Big Or Small Target?

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big kev

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Hi guys
So, when we are practising for accuracy, is it better to aim at a bigger target, say, 50cm by 50cm or a smaller target, for example, 10 by 10 cm. Because the problem is, if I am aiming at a small target and not hitting it 90 percent of the time, wouldn't I be practicing errors, and overthinking, while when I am aiming at a big target and hitting it 100 percent of the time, I could gradually shrink the target.

So, is there such thing as a target that is too small?
 
Kev, I think you have answered your own question, go for a bigger target (even if you want to reduce it a bit from the 50x50 you dont have to get down to 10x10). There is a video somewhere of Terry Jenner manically drawing all over an indoor school's floor with a huge target area, with the message being accuracy isnt everything and essentially all you are looking for as a leggie is to entice the drive ie err on the fuller side, after that its just a matter of how much deviation you get off the pitch to get the false shot.

Obviously it will help if you have a degree of accuracy (if only in setting fields), but once you can land it 'in an area' more often than not then there are better things to work on - flight, varying the revs, variations (for me in that order)
 
Yeah bigger targets to start with and that will encourage you to spin harder. Mallett reckons a big spinner like Warne had a target as big as a small dinner table in which he could cause trouble whereas Kumbles target might be as big as a large dinner plate.

Grimmett describes pretty big targets for young spinners about 3'x6' and divided in 3 lanes.

Benaud and O Keefe spent years bowling at tagets not much bigger than a coin. Both ended up very accurate but not big spinners.
 
I would say 50 x 50cm target isnt very big anyway. I used to just bowl at a target like a can or the like but then I started chalking a big rectangle about 80cm long 30-40 wide and found I bowled with much better shape, giving it more air to land in the rectangle rather than a flat trajectory at a single target.
 
I think the faster you bowl and the more you spin it the bigger the area you have within which to land a good ball, but for the purposes of practise you need a target that challenges you without being impossible. Set your target as large as it has to be for you to hit it six out of ten without sacrificing spin, then once you've got to eight or nine out of ten make it smaller until you're back to six out of ten again. You need to make sure your target isn't so small that failure to hit it dents your confidence, as confidence and relaxation are the most important things for a spin-bowler to have in my view. Make sure you position your target properly though, as you don't want to get lots of muscle memory bowling accurately on the wrong length...

My target (a rubber car mat) is about a foot square which is too small for me, but I don't beat myself up if I don't hit it, it's more of a reference point.
 
A big target IMO, even in a game. I'm generally happy with anything between a yorker and just back of a length, and from leg stump to 6 inches outside off-stump.

Thats a big target for sure - but if I can bowl 10 overs without missing it, then I've probably bowled a good spell. You will also find that the quicker you bowl and the more revs you get on the ball, the more your margin for error.
 
Yeah if the balls turning off the wicket well bigs okay, if you don't spin it a great deal accuracy is more important I reckon. I don't spin it a great deal and have used a long thin target 9" wide and about 3' long, I used to focus on getting the ball on the off-stump line accurately looking for a small bit of turn to find the edge of the bat.
 
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