Fielding in slips
- Thread starter Jathu
- Start date
siddle2franklin
New Member
Re: Fielding in slips
watch the cricket show and hopefully they'll have another segment on slip fielding
watch the cricket show and hopefully they'll have another segment on slip fielding
mas cambios
Active Member
Re: Fielding in slips
You know what I'm going to say and that is practice!
Simulate what happens in match, so get behind some stumps and have someone either throw the ball at you (for this it helps to have a batsman in front of the stumps, just playing and missing at the ball) or someone deflecting it to you.
Other aids (a bowling machine can be ideal for slip work) can be useful but if you haven't got access to them then don't worry, just improvise a little.
Use a tennis ball for the majority of the session, as it facilitates learning to give with the ball and reduce 'bounce outs' (and save any undue stress on the hands from repeatedly taking a hard ball). Remember to do some work with a hard ball at every session though, as this will help to condition the hands.
To help improve reactions you can do things like starting with your back to the thrower and then turning around on his call, or have them rebound the ball from a wall (over your shoulder) so you have to react pretty much from the bounce.
A great drill is the 'penalty shoot-out'. The fielder stands in a marked out goal (5 metres wide), whilst the coach hits a tennis ball (with a tennis racquet) from about 10-15 metres away. Coaches aim is to score, fielders aim is to catch it.
Try to have sessions that are pressurised as well; this will help you massively in a game, mainly as you'll be used to the situation. I would rather see people make mistakes in practice, so don't be afraid to make things tough for yourself. You'll probably end up surprising yourself by taking a blinding catch in a match, all due to making it difficult in practice.
Also, make sure that when catching that you're using good technique. Stable base, keeping low and eyes level. Get the fingers pointing down, head over the hands and give with the ball.
Jathu;308595 said:
You know what I'm going to say and that is practice!
Simulate what happens in match, so get behind some stumps and have someone either throw the ball at you (for this it helps to have a batsman in front of the stumps, just playing and missing at the ball) or someone deflecting it to you.
Other aids (a bowling machine can be ideal for slip work) can be useful but if you haven't got access to them then don't worry, just improvise a little.
Use a tennis ball for the majority of the session, as it facilitates learning to give with the ball and reduce 'bounce outs' (and save any undue stress on the hands from repeatedly taking a hard ball). Remember to do some work with a hard ball at every session though, as this will help to condition the hands.
To help improve reactions you can do things like starting with your back to the thrower and then turning around on his call, or have them rebound the ball from a wall (over your shoulder) so you have to react pretty much from the bounce.
A great drill is the 'penalty shoot-out'. The fielder stands in a marked out goal (5 metres wide), whilst the coach hits a tennis ball (with a tennis racquet) from about 10-15 metres away. Coaches aim is to score, fielders aim is to catch it.
Try to have sessions that are pressurised as well; this will help you massively in a game, mainly as you'll be used to the situation. I would rather see people make mistakes in practice, so don't be afraid to make things tough for yourself. You'll probably end up surprising yourself by taking a blinding catch in a match, all due to making it difficult in practice.
Also, make sure that when catching that you're using good technique. Stable base, keeping low and eyes level. Get the fingers pointing down, head over the hands and give with the ball.
eddiesmith
Active Member
Re: Fielding in slips
I really enjoyed that drill when we did it this year
My main issue in slips is reaction time, I had 6 balls fly either side of me on the weekend, I never reacted in time to dive, at the least I could have saved runs. I have no issue with spin bowlers, i love fielding slip to em, but the pace bowlers I dont react, I watch it and concentrate but the feet stay planted to the ground. The penalty shoot out one sounds like a great idea, problem for me is most of our catching drills we do are either outfield practice or the stationary drills where players line up like a slips cordon and theres no diving there as there is someone next to you
I love fielding in slips, but keep getting kicked out after a while
mas cambios;309095 said:
I really enjoyed that drill when we did it this year
My main issue in slips is reaction time, I had 6 balls fly either side of me on the weekend, I never reacted in time to dive, at the least I could have saved runs. I have no issue with spin bowlers, i love fielding slip to em, but the pace bowlers I dont react, I watch it and concentrate but the feet stay planted to the ground. The penalty shoot out one sounds like a great idea, problem for me is most of our catching drills we do are either outfield practice or the stationary drills where players line up like a slips cordon and theres no diving there as there is someone next to you
I love fielding in slips, but keep getting kicked out after a while
mas cambios
Active Member
Re: Fielding in slips
It's a great drill for taking pressure off the coach. Just split the group up into pairs or groups of 3, give them some space and let them get on with it. One fields, one hits and one retrieves. 10 catches each and then rotate.
The static drills you mention are great but you do need to practice diving, as you say, you may not catch it but you could stop 4 runs.
If indoor, use crash mats.
eddiesmith;309105 said:
It's a great drill for taking pressure off the coach. Just split the group up into pairs or groups of 3, give them some space and let them get on with it. One fields, one hits and one retrieves. 10 catches each and then rotate.
The static drills you mention are great but you do need to practice diving, as you say, you may not catch it but you could stop 4 runs.
If indoor, use crash mats.
Jonesy
Active Member
Re: Fielding in slips
We use the Katchet thingo. They're pretty good, you get some good speed off them and it's not like it goes straight at you, the bumps in it make it really shoot off in different directions at times.
We also just hit tennis balls at each other to get the soft hands working.
The penalty shootout sounds good.
We use the Katchet thingo. They're pretty good, you get some good speed off them and it's not like it goes straight at you, the bumps in it make it really shoot off in different directions at times.
We also just hit tennis balls at each other to get the soft hands working.
The penalty shootout sounds good.
mas cambios
Active Member
Re: Fielding in slips
I've head mixed reviews about the katchet.
I've head mixed reviews about the katchet.
swifty_147
Member
Re: Fielding in slips
thats all right
practice makes perfect
the katchet is useful as it helps your reaction time
the main thing in slips is to get in a good ready position as the bowler lets go of the ball
also when its coming to you make sure you let your hands give way
use soft hands and you should be alright
mas cambios;309095 said:
thats all right
practice makes perfect
the katchet is useful as it helps your reaction time
the main thing in slips is to get in a good ready position as the bowler lets go of the ball
also when its coming to you make sure you let your hands give way
use soft hands and you should be alright
Re: Fielding in slips
Make sure your technique is correct.
That your shoulders are in line with your feet and that you are crouched down and ready to come up as soon as the batter hits it because it is a lot easier to catch it on the rise.
Also have you tried one of the practice catching balls that have the velcrow straps that you attach to your wrist and you get the ball to come flying at you to simulate a slip catch with a flick off the wrist perhaps try that.
Make sure your technique is correct.
That your shoulders are in line with your feet and that you are crouched down and ready to come up as soon as the batter hits it because it is a lot easier to catch it on the rise.
Also have you tried one of the practice catching balls that have the velcrow straps that you attach to your wrist and you get the ball to come flying at you to simulate a slip catch with a flick off the wrist perhaps try that.
Re: Fielding in slips
it depends where you are in slips.
I find at first slip it is much easier to watch the ball all the way, with your peripheral vision focused of the bat. this way you aren't as surprised when the ball comes flying at you at great speed. make sure if you are at first slip that you are standing in the right position, take your mark off the keeper. Stand about a 1.5 metres behind the keeper, and depending if the bowler is left or right handed, about 1.5 arm lengths plus or minus half and arm length. if your keepers a little daring like ours stand back even further, don't think that many are going to fall short, because if they are then you'd be flat out trying to catch them anyway.
Second slip it is your preference as to what you want to watch, but make sure you are just about in line with the keeper, if not back a bit. I like to have first and second close together, then third a little wider then you'd expect.
third and into the gullies it is much easier to watch the bat, as it really takes anticipation in these positions. make sure the people in these positions are very willing to dive.
with all positions make sure before each ball your thinking that a catch is definitely coming your way this ball, then i find myself enacting out a sort of follow through as if i did take the catch even if i didn't.
concentrate concentrate concentrate.
I know this is all very simple stuff that you probably already know, but the amount of people I find getting this stuff wrong, and it all comes down to the person at first slip. revert back to basics with slip fielding, its more a primitive form of fielding, so don't think! just act. dropping catches happens to everyone, but if you feel like you will never catch one, or if you don't know why you haven't caught it, such as you don't know what went wrong when you did drop it, then maybe slipping isn't for you, you generally have to be a natural at it to do it. but if you feel you are then keep practicing using mousey's great drills.
please correct me anybody if they think I'm wrong but this is how I have been setting my slips cordon for quite a few years now, and how I have taught them in drills, and we have a super slips cordon, and its almost always full for quite a few overs. nobody will be able to take a slips catch if you are standing in the wrong position. remember the basics!
it depends where you are in slips.
I find at first slip it is much easier to watch the ball all the way, with your peripheral vision focused of the bat. this way you aren't as surprised when the ball comes flying at you at great speed. make sure if you are at first slip that you are standing in the right position, take your mark off the keeper. Stand about a 1.5 metres behind the keeper, and depending if the bowler is left or right handed, about 1.5 arm lengths plus or minus half and arm length. if your keepers a little daring like ours stand back even further, don't think that many are going to fall short, because if they are then you'd be flat out trying to catch them anyway.
Second slip it is your preference as to what you want to watch, but make sure you are just about in line with the keeper, if not back a bit. I like to have first and second close together, then third a little wider then you'd expect.
third and into the gullies it is much easier to watch the bat, as it really takes anticipation in these positions. make sure the people in these positions are very willing to dive.
with all positions make sure before each ball your thinking that a catch is definitely coming your way this ball, then i find myself enacting out a sort of follow through as if i did take the catch even if i didn't.
concentrate concentrate concentrate.
I know this is all very simple stuff that you probably already know, but the amount of people I find getting this stuff wrong, and it all comes down to the person at first slip. revert back to basics with slip fielding, its more a primitive form of fielding, so don't think! just act. dropping catches happens to everyone, but if you feel like you will never catch one, or if you don't know why you haven't caught it, such as you don't know what went wrong when you did drop it, then maybe slipping isn't for you, you generally have to be a natural at it to do it. but if you feel you are then keep practicing using mousey's great drills.
please correct me anybody if they think I'm wrong but this is how I have been setting my slips cordon for quite a few years now, and how I have taught them in drills, and we have a super slips cordon, and its almost always full for quite a few overs. nobody will be able to take a slips catch if you are standing in the wrong position. remember the basics!
Virendersingh.berthwal
Active Member
Re: Fielding in slips
Hi Boris,
What is the ideal distance between slip fielders and wicketkeeper.
Any specific drills that can be practiced.
Personally who would u prefer in the slips..batsmen or even a fast bowler/spinner will be OK.
Virender
Hi Boris,
What is the ideal distance between slip fielders and wicketkeeper.
Any specific drills that can be practiced.
Personally who would u prefer in the slips..batsmen or even a fast bowler/spinner will be OK.
Virender
Re: Fielding in slips
i generally field at first slip and i find that if i stand in line with the keeper then reach out to my left (for right hand batsman, otherwise opposite) there should be about another half an arm length before i touch the keepers shoulder, then take a few steps back. from there look at the batsman and the angle that is being bowled to him and adjust accordingly (experience should tell you what you prefer). then mark that spot so that you return to the spot everytime, especially if your wicket keeper moves around a bit so that way you dont find yourself in the wrong spot. watch where and how the keeper takes each ball so then adjust yourself forward or back depending on how high you think that the ball would come through to you at just above waist level if he were to bowl straight to you. although i did say in my last post not to stand too close, remember that it is easier to come up to the ball, rather than down to take a catch, so it is a little easier if you were to take the ball just above your waist, as an edge that goes to slip will have some pace taken off of it. use common sense as well, if you have a right handed pace bowler coming around the wicket to a right handed batsmen then you would obviously stand wider to compensate for the angle.
i rotated through my fielders in the slips just to see who had the natural ability and willingness to do so. i found that batsmen are generally better as they by nature have faster reflexes and better ball watching ability, but that doesnt mean that a fast bowler may be no good at slipping. it really depends on the individuals, i myself am not a batsmen but a spin bowler and i, if i can say so myself, am not too bad a slip fielder, i have only ever dropped 4 in my three seasons at first slip and they were hard ones, but if you put me anywhere else in the field i am liable at dropping everything.
i also use slips a little as mind tricks, i put them there for no reason but to be distracting and make the batsman think that something else is happening. this tactic generally only works against teams who don't really know you and your fielders. i pack the slips cordon with fielders who aren't slippers, and put my best fielders in other positions (as slip fielders are generally good fielders anyway) and bluff the batsman into thinking that maybe the ball will swing away etc when the bowler fires in a short ball and gets caught just behind squared on the leg side. don't use the one tactic for too long though as they are generally easy to pick.
i have made up my own drill that i use very often, but it does take quite a bit of time and effort to set up (but once its set up then you wont have to the next time). on a large area big enough to fit at least three quarters of a pitch length and area for a slips cordon behind it make sure that an area a couple of metres square is hard enough for a ball to bounce off and carry through fairly well to the keeper. then dig out this area which should be about a fullish length on the pitch to have it that an area of about half a metre wide by a metre long on and just out side off stump on the 'pitch' is on an angle towards the slip cordon and that the ball can still bounce off of it well. then put on this area one of those plates that randomise the ball direction (i cant remember what they are called, they look a bit like corrugated iron) and this should ensure that when the ball bounces off of this that it bounces in the general direction of the slips without too much consistency as to make it harder. then put a batsman and stumps where they would usually be on the pitch then get somebody either bowl it or throw it as hard as the can into this area, but towards the stumps and get the batsman to swing as close as they can to the ball without actually hitting it and hopefully the ball continues on either to the keeper or then slips cordon. get the batsman to step across and try and play a block while hiding the ball as much as possible and get the slips fielders to try and watch primarily the bat so it seems more game like when the ball appears suddenly beside it and coming towards them. we do this with tennis balls sometimes so that the hard ball doesnt damage the fielders hands and arms with constant catching, plus they bounce better. we actually put this design where the groundsman parked the roller all day then asked him if he could not run over it, then at about 4pm when he went home and put it in the shed we used it in our training sessions so that way the ground there was really hard anyway. try to get the batsman to swing as close as he can, as this can sometimes result in mistakes anyway and a true edge coming through. this can help as keeping practice as well. the speed can also be changed down to spinners speed and get everyone closer for spin slipping practice.
hope that drill is handy because we use it all the time. it does take a while to set up though, and can be a little dependent on having bouncy enough ground.
Virendersingh.berthwal;343094 said:
i generally field at first slip and i find that if i stand in line with the keeper then reach out to my left (for right hand batsman, otherwise opposite) there should be about another half an arm length before i touch the keepers shoulder, then take a few steps back. from there look at the batsman and the angle that is being bowled to him and adjust accordingly (experience should tell you what you prefer). then mark that spot so that you return to the spot everytime, especially if your wicket keeper moves around a bit so that way you dont find yourself in the wrong spot. watch where and how the keeper takes each ball so then adjust yourself forward or back depending on how high you think that the ball would come through to you at just above waist level if he were to bowl straight to you. although i did say in my last post not to stand too close, remember that it is easier to come up to the ball, rather than down to take a catch, so it is a little easier if you were to take the ball just above your waist, as an edge that goes to slip will have some pace taken off of it. use common sense as well, if you have a right handed pace bowler coming around the wicket to a right handed batsmen then you would obviously stand wider to compensate for the angle.
i rotated through my fielders in the slips just to see who had the natural ability and willingness to do so. i found that batsmen are generally better as they by nature have faster reflexes and better ball watching ability, but that doesnt mean that a fast bowler may be no good at slipping. it really depends on the individuals, i myself am not a batsmen but a spin bowler and i, if i can say so myself, am not too bad a slip fielder, i have only ever dropped 4 in my three seasons at first slip and they were hard ones, but if you put me anywhere else in the field i am liable at dropping everything.
i also use slips a little as mind tricks, i put them there for no reason but to be distracting and make the batsman think that something else is happening. this tactic generally only works against teams who don't really know you and your fielders. i pack the slips cordon with fielders who aren't slippers, and put my best fielders in other positions (as slip fielders are generally good fielders anyway) and bluff the batsman into thinking that maybe the ball will swing away etc when the bowler fires in a short ball and gets caught just behind squared on the leg side. don't use the one tactic for too long though as they are generally easy to pick.
i have made up my own drill that i use very often, but it does take quite a bit of time and effort to set up (but once its set up then you wont have to the next time). on a large area big enough to fit at least three quarters of a pitch length and area for a slips cordon behind it make sure that an area a couple of metres square is hard enough for a ball to bounce off and carry through fairly well to the keeper. then dig out this area which should be about a fullish length on the pitch to have it that an area of about half a metre wide by a metre long on and just out side off stump on the 'pitch' is on an angle towards the slip cordon and that the ball can still bounce off of it well. then put on this area one of those plates that randomise the ball direction (i cant remember what they are called, they look a bit like corrugated iron) and this should ensure that when the ball bounces off of this that it bounces in the general direction of the slips without too much consistency as to make it harder. then put a batsman and stumps where they would usually be on the pitch then get somebody either bowl it or throw it as hard as the can into this area, but towards the stumps and get the batsman to swing as close as they can to the ball without actually hitting it and hopefully the ball continues on either to the keeper or then slips cordon. get the batsman to step across and try and play a block while hiding the ball as much as possible and get the slips fielders to try and watch primarily the bat so it seems more game like when the ball appears suddenly beside it and coming towards them. we do this with tennis balls sometimes so that the hard ball doesnt damage the fielders hands and arms with constant catching, plus they bounce better. we actually put this design where the groundsman parked the roller all day then asked him if he could not run over it, then at about 4pm when he went home and put it in the shed we used it in our training sessions so that way the ground there was really hard anyway. try to get the batsman to swing as close as he can, as this can sometimes result in mistakes anyway and a true edge coming through. this can help as keeping practice as well. the speed can also be changed down to spinners speed and get everyone closer for spin slipping practice.
hope that drill is handy because we use it all the time. it does take a while to set up though, and can be a little dependent on having bouncy enough ground.