Cricket Consultancy project and dissertation (University Masters work)

I'm doing my Masters in Sports Coaching this year at uni and I want to base my consultancy project and my dissertation around cricket and was just wondering if anyone could give me some opinions on the stuff I'm thinking of doing.

My consultancy projetct, I don't actually have to implement it but I think I have to go around talking to people and organising as if I were so at the end of the project I can give my recommendations to whoever incase they do want to do it.

My idea is based around talent identification for those not in the county junior sides. I don't know what other counties are like but I have seen in Somerset players looked over because they don't go to the right school or the right club, or sides pick the same players once at a certain age group not accounting for those who either start the sport late or develop later. So my idea (to hopefully be based in Lancashire as its the county where i'm doing my masters) would be to try and put forward a development initiative by starting a representative side. I have a few ways I could go about it, sides can put players forward towards trials if deemed to be good enough and trials held for the side. Or if enough players are put forward Lancashire could be split into 4, 5 or 6 teams based on region where the players would represent their area.

The idea is to give players a platform who may have been overlooked, and if the county were in on it have the end side (via trial or selection from representative games) play against the county 2nd XI as well as other county 2nd XI's, minor county sides or University MCCU sides.

So thoughts on this? It's only in the rough outline stage at the moment.

Secondly my dissertation, I want to preferably work in the performance/video analysis area, if anyone has any ideas how that could be turned into a dissertation I'd be grateful for ideas and thoughts. If not the other idea I had would be a dissertation based on what batters do during their preparation phase i.e. when the bowler is running into bowl, so things like trigger movements, mental processes to find out how effective they actually are.

Again any thoughts appreciated.

Hi hodge. Some interesting ideas there certainly. I know that Kent work very much in a district system, so each district is encouraged to send their best players to county trials etc. and this goes all the way through the junior ranks. Talent ID is an interesting one, but in this day and age I seriously doubt anyone is looked over because they go to the wrong school - quite possibly some people slip through the net unnoticed but that is somewhat different. Where you are right is that there is probably not enough accounting for late developers in general (the counties back their youth system to produce the majority of their cricketers, and with good reason, because they invest a lot of money into their systems) although from a coaching point of view for most people the habits you pick up by the time you're 18 you're more or less stuck with, so the counties are playing the percentages certainly.

Re performance/video analysis, are you thinking of purely video analysis (which is essentially looking at somebody's mechanics) or more broadly including things like pitch maps, wagon wheels etc.? Anyway there's loads of stuff out there for either of those.

I'll get back to you after the week-end with some more precise thoughts, but leaving tomorrow at 4.30 AM (cricket related, obviously) so will use the week-end to get some thoughts together.

The school/club one is a bit from what i've seen.

One of my best mates at school and club was treated ridiculously and nearly tried approaching Gloucestershire instead (but couldn't due to distance to travel)

This specific example when 15 or so he averaged 250 or so for club in youth league games due to rarely getting out and hitting 50+ most games and about 170 for school (similar situation). He was also hitting 90's in the club 2nd team and 30's/40's in club 1st team. He was picked for a Somerset corners (district style) and despite being an opening batter was batted at 10, he was told that he would be better suited so to say at another local club (where most Somerset youth go to) but said he would rather stay at the local club as his mates play there. After which he didn't get asked again by Somerset as far as i'm aware.

Just having looked through Somerset's academy players they're all from private schools (although I do understand the private school's cricket in Somerset).

Back on topic, I admit I am a big fan of district systems and don't feel they are utilised enough, as you said with Kent, Somerset do have a district system but it stops at about U14's/U15's by which time a lot of kids haven't even started playing cricket.

The idea I had I should have said would be targeted at people between the ages of about 17-25 to give it a broad spectrum.

On the diss front, I wouldn't mind either a match analysis base or analysing technique really, just a case of how I would base a question/problem to look into around it.

Although a dissertation on talent identification being aimed to young is interesting and think i'll look into existing research on it.

Take your time as well.

Interesting stuff Hodge.

Obviously not my area of expertise but I am aware of something along the kind of lines you're thinking of operating in Surrey - I think a club player trialled successfully and got the chance to play for Surrey IIs. I can't help you with further details but maybe an area for you to research.

In my area there is certainly a massive advantage to going to the right school. In Herts/ North Middx there are a plethora of cricket-playing private schools (Haberdashers, Merchant Taylor's, St. Albans Boys to name just a few). From my experience virtually all of the young players picked for Herts age-group sides go to these. There might be a bit of chicken and egg here - it's hard to tell whether it's the county favouring players because they go to a particular school, or the parents sending their talented son to a particular school to improve their cricket. Certainly the best coaching is available at these schools. Then the best age-group players from Herts get snapped up by Middx.

The district system in Herts got scrapped a few years ago, owing to a lack of quality/ interest. I played one game at this level - as somebody making up the numbers rather than picked on merit - and have to say that the level would not have been higher than it was in the Herts junior club leagues. Big clubs like Radlett and Knebworth Park are able to field very strong XIs. There is still an area system I think (run by the county), but again this favours private school children.

It is clearly very difficult for people who aren't in the system by 15 to make it. There are some exceptions to that (Tymal Mills at Essex) but I think you have to be producing truly exceptional returns in Premier League club cricket to then get a go even at county 2nd XI level.

As I say this isn't my area of expertise so just some thoughts on how things work in my area.

Got an idea or my dissertation anyway, 'the effectiveness of video analysis in cricket' pretty much, couldn't think of how to use video analysis by actually using recordings etc for my diss despite thinking of other sports