All Out Cricket's Discussion Of The Week - What's the best bit of coaching advice you've ever had?

in this month's magazine, we launched our brand new coaching section. Put together with the help of the Pro Coach Academy, we've also got some great videos to accompany each issue:

http://www.alloutcricket.com/player/coaching/all-out-cricket-coaching-video-batting-seeing-off-the-new-ball

This week, we want to know what is the best piece of coaching advice you've ever received.

Let's see what you've got!

I found the video interesting; it's obvious Joe is more comfortable when talking specifics rather than the more general stuff. He spoke very well about the leg-glance and dropping the hands, but there are a few things about his advice as to general approach which I take issue with:
- watch the ball: going back to Myers-Briggs, not necessarily.
- Play it late: usually good advice but there are exceptions (Ponting and Pietersen the most obvious ones - Ponting has made a very good career out of batting 3, he's faced a new ball a few times...)
- good stride: if you can, great, but against genuine quick bowling there usually isn't time. Watson for example has at times struggled because he gets a huge stride in, and occasionally (particularly when the ball's moving into him) his hands can't keep up, he's late bringing the bat down and can get out LBW or bowled.

But I think the point here is to be wary of general advice. There are precious few "right" methods (there are some which are wrong, namely those which don't work) and I would always advocate adapting to your strengths rather and building on them. So if someone has really fast hands say, they may need to move their feet a lot less, and can get away at hitting through the line a lot more.

Joe is obviously an experienced opening bat, so anything he says should be listened to, but not everything he says will work for you.

The best piece of advice I have received as a player was to concentrate on my game.
The best piece of advice I have had as a coach:
- be honest/be yourself
- be confident but not fixed.

There's loads of technical advice which people have passed on, but tough to know which has been the most useful.

Thanks for your thoughts Mike, really appreciate such a considered response. As you say, there are no definitive methods that will work with everyone, and we're thinking of looking at modern innovations in approach/technique.

As a coach, are there things that you try to teach which are just based on your experience? And things you've changed/adapted over the years because of the way the game is played these days?

Might not mean much to seasoned cricketers, but for youngsters the most important one in fielding was when my son's coach told them "expect every ball to come to you when you field" they do tend to stray a little and day dream.

biltongbek wrote:Might not mean much to seasoned cricketers, but for youngsters the most important one in fielding was when my son's coach told them "expect every ball to come to you when you field" they do tend to stray a little and day dream.

Very very good advice.

I would go further and advise "want every ball to come to you when you field". Fielding is what you spend most of your time on a cricket pitch doing after all, and so often a good bit of fielding can change the course of a match, no only through run-outs and catches, but also a brilliant save can and does lift a side (and also affects the game in that without it a different batsman may have been on strike); so my message to young fielders is that they should want the ball to come to them, they should want to change the course of the game.

All Out Cricket wrote:As a coach, are there things that you try to teach which are just based on your experience?

I think to some extent everything you do as a coach is based on your experience. When I first started coaching I would say I was too fixed, and would coach people how I would have liked to be coached. I think I've got a lot better at adapting to the person/player (both are important) whilst still trying to stay true to my style. More specifically, I coach the slide a bit differently from most, because that's how I used to do it and I think it works.

All Out Cricket wrote: And things you've changed/adapted over the years because of the way the game is played these days?

Absolutely. As a coach you're always adapting, and trying out new ideas. I think the day I'll say I won't have anything to learn is the day I should stop coaching. I'm lucky enough to regularly talk to people who coach and have coached at the highest level.

To give a few examples of techniques/thoughts which have changed over the last 2-3 years say:
- "watch the ball": may not be relevant due to Myers-Briggs
- Keeper taking the ball in front of the stumps which we're starting to coach in France now
- long-barrier: it used to be the first thing you'd teach any youngster, it's now felt to be counterproductive, first because it teaches kids negative thoughts ("get your body behind it in case you miss it" so they're already thinking about missing it), second because you want their first reaction to be to attack the ball, not just to stop it (fielding as a weapon rather than as a defence).

In terms of general patterns I would say there is a far greater emphasis on fielding than even 5 years ago or so. And we seem to be moving towards a sort of "if it ain't broke don't fix it" outlook globally.

Best bit of advice I got given and probably only useful bit, 'play each ball on its merit'

I would like to add to wat you said there hodge. Play the delivery and not the bowler.

Yeah, the best batting advice I received was play the next ball, not the last one.

Of course, if being consistently told to stop trying to hit everything over mid wicket for six counts as advice then that's what I have been told the most.

Jdizzle, that wasn't advice that was your coach getting fedup with you going for midwicket.

Best advice I ever had was play against the opposition, not yourself.

I used to be my own harshest critic, and would often get frustrated and give my wicket away, now, baring that advice in mind, I am a lot more conservative and don't dwell on my mistakes as much.

It's amazing how one bit of advice can change your game.

Ahh, but Biltong. What my coach didn't understand was that an aesthetically pleasing 60 is always going to trump a well compiled, yet dull, 70. That is the advice I passed on to him. Just ask Jacques.

Jacques, wouldn't know JD, ask anyone here.

I would like some advice in regards to fielding and bowling. I'm a pretty decent fielder, tend to be quite sharp in stopping the ball and diving around the place. Only ever took the one catch so catching I can't really comment on. I tend to field at cover or mid on.

What I would like to ask is fielding wise is when the bowler runs in and bowls, what should I be watching, the ball as it reaches the batsmen or should I be watching the batsmen, particularly his footwork to see what type of shot he's playing and whether the ball as a result will be heading my way.

In regards to bowling, I feel I bowl quite a decent pace for an 18 year old. What I want to ask in regards to bowling is that basically I model my action on Glenn McGrath right down till the no ball line. I run like the bowlers of old from a fairly diagonal angle if you know what I mean. I then sort of bend in towards the stumps to straighten up. If I removed this last motion from my bowling routine, a) would it improve my accuracy and b) improve my pace.

A bit off topic slightly I know. In regards to the best bit of coaching advice I've received, practice practice practice

martyr_94 wrote:
What I would like to ask is fielding wise is when the bowler runs in and bowls, what should I be watching, the ball as it reaches the batsmen or should I be watching the batsmen, particularly his footwork to see what type of shot he's playing and whether the ball as a result will be heading my way.

Unless you're fielding in the slips (in which case the traditional advice is to watch the ball at first slip and the edge of the bat any wider - but I would say "try both and see what works") I would mostly advocate watching the batsman, and in particular his hands which give you the best indicator of where and how hard he's trying to hit the ball. I say "mostly" because you may be a massive T in which case you may find it difficult to pick up the ball unless you are foccusing on it 100%. So my default position would be to watch the batsman's hands, unless that doesn't work for you.

martyr_94 wrote:In regards to bowling, I feel I bowl quite a decent pace for an 18 year old. What I want to ask in regards to bowling is that basically I model my action on Glenn McGrath right down till the no ball line. I run like the bowlers of old from a fairly diagonal angle if you know what I mean. I then sort of bend in towards the stumps to straighten up. If I removed this last motion from my bowling routine, a) would it improve my accuracy and b) improve my pace.

Does it feel natural? Without visual evidence I'm unwilling to really commit, but 18 is very old to start changing what is the base of your method. It may improve your pace a bit in that you could get all your momentum going towards the wicket. I wouldn't think that at this age it will to much for your accuracy, unless you're willing to spend a couple of years remodelling the action. And even then there's no guarantee. Unless you think your current action is a real hindrance I'd stick to what you do.

I field either mid on or mid off, generally I stand where I am till the bowler passes me and start walking in as he does this way I see both the bowler delivering the ball out the sideish part of my eye while still being able to see the batsman and the ball itself once deliverd.

Mike,

Thanks for the advice, really helpful. I do generally feel if I ran a little more towards the wicket that maybe I could get my arm over quicker than I do now.

Hodge,

I'm very similar to you, in that predominantly I'm watching the batsmen and in particular his hands, but like you mention there, I do watch the ball being delivered out the corner of my eye.

Thanks for the advice boys. Out of curiosity, which is your favourite fielding position. I do enjoy it at mid on unless the player is particularly strong on the leg side, in which there could be a fair bit of running involved.

My least favourite is probably square leg, if the ball comes off the bat thinly or if its middled, its almost impossible to pick up. I also hate fielding at short mid wicket to the spinner, especially when our leg spinner is on. The amount of long hops I've had to deal with is unreal.

One final question, what was your worst fielding experience. Mine, simply down to the effort required, was being asked to field at 3rd man one over, then down to fine leg for the next over, both at opposite ends of one of the biggest grounds in the league. It went on for a good 10 overs, then I was asked to bowl a 6 over spell, good job I took 3 wickets otherwise I wouldn't have been too happy.

you hate square leg and short mid wicket for spin? i'm regulars for those

Whenever I play 1st team i'm always square leg because I do it pretty well at cutting out 1's etc dropped into mid wicket area as we don't field with a mid wicket to start with. For a similar reason i'm put at short mid wicket for spinners that and im not afraid to dive trying to stop the ball or get my body in the way.

Worst fielding experience, dropping 3 in a day I think as 2 were simple as well, caught a screamer though so 1 out of 4, think they finished 9 down as well so we missed out on full bonus points, few of their players tried ripping into me when I dropped the third and easiest as I tried catching the usual way hands cupped near the chest rather than the head height reserve cupped. When they started I just turned to them and said, sorry mate check the scorebook for our innings then laugh (i'd hit 90 earlier in the day and it was 1 of their top order batsman trying to rip me along with his kid who i'd hit for about 35 on my own in about 3 overs) It kind of shut them up.

The other would be a U15's 40 over cup match our club had, they had about 5 overs left with 8 needed to win but they were 6 down usually at that level your left with no great batters, and we had tightend the run rate to about 1 an over for the last few, they had scrounged 4 runs through byes I think, then on the last ball it was hit out to me at deep midwicket, I approached the ball as it bounced the ball spun wickedly and even with a dive I couldn't get to it, the bowler who was the captain wasn't happy with me saying i should have gotten to the ball earlier etc to attempt a catch, I was fairly conservative at the time, thinking risking a catch and potentially giving away more runs if I drop it or miss it as i felt there was less than a 50/50 chance I would get there or try and make sure to only concede the single.

Never run out the bloke whos wife makes the sandwiches.

Favourite positions were cover and mid-wicket/forward square-leg: always in the action, dives, catches, run-outs.

Least favourite position: I could never pick up the ball well from mid-on, basically fielded poorly there once and from then on think it was a mental thing.

I've got a very weak arm, but safe pair of hands, so no one ever knew whether I should be on the boundary or not...

Most embarassing fielding: I dropped an absolute sitter once as captain. MfC can reveal all (the one against I think Gymkhana or Euro, when Simon was bowling...). I've twice dropped 2 catches but in each case they were both very difficult (diving, and at least one one-handed), and I generally fielded well those days anyway.

Nets tonight. The comeback continues.

Any advice anyone wishes to impart to a clueless slogger that can't play a forward defensive, and a scattergun bowler that is slowly regaining some pace but is struggling for accuracy?

Answers on a postcard.

Fists of Fury wrote:Nets tonight. The comeback continues.

Any advice anyone wishes to impart to a clueless slogger that can't play a forward defensive, and a scattergun bowler that is slowly regaining some pace but is struggling for accuracy?

Answers on a postcard.

Enjoy yourself

When you play at our level, it's a must.

Oh I always do that, mate. My enthusiasm for the game far outweighs my ability, unfortunately, but it'll never wane.

Just focus Fists, that is the best advice I can give you.

catches win matches!