a fielding unit.

Players love this idea. If you are a bowler and that batsmen collapse, it’s up to you and your unit to clean up the mess. You still have that belonging without taking the blame.

But enough theory, let’s look at how to make these units work in practice.

The batting unit

Although there are different tactics and styles within the batting unit, the aim is to score runs.

So to be a unit, the top batsmen should assume the bowlers are not going to score any runs at all.

It’s all about taking responsibility as a group (and that group could be anything between 2 and 8 decent batsmen).

It’s in the nature of all of us to try less hard the bigger the group. Psychologists call it ‘social loafing’ – assuming someone else will make up the slack.

Having a clear batting unit with a clear run goal is a simple way to overcome this proven act of laziness.

Want an example?

Say you are batting first in a one day game. In the conditions you think on a good day your side is capable of 200 in your 40 overs. You have 5 top line batsmen in the side (lucky you if so, many club and school sides have just 1 really good batter and a few reasonable ones).

The top 5 have to take the responsibility for scoring every one of those runs. You could break it down any way you like:

Every player is looking to score 50-100 when they go out to bat
When someone fails, it’s up to whoever is left to take up the slack
Every player is looking to be there at the end. Be a ‘finisher’ from your first ball
Every pair considers the scoreboard to be ‘reset’ at zero when they come in and a partnership needs to be built from nothing

The bowling unit

We have all heard the line that bowlers hunt in pairs, or even packs. That’s the root of a good bowling unit.

A bowling unit is looking to either take wickets or keep the run rate down (or both). That’s done by applying pressure from both ends without letting up.

Of course there are different ways to do this. A combination of a wild strike bowler and a miserly medium pacer offer different challenges to the batsman but end up with the result you want even if the figures are 4-40 and 1-17 respectively.

To be a good unit you need 5 bowlers capable of doing to job of keeping the pressure on the batsman (through wickets or maidens). You might get away with 3-4, but any less will mean a gap that can only be made up by some exceptional bowling.

Bowling units also trust each other even when things go wrong. Anyone can have a bad game but a good unit doesn’t blame, it makes sure everyone else takes greater responsibility. You can read more about how to do it in this article.

The fielding unit

As an identity, fielders are the least likely to feel part of a unit.

Fielding is what you do when you are not performing your main skill (strike specialist wicket-keepers from that statement) and so we feel it’s a chore, a lonely one at that.

But when fielders do work together it’s an intimidating moment for batsmen who feel surrounded by 11 people all against them. And we all know how pressure makes wickets fall.

So make sure you are in a unit when you are fielding too:

Talk to fielders around you about the batsman and decide what fielding tactics would work best.
Keep encouraging the bowler and other fielders, especially when things are not going as planned. Remember it only takes one ball to take a wicket and change the game.
· Relax between balls and overs but keep talking to fielders around you to keep the overall feeling of a buzz about you.
Think of yourself as part of a team with the bowler, squeezing batsmen into mistakes.
Think of the wicket-keeper as the focus of the fielding unit. Get the ball to him or her frequently to keep up the impression of being the fielding leader. A good ‘keeper with a lively personality makes a huge difference to the atmosphere.

Overall, a unit is not something you need to think long and hard about with endless planning. It’s a loose knit group of people with a common goal (be it to score runs or take wickets).

If you think your team doesn’t have clear units, then it probably doesn’t. You need to work a little harder to get people thinking as one. It’s just a matter of introducing the idea of a unit and sitting back to let human nature take over.

And if you do that the overall team performance will improve too.

Improve Your Bowling with Variety

David Hinchliffe — Wed, 03 Jan 2018 06:26:00 +0000

How many times has a left arm seamer been picked because they offer “variety” to a cricket team?

In a world dominated by right-arm over medium pace bowlers, the promise of a different angle to batsmen is too tempting for selectors. And it works. Many batsmen find it hard to adapt to the change of angle. The left arm bowler gets more wickets.

It’s exactly this reason - creating problems for batsmen - that means any variety will help your team. Here are a few more ways.

Always pick a spinner

There are plenty of excuses not to pick a spinner. Maybe you don’t have any good ones in your club. Maybe the pitch is green. It doesn’t matter; you always have a spinner.

This is because batsmen who play spin well are rare. Even an average spinner causes problems simply by the fact there is less pace on the ball. Tail-enders especially can’t resist. Even if the ball does not turn an inch, there is still flight, dip, drift and variations of pace. Combine that with left arm spin and you are looking at a hero for all conditions.

Yes, there is a risk to blindly playing a spinner. You may be left with three seamers to do most of the work if your spinner does nothing. Yet, without that variety you will always be left wondering if you could have done more.

Get out of the corridor

Whatever arm or pace the bowlers use, you can offer variety through changes like going around the wicket, bowling yorkers and slower balls or just setting unusual fields: Anything that gets the batter out of their rhythm for a little while.

It may not work but as the saying goes; if you do what you always did, you get what you always got.

Of course, you might be confident enough with the skill of your reliable right arm over pitch it up medium pace bowlers to never worry. I'm willing to bet there are times when that extra effort was worth the risk. You can always find something to to do.

Change the bowling

Which brings us onto the last tip: If nothing is happening, change the bowling.

Give your main bowlers time to get a batsmen out, especially your spinners, but you also need to get that feel for when the batsmen are finding it easy: scoring runs without looking like getting out.

That is the time to switch to another bowler.

Keep spells short to confuse the batsman as much as you can. You can even swap ends with bowlers. The change might just be enough variety.

At club and school level you have to work with what you have. But even if you just have three right arm seamers and an occasional slow bowler you can create variety. It's not an exact science (it wouldn't be as much fun if it was) so get creative and never stop thinking when you cross that white line. You never know what might work.

How Important is Cricket Captaincy?

David Hinchliffe — Wed, 18 Oct 2017 07:36:00 +0000

Everyone agrees that captaining any cricket team is not easy; but how much can a good captain influence the success of a team?

Not much, according to former West Indies captain Darren Sammy.

In this interview Sammy calls captaincy “overrated” stating that it’s the team that is important in motivating itself to great things.

Yes, it’s true that great captains can have great teams to call upon (especially bowlers), but the dynamic between a captain and the players is crucial if you want to become a consistently good team (it's the topic of a whole book if you want to real delve into the details)

And that is equally true at club level as it is in Test matches.

Motivating everyone

A good captain understands the motivations of his players and uses these motivations to improve performance.

Sammy used the example of the Fire in Babylon documentary as a way players can self-motivate: and it’s true. But it’s equally true that some would be more influenced than others by the film. Not everyone is stirred up by rallying calls. Some people just need a gentle, quiet word.

As captain you have to know which guy is walking out to bat with the anger of history to motivate him, and which one needs something a little more immediate and task-focused. YOu know how to get the best from both. And everything in between. You are inspiring to every player. If you do a good job as captain they will keep coming back to play for you.

If you mess it up and don’t meet their needs, they will soon tire and you will be scratching around for players.

The importance of tactics

This ties in nicely to the tactical side of the game.

Ask yourself this about your matches: given the choice would you rather play an exciting, close one every time, or games where your team dominates so much they win easily? For most people it’s the former. Winning all the time gets just as dull as losing all the time (I know I have been in teams where both has happened), but you never tire of games going to the last ball.

A tactically excellent captain has the power to control the game.

Think of the alternative: dull captaincy, dull cricket and fewer and fewer players interested in having a game for you.

A good captain also has the ability to change games themselves. Not always with flashy headline-grabbing performances, but by giving the star players the space to perform. For example, a captain can bat lower down the order in case aof a collapse to hold up an end while the star batsman scores a brilliant hundred. The star gets the credit and also credits the captain with allowing them to do it. They become more loyal and more ready to keep you at the top because you are getting the best from them.

So for Sammy, and all captains at all levels, I have this message: No matter what the measure of success (wins, or giving everyone a game, or both) captaincy can never be rated highly enough. A good captain is crucial to a team because we are all individuals and someone needs to understand us.

Take a Wrecking Ball to the Opposition's Innings

David Hinchliffe — Wed, 09 Aug 2017 05:54:00 +0000

Most people think you need a demon pace bowler with pace or a wily spinner to run through a team. The real way to destroy things is to use the wrecking ball in the opposition's head. Batting collapses are mental.

Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have studied the reasons behind team collapses and have found that most of the reasons lie not with the tactical or technical brilliance of the bowling but with the loss of what commentators call 'momentum'. Or in other words: negative thinking creeping in and the assumption things are going wrong.

So how do you encourage that?

1. Take advantage of your luck

My club side recently played a match where a single stroke of luck turned the game. We were fielding after setting a decent total but the opposition were cruising to victory and well ahead of the rate. A bad ball led to a brilliant catch. This changed our attitude and the momentum of the game. Suddenly we were bowling brilliantly and backing it up with good fielding. The solid opener who was there to support the more aggressive players got stuck facing a series of maidens and the efforts to push the score along at the other end just lead to more wickets.

As research has shown, there is no real difference in the amount of luck we all get. It's just the lucky ones know how to take advantage.

2. Put batsmen in a tunnel

One of the key things the Swedish researchers found about team collapses was poor communication. Or to put it another way, the more trouble they got into the more players got confused about how to deal with it. You can add to this by further distancing the batsmen in the middle from reality.

In strong teams, everyone knows their role and knows how to adapt to changing situations. However, in most teams this is not as clear as it should be and you can add to that feeling by squeezing the batsmen in the middle. You outnumber the opposition 11 to 2 out there, so take advantage:

Cut off the batsman's best shots and field with passion so they feel they have no get-out shot.
Keep talking to each other in the field with enthusiasm and energy. Although you can't fake it, a side that seem all in it together against a batsman can be very intimidating.

This will encourage the kind of blinkered negative thinking that leads to more pressure and worse shots.

3. Speed the game up

If you have a team under the pump, rack the pressure up by getting through your overs as fast as you can. Batsmen will feel under more pressure if the balls are flying by and they are getting further away from the game.

This works best when you have spinners with short run ups on, but you can still be quick between over and avoid dallying about field placings when the seamers are on (which also adds to the energy in point number two).

4. Cause confusion

Former England player Ed Smith calls it the 'bad pitch mentality'. I'm sure you recognise the symptoms: A couple of good balls leads to wickets falling and confidence dropping as you lose faith in the wicket or assume the bowling is just too good. Before you know it you are all out for a below par score.

With hindsight the situation was not as dire as you thought at the time.

When you are in the field you can add to this mentality in subtle ways against the new batsmen:

Talking loudly to your team mates about how much the ball is swinging, seaming or turning today. Or discussing how you can take advantage of the difficult bounce in the pitch as a new batsman takes his guard.
Asking a batsman if he is ready to play the big match winning innings (especially good against tail-enders).
Placing fielders in very obvious places and making sure the batsman knows you think the fielder is there for his weakness. Or moving a fielder away from a position and being clear it's because you think the batsman can't hit it there.
Do something unexpected with field placings or bowling changes that will throw the batters off their rhythm some more.

You can also set the tone while you are batting. My side had a game on a difficult pitch once and the captain caused great confusion in the opposition merely by declaring about 5 minutes early. We had a low score but the captain felt it was enough so why wait?

5. Play well

Finally, the last four tricks are of no use unless you put in a good performance in the field. You must bowl, throw and catch at a good enough standard. That is 90% of the secret of crushing an opponent. That said you don't need to put in a brilliant once-in-a-lifetime bowling spell to cause a collapse. Just good standards back with proven psychological methods.

The Club Captain's Dilemma: Winning While Giving Everyone A Game

David Hinchliffe — Wed, 26 Jul 2017 07:58:04 +0000

Your team is full of talented all-rounders. Someone needs to fill the final place. What do you do?

This is a common question in club and school cricket. Good players tend to have two or three skills meaning your top six batsmen are likely to be your best two or three bowlers, plus a keeper.

That leaves a slot at eight or nine for a batsman, or a bowler who is unlike to get on because they are seventh choice.

These last few cricketers are reasonable people but they also want a fair go: How can you prove your worth batting at nine and not bowling?

No one wants to just fill a shirt, and no captain or coach should settle for it either.

There is an answer.

Communicate well

The good club captain is marked mainly by his man management skills: They are a great communicator.

It's no different in this dilemma.

There are a number of solutions to the problem but they are not perfect. What makes them acceptable is great communication of roles combined an empathy from the skipper that inspires people to be happy about things.

Without brilliant communication, players end up resentful at not getting a go.

They might even feel punished for good performance. Imagine you're an opening batsman who is batting like a dream in the reserve team. You get the call up one week for a go in the first eleven. The captain says nothing until the start of the game where he tells you that you are batting nine.

And fielding at third man.

Compare this to a small amount of communication and role management:

The captain comes to the player before they are selected and says they noticed the good performances and thinks they deserve a go at a higher level.
They chat about how the player might get a go in the team to see how they fit, but it might not be opening (the first team openers are going well). The player objects a little but understand the point.
Immediately after selection the captain speaks again with the player, outlining their role, not as an opener but as a trial to see how they fit into the team culture. The captain reassures the player that the expectation is not to score a hundred, but to bat as well as possible and fight up the order from within the team.
During the game, the captain makes sure the player gets time fielding in their favourite positions and helps make them feel part of the team as much as possible.

The player might still not be too happy; it's tough giving up a Saturday. They will mostly understand, especially if the overall context is placed in front of them. Most people understand the big picture if someone takes the time to chat about it.

Have role options

Good selectors are not satisfied with just good communication though. The bigger goal is to get everyone into the game.

That means taking a different tactical approach to fit cricketers in.

Bring in a young batsman who can field well. They might not be fully ready at your level, but the experience is an investment. Tell them their job is to save as many runs as possible and field them in areas they can manage.
Bring in a form player from a lower level and play them in their role. Openers open. Spinners bowl a spell, power hitters get a chance for a wack. It might mean dropping a star player down the pecking order a bit. You need good ego management!
Give budding all-rounders a specific role. If the extra one can bat and bowl, let them know what they are required to do and tell them to relax about the other job. The big hitting spin all-rounder, for example, can be told to bat seven, look to go big and forget bowling this week.

Whatever tactical approach you choose, also take the time to rotate players through if they are doing a fill in job.

Most people will be fine with a lesser role in the side for a while, but not all season. Give them time at a level where they can be a key player and get more of a go.

Key players

The secret to this approach is to remember everyone in your team is a key player.

There are no shirt-fillers.

Even if someone is only there to field, they have to save runs and take catches. These moments win games as much as hundreds and five-fers.

Manage players roles and expectations, work hard to give them the best chance of success and stick together as a team.

Tactics You Should be Using: Cross Seam Bowling

David Hinchliffe — Mon, 12 Jun 2017 06:23:47 +0000

Holding the ball cross seam is horrifying to swing bowlers, but vital on good batting days.

How many times have you heard your bowlers say "the ball has stopped moving"? Yet how often do you persevere with the seam up, hoping the ball will somehow start to reverse or move off the seam?

In this moment, stop flogging that dead horse. It's time for a new plan. It's time to go cross seam.

Why cross seam bowling?

The down side of going cross seam - holding the cricket ball with the seam pointed at 90 degrees to normal - is that the ball will no long swing or move off the seam.

For fast bowlers who love to beat the bat and get catches behind, this feels bad. They have lost their main weapon of destruction. They feel like cannon fodder. Think 2017 Champions Trophy where the ball barely moved.

I would agree that the main plan should always be to get the ball moving sideways. It's a great skill and a proven way to take wickets. Look after the ball and experiment with getting it moving.

What if that plan fails?

What if the ball is poor and stops swinging early?

Most of us fall back on hope: If we shine it a bit more maybe it will come back. Maybe it will go the other way. Maybe it's time for spinners.

Deep down you know this is pointless.

You want some wickets, so it's time to try a bit of cross seam.

How to bowl cross seam

The beauty of cross seam bowling is that you don't need to change much.

Use the same action and same grip on the ball, you simply turn the seam in your hand so you are holing it like you would throw it. Across the seam.

The benefit is bigger variations in bounce. If the ball hits the seam it can jump and stop. If the ball hits anywhere else it can skid on. This makes it hard for the batsman to predict things and put off their timing. Your wickets come through catches in front of the wicket.

The bigger changes are in length and field settings.

Your length is better shorter than usual. I always advise bowlers they have two options:

Back of a length, about 6-8m from the stumps for club and older school seamers
Bouncers, if you have the pace.

Most seamers are shooting for the 5-7m range, especially if your pace is around the 100-110kph. With cross seam, you pull length back a bit because you want the ball to "hit the pitch" and do something strange, rather than get the batsman driving to catch an edge.

As a result, you can remove the slips more quickly and have fielders in front catching from the mistimed shot. Anything from one to four at short midwicket and short extra cover.

The other option - bouncers - is higher risk but also higher reward.

With cross seam bouncers that get up to the chest, you can see great variation in height and pace on the ball off the pitch. The outcome is always something: A swing and miss, a wide, a hook to a fielder or a six.

If you can bowl them, and you want to make something happen, an over of well-directed cross-seam short stuff is a superb option.

Give yourself options

In club and school cricket we work hard on mastering the basics.

Cross seam bowling is an option because it's different when you need it. Most of the time you won't need it (for example, in my team the average opposition innings lasts 35 overs). As a result we tend to forget about our options.

But there will be times when these options are needed. The ball is not swinging and the opposition are batting well. You could just sit back and hope for a mistake or you could try a canny cross seam over or two.

When you are in those moments, what have you got to lose?

(Just be sure and practice it now and again)

Does the "Bowl Dots" Cricket Tactic Really Work?

David Hinchliffe — Tue, 06 Jun 2017 05:44:41 +0000

Our captain, the canny character, has a saying. "Just bowl dots". Does this tactic really work?

It's based on the theory of building pressure in one day cricket: The longer you can go squeezing a team, the more likely they are to try something unusual and get out. I've heard it for years and seen it work at every level of the game from villiage to professional cricket.

But I wanted to test it out more scientifically.

So, this season I have come up with a new metric for the team I coach: I call it Pressure Rate (PR)

Pressure rate

The PR is based on the general idea I first heard from Micheal Vaughan's TV commentary: You bowl two maidens and something always happens.

It's a great sound bite. Is it true?

So, I asked myself, how many dots do we need to bowl before "something" happens?

We analyse every game, so we can be very clear about the "something". In this case, it means a wicket falling, a catch dropped or a stumping missed. In other words, a chance taken or missed.

(NB: If you don't keep a note of missed chances, you can still do this, just use the scorebook to count the dots and count the "something" as a wicket falling. It's not quite as accurate but it gives you a good enough figure to show the team.)

Instead of Strike Rate - worked out by number of balls it takes to get a wicket - we end up with Pressure Rate (PR). That is to say, the number of dot balls it takes to create a chance for a wicket.

For example, in 50 over limited over cricket in 2017 so far my team has played eight games, bowled 1417 balls (71% of them dots) and taken 59 wickets (excluding run outs).

The average number of dots it takes to create a chance is 12.39.

Pretty much bang on Vaughany.

I knew he was brilliant.

Measure pressure

Of course, numbers and spreadsheets are not much use unless you can put them into practical action.

So what does it mean to players in the heat of battle?

First, it means that our team now know we are, on average, only 12 dots from a chance. And as we bowl about 4 dots an over, that's two or three overs just by "sitting in" and doing the basics well.

Second, it also gives players a reason to try and bowl dots.

You always get the cricketer who is against dot ball bowling because he wants to strike. They don't mind buying some wickets because they get so many. But if your team's limited over plan is to bowl dots and let the wickets look after themselves, you can show any dissenter a clear link: The best bowlers bowl dots and create chances.

From my primative research, bowlers who keep it tight will give a PR around 10.00-15.00. Below 10.00 and you are buying wickets. Above 15.00 and you are not creating chances. It's a balance based on your best method.

You can combine Pressure Rate with Dot Ball%, Strike Rate, Average and Runs per Over to get a complete picture of the way each bowler (and the whole team) gets wickets.

In my team's case, the bowlers are trying to bowl dots to build pressure. We know it's working because we can point to a PR between 10-15 and a DB% above 70%. It proves the point.

And if it didn't work?

Time to try another plan!

How to Win Low Scoring Cricket Matches

David Hinchliffe — Mon, 29 May 2017 02:44:00 +0000

You have been bowled out for a frankly humiliating score.

All the opposition need to do is knock off the runs, doff their caps and shake hands while holding back a snigger.

In the changeover of innings the team atmosphere says it all. Everyone is wondering how to get out of the mess.

But it is possible.

Bowl them out

All you need to do is take 10 wickets.

Unlike some situations, winning a low scoring game will always go down to whether you can bowl them out. If you can't the runs are so easy to get you have no backup plan; no chance of a draw. If you can, you are going to win no matter how low a score you got.

Attack as a form of defence

Because you have to take wickets to win there is no point in setting your field back. They will just knock off the runs.

You might as well attack.

There's no law against having slips.

How much you attack will depend on the exact situation.

If you think your bowling is good enough to win in the conditions then get the star bowlers on as early as possible and set attacking fields with plenty of close catchers. If your judgement is correct wickets will tumble.

If you think the opposition have the batting to win easily you need to be a little cannier.

Logically you would assume the best tactic is to "squeeze" with limited over fields and get the team behind the rate. But playing this way forces the batting side to think they need a certain number of runs an over and actively look for quick singles to keep the score ticking over.

A sneakier way is take the approach of the tortoise from the 'tortoise and the hare' fable.

In that story the hare raced off, went to sleep thinking he had plenty of time while the tortoise plodded quietly to victory.

In your game it's amazing how a warm afternoon, a couple of slips and a gettable total can lull batting teams into thinking they have plenty of time too.

Keep three close catchers until desperation sets in. The rest of the field can be set to cut off the batter's favourite shots and the bowler's aim is to keep the maidens coming (the wickets will look after themselves).

Stay focused on the basics

For these tactics to work the team needs to be disciplined. One bad over can mean curtains for the match.

So everyone in the team needs to take responsibility for:

Bowling a tight line and length, giving nothing away and forgetting about the magic ball or spell.
Anticipating how a batsman is playing and fielding accordingly.
Making sure you field where you are put by the captain and stop others wandering from position.
Keeping an eye on the captain the whole game in case he needs to make quick adjustments.
Being confident that it is possible to win, even from a dire situation.

In situations like this it only needs one thing to go wrong.

Of course, that mean sometimes there will be nothing you can do. Even if you bowl well and field like demons a pair might do enough to get set and get the runs without much effort.

But as long as you have used every bowler, not given an inch in the field and kept your lines tight you can stand tall afterwards. You won't die wondering.

Lost Your Cricket Match? Act Like a Warrior in Defeat

David Hinchliffe — Tue, 04 Apr 2017 02:15:26 +0000

Losing a cricket match is hard to take. You feel sick, angry and disappointed.

You wonder if maybe it was all your fault. You start to cast your eye around at others looking for those who didn’t care enough or are not good enough.

It’s moments like these that tell you a lot about the nature of the cricket team you are in.

How does everyone react?

Naturally, everyone says failure is not acceptable. You find very few people who don’t care about the result when they play cricket. Yet, how you respond to this gives you a deep insight into how to prevent failure happening again.

Does the coach come in and start giving you a dressing down while you sit and take it?

Maybe you bemoan how the opposition were cheats and umpire was useless.

Warrior culture

Which of these creates an atmosphere - or culture - that makes you win?

Actually, that’s a trick question.

Because after a loss, your culture is revealed, not created. If you blame others in that moment it’s the result an environment you have made together.

If you shout at each other, it’s because it’s OK to shout at each other. If you shrug and put it down to bad luck it’s because you made it OK to shrug. If you accuse each other of not caring enough, it’s because you subconsciously decided as a team that it’s OK to accuse.

Which way is best?

In my mind, a winning culture doesn’t care which flagellation method you have developed after losing.

Instead it focuses on being a warrior.

Warriors are proud and strong. They work hard and they are a tight-knit unit. They are honest with each other. They never blame or accuse. Instead they are clear minded. They ask,

How much did you demonstrate your will to win by working on your cricket skills and game plan between games?
How much grit did you show by not giving up even when you were in trouble?
What technical, tactical or physical mistakes did you make as a team that you can learn from and avoid repeating?
What did you do well that you can improve further?

A winning culture comes from an impulse to be warriors. Warrior set the highest standards for each other. They are clear with each other when they are not good enough. They collaborate to ask why, and work hard to stop it happening again.

It doesn’t matter where that motivation comes from.

Maybe it’s a passion-fueled roasting from the coach. Maybe it’s an indifferent shrug. Either way you can be a warrior: Stay honest and open about what went wrong, ask yourself what to do next and pick yourself up to start the work again.

No excuses, no blame. Just warrior thinking and more wins.