Written for my son, who is twelve
What brings you here today?
Ten ideas, read once, and you have been through a whole game. Or start anywhere from the contents.
What happened out there?
Tap the one that fits. Three or four questions from here to why it keeps happening, whether you got bowled or you cannot put a name to it yet.
“Ninety percent of cricket is above the shoulders, and that means it deserves the same training time as the nets and the gym.”
Nothing gone wrong? Then start at the beginning. Ten ideas, in the order they actually happen to you, from the drive to the ground to the last ball of the day. Read it once and you have been through a whole game.
One innings, start to finish
Five moments, ten ideas. Nothing here is out of order, because the order is the point.
- 1
- 2
Walking out to bat
- StanceAs a general rule, take guard on middle stump. Stand side-on, with your back shoulder facing towards second slip rather than square on to the bowler.
- GripGrip the bat the way you would grip an axe.
- Keep the swing closeWhen you are hitting the ball straight, keep your bat swinging close to your body rather than away from it.
- 3
The first ball
- Read the length firstEvery ball, the first question in your head is the same: is it full or short? Get the length right and everything else about the shot gets easier.
- Full, go to itIf it is full, go to the ball. Get your front foot in line with it, so your head ends up looking straight down over the top of it.
- 4
Once you are in
- Play straight when you canAs a starting rule, play as straight as you possibly can. You are far more likely to actually hit the ball, and far more in control, simply because of the physics of a straight bat meeting a ball travelling straight at you.
- Think runs, not outsThink about scoring runs, never about not getting out. A mind that is looking to score puts your feet in better positions and gets you moving towards the ball, without you trying to.
- 5
When they bat
- Two linesImagine two lines: one running straight out in front of you towards the target, and one running straight up above your head. Your whole action, the arm going back, the arm coming up, the release, stays on those two lines. It is a game of two seconds: from the moment you start your run up to the ball leaving your hand, that action is the only thing you are thinking about. Stay on those two lines and you get the same robot-like consistency every ball: the most accurate, most in control you can be.
- More than catches win matchesCatches win matches, people say. The real separator between a good team and a great one is bigger than that: every single ball is a chance to influence the game, whether it comes to hand or not.
Fifty eight ideas across seven subjects, in as much depth as you want to go. Looking for something else? five ways to search the whole thing: the five questions, by moment, by word, by what keeps going wrong, or by what just happened. The numbers behind the cards, when there are any, sit on one page. The five things to learn before any of it sit on one page too.