Wicketkeeping Assistance

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wannabekeeper

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Wicketkeeping Assistance

Hi,
I am 14 yrs old and an opening batsman, I used to be a fast bowler but a back injury brought and end to that. I picked up wicketkeeping because I tried it once in the nets and I think I have a natural flair for it so I would like some help. I am asking all the wicketkeepers on the forum to write me a dummies guide to wicketkeeping or just some good advice and tips. And ways to practice by myself or with the assistance of others. Especially on how to keep standing up to spinners and the best way to get used to standing up to medium pacers, how to take the ball, footwork and anything else I should know. Pictures would be good(to demonstrate the crouch etc. etc.) I have already visited the bbc page so please dont tell me that. I would like some original answers. I will really appreciate it.
PS. I will post a video of my keeping for you to critique after xmas.
PS. I am 6ft 2", will this matter? I weigh 150lbs and i am very fit and agile.
 
Re: Wicketkeeping Assistance

Although wicket Keeping is great and I am sure you will get a lot of helpful hints and tips from this site, it is a shame that you are unable to continue as a bowler. Out of curiosity, was the back injury caused through cricket? If so, was it a stress fracture of the pars interarticularis?
 
Re: Wicketkeeping Assistance

Hi wannabekeeper and welcome to the site.

I'll post up a couple of easy drills that will help you to get used to some of the basics of keeping (might be tomorrow evening as I'm snowed under with work at the moment).

I think there are already a few very brief threads on wicket keeping on the forum but we'll try to address the basics once again to get you going.
 
Re: Wicketkeeping Assistance

This is a reply to Liz, My back injury was as a result of tennis(serving)and my physio told me that it was a stress fracture of the lower back(she explained the complicated stuff to my dad). So he told me that i HAD to give up fast bowling. So i focused mainly on my batting until quite recently....which brings us to this point.
 
Re: Wicketkeeping Assistance

I see. It is a universally acknowledged fact that, at your age, your father is always right and I would never disagree with him. He is looking after you and has your best interests at heart.

If he ever changes his mind, speak to a sports therapist. The stress fracture is not a result of serving and neither would it be the result of fast bowling. Unfortunately, it is a result of your alignment, posture and lack of core strength and stability; it is the result of technique that should have been changed a long time ago.

If, when you are older and wish to revisit bowling (or serving). Speak to somebody who knows about the movement in your sport and how it affects your anatomy and physiology. Get your technique right and make sure your action is pure before you start to put on the speed.

In the meantime, good luck with the wicket keeping.
 
Re: Wicketkeeping Assistance

yeah liz, As you can imagine as i was very disappointed when I was told but there is a reason for everything, I discovered a talent of mine, wicketkeeping. Any advice would be great. And this is a question for liz, pertaining to fitness. What are the key muscles for wicketkeeping and how should I go about a fitness session, how important are the core muscles to a wicketkeeper?
 
Re: Wicketkeeping Assistance

I would say that the core muscles are an important part of keeping due to the amount of movement during keeping. You're up, down and then diving left or right. A strong core will aid that, but it's also important to think about the legs as well.

As for drills, the easiest one to do is to replicate what would happen in a match.

Get someone to throw the ball under arm at a batsman who then proceeds to either edge, leave or swing and miss on purpose. This will help you to get used to standing behind a batsman as well as helping you to keep sharp.

You may want to wear a helmet at first, especially when standing up to aid confidence.

I believe you can also buy deflection mats, which will replicate the effect of an edged ball and are very good for keeping and slips catching drills.
 
Re: Wicketkeeping Assistance

Just to add to the above, whenever I play cricket, even if its just backyard with a windball, I keep and don the gloves.

I find it helps to keep my reflexes in shape as well helping me get used to wearing the gloves and standing up to the stumps. I guess the key thing is practice though.

Another tip I picked up is to look at the training techniques for goalkeepers and see what you can adapt. Some of the basic fundamentals are the same so there is some crossover.
 
Re: Wicketkeeping Assistance

Thanks guys!!! Any more advice or tips? I have a question though, I know that you are supposed to move with powerful sideways movements(skipping), and I practice that and have good technique BUT what about diving? Is there any specific technique? How exactly do you do it? I am asking because I dont really want to get injured due to poor technique.
 
Re: Wicketkeeping Assistance

Hi there,

Keepers need to be quick reacting, quick witted little blighters.

Not to heap pressure on you, but its the keeper who can turn things. Not just with his skills with the big gloves on, but what comes out of your mouth. A batsmen can be both un-nerved and confident from what a keeper says, just keep that in mind.

Ok, you need to work on your core muscles. You need to get a good spring, so you need to work on your leg muscles. Best way? I've already mentioned somewhere on the site about walking up and down sand dunes. Its a great fitness and muscle building activity if done regularly enough.

As well as leaping you'll need to be able to squat for a large part of time, so yeah at Almost Austwick says, helmet is a must. Until you've had a season under your belt, a helment i'd advise you to perminantly keep on, its annoying i know but you know whats more annoying? Having 5 teeth broken or chipped.

How are you handling wise? Do we need to help you there or are you as safe as a bread basket?
 
Re: Wicketkeeping Assistance

hey simbazz, When keeping up to the stumps I am fairly safe but when keeping back I can catch the ball but with poor technique, when I try to take it in front of me and "give" with the ball I sometimes drop it. So I think my problem is that I am not taling the ball properly when standing back, but when standing up it feels much more natural just not to give with the ball.But as an answer to your question I would say that there is lots of room for improvement and I am open to your advice and tips handling and otherwise.
 
Re: Wicketkeeping Assistance

wannabekeeper said:
Thanks guys!!! Any more advice or tips? I have a question though, I know that you are supposed to move with powerful sideways movements(skipping), and I practice that and have good technique BUT what about diving? Is there any specific technique? How exactly do you do it? I am asking because I dont really want to get injured due to poor technique.
Click to expand...

In terms of diving, then as Stan says I'd look to copy and adapt what goal keepers in football do to train. From personal experience, there isn't much technique to diving, but you can train yourself to get used to it. A great catch or save never hurts when you land, it's only the misses!
 
Re: Wicketkeeping Assistance

wannabekeeper said:
And this is a question for liz, pertaining to fitness. What are the key muscles for wicketkeeping and how should I go about a fitness session, how important are the core muscles to a wicketkeeper?
Click to expand...

Sorry to butt in Liz...

I would say you need to think training movements not muscles. Your body is not aware of individual muscles but it is aware of movement patterns.

Also the core is critcal but it's highly misunderstood. Take a look at my core article for an introduction:

http://www.simplycricket.net/what-the-heck-is-core-training-all-about-anyway-t440.0.html
 
Re: Wicketkeeping Assistance

thanks for the answers guys, how about some drills that I can do by myself or with one other person? And how can I speed up my reaction time?
 
Re: Wicketkeeping Assistance

An easy one to practice by yourself is to simply bonuce a ball off a wall and then catching the rebound.

To make it harder, place a bit of wood or plastic on the floor and aim for the rebound to hit it on the way back to you. Try it with a very bouncy rubber ball and it should be a good challenge but you do need a bit of space to practice in.

Keeping is a hard thing to practice on your own, but the best way is to try to find things that mimic what will happen in a game.

I know of one chap who practices standing up behind a weighted cardboard but out with a bat attached to it. He needs others to throw the ball etc but its another way of stimulating what may occur in match.

One other thing you may think about is buying a reaction ball, not sure how good they are all told but they're not bank breakers so worth a look. Some examples can be found here.
 
Re: Wicketkeeping Assistance

thanks guys, I would like some advice on how to take the ball when standing back(pics to demonstrate would be nice) And when exactly should I get up from my crouch when standing back and standing up?
 
Re: Wicketkeeping Assistance

Harrowdrive said:
Sorry to butt in Liz...

I would say you need to think training movements not muscles. Your body is not aware of individual muscles but it is aware of movement patterns.

Also the core is critcal but it's highly misunderstood. Take a look at my core article for an introduction:

http://www.simplycricket.net/what-the-heck-is-core-training-all-about-anyway-t440.0.html
Click to expand...

Feel free to butt in whenever the fancy takes you David; it is always worthwhile :D

I think we should leave this thread to technical posts and take the fitness home with us to the Fitness and Nutrition Forum. Come and join us there Wannabekeeper. Read all the posts in David's link above and please do ask if we can be of any further help.
 
Re: Wicketkeeping Assistance

Standing back probably lessens the need for reaction (As its a bit longer to think and look) but it really shows the good technical keepers from the rubbish ones.

Standing back i'm amazed you find it harder, but for me, i'm glad as it isn't as big of an issue as the who confidence issue doesnt need to be explored. If you're confident up at the wicket, then i'm sure we can sort you out.

Firstly, those reaction balls that A_A mentioned, good, but you really need a two people kind of thing. One thing you could do, is obviously, three people, one bowls, increasing speed to whatever you feel you can do. One bats it and tries to hack it behind where you will take the ball.

I've had some slip drills quite recently, one is that the coach (who was only happy to accept) hits the ball at a good old fair welly, and we stand as we would in the slips. The ball is coming at a good speed, and reactions are tested, but the thing is, if you can take the quick, hard ones, then the soft dibbly dobblers shouldnt be a problem.

Just to ask, how accessable are three friends on a nightly basis to come help you?
 
Re: Wicketkeeping Assistance

I use the reaction balls against a wall; throw the ball on to the ground in front so that it ricochets of the wall and back at you... hopefully :D
 
Re: Wicketkeeping Assistance

Thats great Liz! But the thing is, he is having trouble with standing back as a WK, so the reaction ball wouldn't really be so great because he needs to work more on technique of catching and diving well, rather than reactions.

If he can stand up to the stumps and is off any skill at that, then a reaction ball will only be suitable to keep the reactions going well.

But saying that, its always good to practise reactions and going back to where you start as a wicketkeeper.
 
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