Reading Cricket Cub

When you watch cricket on television, it can appear to be quite an easy and simple sport, but under the helmet of the batter, there is a whole different game going on inside the batters mind in an attempt to banish any possible distractions, and focus every bit of mental energy on the ball as it is released from the bowlers hand, this is the psychological side to batting.

As a batter, your aim is to score runs, stay in and help your team reach a certain particular target. To achieve this, you need to be in the correct mental state. To help reach this state of fierce concentration there are several things that you must do.

Firstly, you need to be clear your mind of any possible distractions, distractions can come in many forms; these may be concerns about the pitch, fielder’s comments, being scared of the ball, fear of getting out etc. These matters need to be cleared out of the head prior to the start of the bowlers run up to allow for the stages of concentration that will soon follow, this is vital, if there are distractions floating around your mind, you are sure not to be focussing to your optimum level and are more likely to male a mistake.

Every ball requires you to concentrate at your highest possible levels, and in so you should have a strategy to help you concentrate. I was taught by a prominent cricketing figure this following method that I find extremely useful in exploiting my maximum concentration levels. Firstly, after clearing all distractions from your mind, as the bowler starts to run up, you should enter a state of fine focus, in this state, your mind should have no negative thoughts and be concentrating on the top half of the bowler, you vision should be like a television, only focussed in on the top half of the bowler as her approaches, in this period you should have constructive positive thoughts, for example I say to myself over and over “Focus, watch the ball, focus, watch the ball” etc… By doing this and saying positive statements, it stops negative thoughts entering the mind and also stops any possible distractions drifting into your thoughts.

As the bowler enters his final steps your focus level should increase to what is commonly known as a state of fierce focus, in this stage all mental powers should be focusing on the ball and the ball only, your mental screen should now just be the size of the ball. This allows your brain to compute and work out the line, length and flight of the ball and so gives you the maximum amount of time to help you get your feet and body into position as early as possible helping giving you the best possible chances of making a good decision and playing a good shot.

This should be applied to nets as well as matches as this will get you well trained and so it becomes second nature.

The Mental and Psychological side to Cricket – Bowling

As a bowler, like batting, to gain optimum results, there are certain thought processes that need to take place. Again, like batting you need to eradicate possible distractions from your mind as you prepare to bowl, such distractions include worries about the batsmen “hitting out”, fear of making mistakes e.g. bowling down the leg sidea wide etc. With negative thoughts running through your mind, you are much more likely to tense up and make mistakes, your thought patterns should always remain positive.

Bowlers need a game plan (I discuss game plans in the free e-book), and they should plan their next ball as they are walking back to their mark. If you are deciding what ball you are going to ball while you run up, then you are likely to get caught in two minds and make mistakes. If you decide prior to starting your run up what type of ball you are going to bowl, e.g. slower ball, it gives you the opportunity to really focus and concentrate on how and where you want to pitch the ball. How you go about deciding where about you focus on e.g. the base of off stump, or where you want to pitch the ball is very much a personal matter which should be worked out in nets as everyone is different.

The sweep and the reverse sweep are two batting shots which are not commonly used, especially the reverse sweep which is rarely used. However both shots can be used in certain batting situations and are an effective way to score runs and keep the score board ticking over.

There is a high element of risk with the sweep shot, so good judgement and excellent timing is essential. Avoid playing the sweep and reverse sweep early on in your innings especially to straight deliveries, as it is not a good idea to play it until you have your eye in and know how the pitch is playing and what the bowler is doing. As for example, if the ball stayed low it would be quite easy to misjudge and get out LBW or bowled which you definitely want to avoid, so be patient and play yourself in first.

The sweep and reverse sweep are both cross batted shots and should ideally be played to slow deliveries which are of a good length and not too full. To play the orthodox sweep shot, first wait for the ball to be released before making any movement – DON’T PREMEDITATE THE SHOT!

Once you have determined that the ball is there to play the sweep shot to, move your front foot as far down the wicket towards the pitch of the ball as you can. As you are moving forward bend both knees simultaneously so that you whole body is low down, let your back knee touch the ground to act as an extra base of support. Try to stay balanced and relaxed. Bring the bat down from the off side and across the ball towards the leg side and aim to hit it either in front of or behind square leg. You can roll your wrists over the ball as you hit to help keep it on the ground. Aim to have your arms fully extended when you contact the ball.

To play the reverse sweep, get in to the same position as for the orthodox sweep, however this time, bring you bat down and across from leg side towards the off side, so you are aiming to hit the ball through the gully area. This shot requires very good coordination and timing as you have to twist the bat round so that the bat face faces the off side at the point of contact without altering your grip.

Common problems:

-Premeditating the shot- deciding to play the shot before the bowler has bowled the ball. Wait until the ball is released from the bowlers hand before deciding to play the shot.

-Playing the sweep too early in the innings before getting your eye in. Wait until you are set and know how the pitch is playing and what the bowler is doing before attempting the shot.

-Trying to hit the ball too hard. Good timing and technique is better and more effective as you need to reduce the risk as much as possible.

-Playing the shot to deliveries which are either too full or too short, so good judgement of length is required.

Remember that the sweep and reverse sweep are quite hard shots to master and carry quite a lot of risk, so make sure that if you intend to use them, practice the shots in the nets and in training to get a feel for the shot and so you know when to play it; so that when you come to use them you are confident and skilled enough to do so.

When you find yourself needing to purchase a good pair of wicket keeping gloves, you could be overwhelmed by the sheer quantity available to buy. So many different makes and brands to choose from! How is one to know which are the best to choose, and which features are important? Not to worry, choosing a pair of decent gloves need not empty your pockets, and you really only need to consider a few criteria when buying this necessary bit of equipment for your sport.

Fit, of course if very important to get correct and you want to try them on in the store if at all possible. If you can’t do that, maybe because you’re shopping online, then measure your hand from the tip of your middle finger to the bottom of your wrist. If the measurement you come up with is approximately twenty-one centimeters, choose large gloves. If it’s more than twenty-two centimeters, go with extra-large gloves. If your hand is smaller than twenty-one centimeters, try junior cricket size gloves.

Padding for your gloves is important too, and the more the better, however you don’t want to go overboard since that might cost you in terms of how fast your hands can move. You need to be protected from the super-fast balls though, so be prepared to pay extra for a bit more high-quality padding.

Almost all gloves have some finger protection built into the tips nowadays, but double-check to be sure, just as a safety precaution to avoid any unnecessary injuries.

Webbing that stretches from the index finger of the glove to the thumb is nice for when your aim is just a tiny bit off. However, you should check with your league rules for how much is permissible before you buy the gloves.

These four items are just a couple things to think about when shopping, but actually, selecting gloves is really all about your personal preferences and what is comfortable for you. The name-brands like to make a big deal out of specific features and they always have some big new thing that you have to have, so long as your glove has thick padding and excellent finger protection, you’ll be fine. Some players have even played with a starter pair of gloves for years just because that one pair is what felt right to them. The cricket equipment companies would like you to think that their brands have the features which are necessary to have, but that’s just not necessarily true. Always just go with what feels right to you. In regards to cricket equipment, the costliest is not necessarily the best!

Find out more information about how cricket gear at the Cricket Equipment site!