Support personnel needed for net practice:–       

    assistant-coaches for specific tasks ( conducting warm-up drills, fielding activities, supervising the correction of motor skills in the bowling machine net, supervision of final game, warm-down etc).

    net organiser or captain (to time each batsman in the practice net, the video-tape net and  the bowling machine net. He also organises the rotation of bowlers in the nets.)

    video camera and replay operator (VTO).

    bowling machine operator(s) (BMO).

    equipment steward (to maintain equipment and lay it out for warm-ups, skill, fitness and agility work and fielding practice).

   Recommended System for the Operation of Net practice.

    Whiteboards should be displayed in the club-house indicating every  player’s record for the season; his performances, practice attendance, financial status. An additional whiteboard and book is kept by the net organiser alongside the nets. He marks the players’ arrivals in the book and on the whiteboard, indicating the time they are scheduled to bat in the nets. The players then bat in the order in which they arrive and the practice captain times their practice. When the players arrive the net organiser or captain advises them of the scheduled warm-up and fielding drills, directing them to the assistant coaches responsible for these preliminary activities and the areas in which they are being carried out. It is also the net captain’s responsibility to keep the player’s dossier for the season up to date.

    Areas of the oval should be designated and marked out for warm-up, speed and agility work, fielding drills, the final game and the warm-down. The coach should notify the groundsman and equipment steward of his requirements for the practice session. The equipment and ground should be prepared before the practice begins.

    Players warm up under the direction of the designated assistant coach. They are then directed to the assistant coach in charge of fitness and agility activities. After 15 minutes of each activity, they  move on to the fielding drills. When called by the net captain they move into the nets at their allotted times for batting, bowling and keeping, returning to fielding after their specialised training.

    The net organiser or captain replicates the match situation as closely as possible in the nets. Early order batsmen bat against the faster bowlers using new or comparatively new balls. Later in their practice knock they are given the opportunity to face spinners. On the cue of the assistant coach in their net, the batsmen are occasionally required to take two runs after playing a stroke and then face up immediately to the next ball. They finish their stint in the net with a sequence of runs with the man who is batting next, running opposite and finally replacing them. Batsmen may warm up before their knock in the designated warm-up area alongside the nets, hitting  balls off batting tees. The same area may be used after the batsmen have ended their knocks to practise running between the wickets.

    Batsmen spend most of their practice knock  (approximately 15 minutes) in the open nets (1-3), facing  bowlers. In one of these nets, the batsman is video-taped for future biomechanical analysis (batsmen should be examined in this way by the coach every month).

    After batting against the bowlers, the batsmen from nets 1-3, keep their protective gear on and spend five minutes in turn, in net four with the bowling machine, correcting the faults diagnosed by their coaches in their net session, in their video-tape analysis or in recent matches.

    The net captain manipulates his bowlers to reproduce a match situation. He bowls them in squads of  three or four bowlers of similar type, each bowler delivering a sequence of 16 deliveries. He then replaces the squad sending the bowlers who have just completed their 16 balls to fielding practice, bringing them back to the net after the second squad have bowled their quota of deliveries. Each bowling squad should complete 10 bowling stints in one practice session. The net captain also arranges with the head coach for the periodic video-taping and biomechanical analysis of bowlers in the video-tape net.

     Wicket-keepers train in a special net or a netted area under the direction of an assistant coach. If there is a net available, advance the batsman’s stumps  2m towards the bowler, permitting the keeper to practise his work close to the stumps with a batsman at the crease. It is not an ideal situation, since the side nets impede his lateral movement to take wide deliveries. Keeping to the faster bowlers is best practised in an open area backed by the practice nets. The keeper can then stand back and move wide without the obstacle of side nets, and the faster bowlers can use their long runs. A batsman may be used in such a practice, provided a good batting surface is provided.

    Practice flexibility is possible under the format outlined above, given that there are enough personnel to oversee each activity. Players may arrive late at practice and leave early. Early leavers would not participate in the final game, and would have to conduct their own warm-down and psychological drills.

Final Game

Activity 13. Diamond Cricket:

       Lay out the equipment and mark the activity area as indicated in the diagram.

       Choose two teams of equal numbers, varying  between eight and 24. Identify the team e.g.with sashes. If the teams are small, the batting side helps the fielding side, and players go into bat from their fielding positions, returning to them when their innings has finished. With larger teams, the batting side waits for its turn to bat in a position outside the playing area.

       The batting team begins with one batsman (B) at each set of stumps.

       The fielding team has four wicket-keepers (W), one at each set of stumps. These may be changed at the end of an over.

       Batsmen may be dismissed bowled, caught and run-out. A batsman may be run-out at any time since the ball is always in play.

       The umpire (U) at the bowling plate (BP) controls the game and his decisions are final.

       To begin play, the first bowler (BO) bowls to the batter on ‘home base.’ (HB)

       The batsmen run around the bases in an anti-clockwise direction. One run is scored each time the  four batsmen arrive safely at the next base. Runs are scored by the team rather than the individual.

If a batsman is dismissed at 1st (1B), 2nd (2B) or 3rd base (3B), the other batsmen move anti-clockwise  to the next vacant base, allowing the new batsman to come in at ‘home base’.

If a batsman fails to score off  four consecutive deliveries and is not out, the bowler (Bo) bowls the next four balls to the batsman on the base on the immediate right.

Each member of the fielding team (F) bowls one over of eight balls, the sequence recommencing when all players in the fielding side have bowled. Bowlers (Bo) are not permitted long runs.

 

   There must be a batsman on each base at all times. When a batsman is dismissed he is immediately replaced by another member of his team at ‘home base’, the other batsmen changing bases to accommodate him. When there are only three batsmen on the four bases the batting side has been dismissed.

   Each team bats for a specific time, e.g. 15 minutes. The side scoring more runs in that time, wins.

 

Warm Down

   Slow jog and walk four times round the oval then stretch for five minutes as detailed in warm-up procedures.

Psychological Drills

Activity 14.  Relaxation.

Arousal is the state of being ‘psyched up’: being excited, a little nervous and anxious. Every cricketer must be aroused to a certain degree if he is to produce his best performance. He cannot be too laid back. His pro-renalin must be flowing. If however, he is too aroused, his physical movements will be affected. Too laid back or too aroused - both conditions are not conducive to a good performance. The ideal state of excitement is called ‘optimum arousal’. To achieve this ideal state, a player must first be relaxed.

Relaxation is a lack of activity and tension. It is characterised by stillness, an absence of the sense of need and can be induced by smiles, deep breathing, and soothing music. Relaxation is beneficial because it reduces nervousness, jumpiness,anxiety and localised tension. It increases the awareness of self and of individual physical and mental resources, facilitating their most effective utilisation. It can teach behavioural change and improve performance. It makes rest easier and promotes sleep. The cricketer’s performance is enhanced by relaxation followed by stimulation to the level of ‘optimum arousal’.

Relax by Centering: i.e turning one’s center of attention inwards and relaxing as in yoga exercises and inducing slow deep breathing and a sense of warm heaviness.

       Firstly stand with the feet apart at shoulder width.

       Relax the neck, arm and shoulder muscles. Smile.

       Focus the attention on the abdominal muscles. Notice when they tighten and relax.

       Take slow deep breaths, using your diaphragm and extending your stomach.

       Maintain the relaxation in the shoulders and chest. There should be no chest movement or shoulder raising.

       Breathe out slowly letting all of the muscles relax and feeling the heaviness.

Focus the attention on the next task.

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