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So, there I was gearing up for the start of the season, everything was ticking over nicely, fitness, strength, stamina and flexibility all coming together nicely and then a few days after the event above... A crappy cold. Totally knocks me off my feet, my pre-season plans in tatters and I now as I move into the recovery stage I feel like I've been set back miles. I'm still feeling like if I was to get back into it, I might use up reserves that perhaps are being focussed on getting fully well again, but as every day goes by it leaves less chance to start preparing properly!
 
Dave, of all cricketers, surely leggies are the last ones a coach needs to say 'patience' to! As frustrating as it seems, take your time, get yourself well and then get back into training. I bet you will be surprised how little you have lost, but dont force anything or try to play 'catch up'
 
TonyM said:
Dave, of all cricketers, surely leggies are the last ones a coach needs to say 'patience' to! As frustrating as it seems, take your time, get yourself well and then get back into training. I bet you will be surprised how little you have lost, but dont force anything or try to play 'catch up'
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Tony I seem to remember this happened last year and I started the season on a low ebb. I'll bide my time and take it easy I reckon.
 
Sorry to hear you've not been too good Dave.

To be honest, you had been so quiet I thought we had inspired you to give it all up and go to live on the water at Newquay! :D

Take care of yourself and take time.
 
Will do, just trying to shake off the last of it and I'll ease back into it. To be honest feeling so rough I've resorted to playing X-Box 'Battlefield' but I'm over that as well. Jesus, in order to be any good at that you've got have put in some serious hours I reckon!
 
2nd from last nets tonight, hardly anyone there, but our net had most of the regulars in it and they're a good bunch of blokes. It includes a handful of spinners including the off-spinner who bowled me 6 times in sucession last year, a leggie and 3 pace bowlers of whom one is very quick. With regards my batting I reckon I've made some advances this year to the point where now I opt to be the first in the nets and get to face all these blokes when they're fresh and fast, whereas last year I used to be one of the last to bat ensuring they were already knackered! The same off-spinner from last year hasn't bowled me once this year and my abilities against the seam bowlers have improved since the end of the season last year when I showed that I could keep them at bay. It looks like now if the balls outside of the off-stump I may be able to score some runs through the region between point and cover and hit the ball back past the bowler on the offisde between the stumps and mid off. I'm definitely a No.10/11 still, but I may score a few runs this year and be able to see that the bloke at the other end gets rotated and puts runs on the board. The biggest area of improvement is that increasingly the fear factor of getting out and getting hurt seems to have diminished, I've still got a tendency on the rare occasion to turn my back on the ball if it bounces up, so I've got to stop that.

Bowling went really well tonight, took several wickets and had batsmen defending rather than slogging and most of those that were getting some bat on the ball were running a very high risk of being caught at square leg. Increasingly I'm bowling round the wicket pitching the ball outside of leg stump turning it sharply into the batsman and tonight I bowled beaut, very wide outside of leg and then it spun in across front of the batsman hitting top of off - lovely ball! More and more I'm finding that bowling like this and onto leg stump is potentially bringing wickets and this is on a mat, so what it'll be like on a wicket should be very interesting.

Prior to going to nets I had a bowl in the Paddock for the first time this year on grass and while I was there I was focusing on getting the ball to really spin and it came together combined with pretty good accuracy and this transferred to the nets, so overall, if this is going to continue into the start of the season, it looks like I may make a good start with both the bat and the ball. I just need to get my core strength back on track and general fitness as I've lost some ground there due to a crappy cold.
 
Had a quick session this evening after work - only 40 balls or so. I'm trying to get it so that I bowl right on the money from the outset as it makes a massive difference with regards to the amount of overs you get. My current club hasn't got a lot of time for Leggies or even Offies, most of them see batting as the key skill and there's a mind set that sees spin bowlers as easy pickings. There's a little more respect for Offies as they tend to bowl economically, but in recent years they haven't had a good leggie until last year. Last year a younger bloke in his mid 20's took a shed load of wickets and held the title at the end of the year in their league for being the bowler with the most wickets. So with a little luck they may collectively be a tad more positive with the views on Leggies? With that in mind I need to start my spells either taking wickets or keeping the average at or lower than 4 and over, so that's what I'm working on - spinning the ball hard and maintaining accuracy. So in practice I'm looking at bowling right from the outset balls that are attacking the stumps that turn into the stumps and hit them. Or balls that are bowled into the leg stump that either go -on or bounce up nicely cramping the batsman hitting the gloves or bat on their way through to off-stump region and so far so good, I came away from the session relatively pleased with my progress.
 
Dave, sorry I hadn't replied to your original post on Friday. All sounds great and good to hear you so positive about the forthcoming season with both bat and ball. One query that your original post did raise and you have now perhaps answered it in the second concerns changing to coming around the wicket. I often chastise batsmen for just 'hitting' in the nets rather than 'looking to score' and I was a bit worried that was were you were going with your bowling if that makes any sense. You have now partly explained your strategy in the final sentences of your most recent post, but how do you see that turning into field placements? What shots are you trying to get the batsman to play?
 
I was thinking about this on the train coming home, recalling the couple of times that I've been taken to task by very good right-handed batsmen. Or was it just the once... Oh! That's good one of those memories has gone... or is this dementia!!! Anyway, this bloke at Hornchurch 10 and over as I recall, I went for and there was nothing I could do about it and this was bowling my off-stump line. But... there were other factors... first game of the season, so possible poor fitness levels, very soggy wicket with no bounce and very little turn, it was an away match too, so he knew the conditions and perhaps my bowling wasn't that good? But going back to my thoughts I was just thinking that it's essential that you threaten the stumps and the ball was being picthed up slightly wide of the stumps almost all of the time and he was just swinging at it with impunity with the ball ending up between long on and deep square leg. Thinking back I can only imagine that my bowling didn't have much about it on the day and I probably went for the faster and flatter approach, I'm hoping with the increased spin and the greater control over the seam position which I reckon is giving me dip and the ocassional bit of drift, combined with varying the pace my bowling this year may be a little better?

I'm not sure whether I'd come out bowling round the wicket, as I tend to try things out if I'm settled. I normally go with over the wicket aiming for the off-stump looking for the edge trying to induce the drive. I suppose if I'm on song and I'm getting my length right with the right pace, the batsman is going to play with a straight bat driving or blocking, which then plays into my hands. Last year discussing my field someone was saying that it wasn't aggressive enough and it sent the wrong signal right from the outset. Primarily I had mid on and mid off set just inside the boundary and the suggestion was that this gave the bat the impression my bowling was going to allow him to go big right from the outset or allow him to score runs looking for singles driving the ball. The suggestion was bring these blokes right up saying - "Here-go for it, get the ball over their heads and you've got an easy 4", which would then suggest they play a straight drive to affect that strategy - which if the ball is turning plays into my hands - does that make sense?

I think I've said elsewhere, I've just noticed that batsmen that I've had no real joy against - blokes I practice with, they look to play me off the back foot, they watch the ball in and cut it or (In the nets) drive the ball. The really confident ones that come down the pitch and drive the ball on the bounce and these "cutters of the ball", have then seemed to have struggled against the ball coming in full from the leg-side wide on the crease, they look to get it away through square leg flicking the ball with a deft little shot and it comes undone and appears to fall short of square leg. The shorter version with a bit more spin on it seems to bounce high on em coming across the front of them cramping them up, they just appear to struggle with a turning bouncing ball, whereas the seamers bowling straight - they deal with them with a little flick right down to fine leg. Isn't it the case that with spin bowling this angle combined with above the eye-line, turn and dip causes issues with the blind spot area? With regards the field setting - not sure yet I'll have to give that some thought - what do you reckon?
 
someblokecalleddave said:
I very soggy wicket with no bounce and very little turn, it was an away match too, so he knew the conditions and perhaps my bowling wasn't that good? But going back to my thoughts I was just thinking that it's essential that you threaten the stumps and the ball was being picthed up slightly wide of the stumps almost all of the time and he was just swinging at it with impunity with the ball ending up between long on and deep square leg. Thinking back I can only imagine that my bowling didn't have much about it on the day and I probably went for the faster and flatter approach, I'm hoping with the increased spin and the greater control over the seam position which I reckon is giving me dip and the ocassional bit of drift, combined with varying the pace my bowling this year may be a little better?
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You definitely have to threaten the stumps, otherwise batsmen will just swing merrily away all day long knowing that it doesn't matter if they miss. As a batsman I would do it myself if a bowler was bowling wide of the stumps.

If I know its missing the stumps - watch a couple go by and then merrily flay the next 10 overs to the boundary.
If its pitching outside the line and spinning back in - just stick the pad in the way, and then repeat the step above ^

On a soggy pitch, you can't rely on your turn to beat the bat, so you have to threaten them with flight - constantly vary your speed, and mix up drift, swerve, topspin and backspin so that they can't get a solid idea of where the ball will pitch from one ball to the next. Combine this with pitching the ball up on middle stump and hopefully they should soon miss one and you will have them bowled/lbw, or at the very least they should feel sufficiently threatened to play you with extreme caution.
 
SLA said:
You definitely have to threaten the stumps, otherwise batsmen will just swing merrily away all day long knowing that it doesn't matter if they miss. As a batsman I would do it myself if a bowler was bowling wide of the stumps.

If I know its missing the stumps - watch a couple go by and then merrily flay the next 10 overs to the boundary.
If its pitching outside the line and spinning back in - just stick the pad in the way, and then repeat the step above ^

On a soggy pitch, you can't rely on your turn to beat the bat, so you have to threaten them with flight - constantly vary your speed, and mix up drift, swerve, topspin and backspin so that they can't get a solid idea of where the ball will pitch from one ball to the next. Combine this with pitching the ball up on middle stump and hopefully they should soon miss one and you will have them bowled/lbw, or at the very least they should feel sufficiently threatened to play you with extreme caution.
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Good advice there, these gems of advice always seem like really basic and obvious stuff, yet somehow out in the field, I can never remember them, I'm bogged down with other things that are going on, which I suppose is a sign of inexperience!

Progress tonight - none really. I bowl sets of 7 balls as that's as many as I can pick up and carry, I bowl 6 leg breaks and the 7th ball I try a wrong un or a flipper. I bowled 7-9 sets of balls for the most part far too full and massively wide of the leg stump (wides). I was just packing up and 3 blokes in their early 20's turned up to play football and said...
"Go on show us what you do".
"Yeah I wouldn't hold your breath - I've been bowling rubbish". Then I bowled 6 good balls 4 of which hit the stumps with only one wide at the end. So, was that me not concentrating because I bowled so well last night and it wasn't until these blokes turned up that I focused and bowled properly? Something to think about tomorrow night.
 
someblokecalleddave said:
Good advice there, these gems of advice always seem like really basic and obvious stuff, yet somehow out in the field, I can never remember them, I'm bogged down with other things that are going on, which I suppose is a sign of inexperience!

Progress tonight - none really. I bowl sets of 7 balls as that's as many as I can pick up and carry, I bowl 6 leg breaks and the 7th ball I try a wrong un or a flipper. I bowled 7-9 sets of balls for the most part far too full and massively wide of the leg stump (wides). I was just packing up and 3 blokes in their early 20's turned up to play football and said...
"Go on show us what you do".
"Yeah I wouldn't hold your breath - I've been bowling rubbish". Then I bowled 6 good balls 4 of which hit the stumps with only one wide at the end. So, was that me not concentrating because I bowled so well last night and it wasn't until these blokes turned up that I focused and bowled properly? Something to think about tomorrow night.
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Its difficult, I admit. Sometimes I struggle for a couple of overs on an unfamiliar pitch before I figure out what I need to do to gain the upper hand.

Generally the slower the pitch, the quicker you need to bowl and vice versa.
If its turning, then keep it simple and just keep putting the ball on a length with plenty of revs and let the pitch do the work.
If its not turning, then you have two options: either try and frustrate the batsman out with a tight line and a well placed field, or go on the attack by mixing up lots of subtle variations to try and beat him in the air or through variable pace/bounce/whatever.


Do you just bowl at empty stumps? I've never found that particularly helpful. What I do is use two stumps - one for offstump in the usual place ( the top of which I aim to hit), and another one on legstump but on the batting crease to represent the front pad. That gives me a more realistic image of bowling to a batsman and a better idea as to where I want to pitch the ball.
 
SLA said:
Its difficult, I admit. Sometimes I struggle for a couple of overs on an unfamiliar pitch before I figure out what I need to do to gain the upper hand.

Generally the slower the pitch, the quicker you need to bowl and vice versa.
If its turning, then keep it simple and just keep putting the ball on a length with plenty of revs and let the pitch do the work.
If its not turning, then you have two options: either try and frustrate the batsman out with a tight line and a well placed field, or go on the attack by mixing up lots of subtle variations to try and beat him in the air or through variable pace/bounce/whatever.


Do you just bowl at empty stumps? I've never found that particularly helpful. What I do is use two stumps - one for offstump in the usual place ( the top of which I aim to hit), and another one on legstump but on the batting crease to represent the front pad. That gives me a more realistic image of bowling to a batsman and a better idea as to where I want to pitch the ball.
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I do different things when I practice. At the minute - yeah it's either in the nets at club nets which is coming along nicely or as with tonight it's at empty stumps. At the moment I'm just playing around with accuracy and getting a smooth action that feels right and looking at things like getting side-on and up on my toes. I'm also looking to get my strength in my arms and shoulders so that I can bowl faster and general fitness levels higher, all of which should come together over the Easter break. I have a car mat which is about a foot square in size and once I've got the basics grooved I then look to bowl onto the mat and I move that around. Then when I'm bowling really well I do a similar thing to you. Using two sets of old metal stumps I place the second set wide of the leg stump in the position where the batsmans body would be and bowl so that ball pitches slightly wide of the forward stumps and turns round the back of them to hit the actual stumps - replicating a 'Round the legs' scenario. I did have a video on youtube of me doing it several times over a couple of overs, but I've removed it.

I had half hour tonight and that went a lot better than last night, I think I need to focus on my run-in, bound, bowling action and follow through - just get it grooved so that it's the same and consistent, so that I don't have to even consider it. At the minute I'm thinking it through in 3 seperate stages and I need to get past that and make it smooth and regular.

Rotational press ups, planks and stretching now and then bed I reckon.
 
Nothing doing Friday, went out after work. But this afternoon I went out over to the paddock with a bucket of balls and a couple of sets of stumps and did the thing that SLA suggested. Sat the extra stumps in front of the target stumps in the position the batsman would be standing in and attempted to bowl round the stumps. Done it a few times, but most of the time the ball wasn't turning enough. Generally though, things were a lot better than the previous session.

Over the last few years I've probably mentioned that the paddock where we practice is in need of a new fence especially after a large section of the fence was removed last summer for no reason. I've been trying to get the local council to repair it and it looks like I may be getting somewhere with this - have a look at my main blog here - http://www.mpafirsteleven.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/paddock-news.html
 
Thanks for the update, good news re Joe, although I remain to be convinced that crutches are a 'babe magnet'. Wouldnt be too worried about Joe adding a few pounds, he will soon knock that off with a summer in the paddock. At least with the 'not until Christmas' message Joe (and the rest of you) can settle down knowing it is going to be a while yet, rather than going from appointment to appointment hoping for news. As for the physio, is there any chance of a quick 10-15mins in the morning? Oli is awful in the mornings, but when told he needed to do his physio 3 times a day, duly got up earlier and did it, unfortunately once he got the all clear he went back to his old 'waking the dead' self, but it can be done.
 
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