Before the start of the season, I wanted to average 25 for the under 16s, and 20 for the men.
Considering last season's combined averages was 9.5, I was fairly confident of achiving this.
I did I lot of work over the winter and the spring. I had 4 hours of nets per week in January, Feburary and March. 2 hours training with the junior section and 2 hours with the men each week. I combined this with a couple of runs each week. I live out in the country so this is quite easy. This led to a huge techinical and physcial improvement ready for the new season.

Currently, just past halfway in the season, I am averaging:
24 for the under 16s, 197 runs in 8 innings, with 1 not out.
19 for the mens 2s, 194 runs in 10 innings.
1 for the u17s, 2 runs in 2 innings :/
12 for the school team from one innings.

In total, thats 20.25, which I think is pritty good, considering I am playing a lot of mens cricket at a high standard, facing the opening bowlers and the new ball.

Wicketkeeping, I didn't set any real targets apart from not to drop anything.
In my 21 games, I've kept wicket 20 times, conceading 81 byes, taking 6 stumpings and 8 catches - I think I've dropped one and missed out on one stumping.

So all in all, I'd like to think I've made a good start to the season. Still room for improvement. Only made 1 50 so far, wanted 4 before the start of the season. Still time yet.

Went for a run today. Didn't complete anything too strenous.
Did one lap of the biggest lake near me, I think its about one and a half miles. Did this in just over 12 minutes, which is rarther slow for me. Normally do it in 10 and a half. Felt quite a bit of tension in my shoulders and the back on my neck by the end that I don't think helped too much. Unsure why this was.

After my longer run, I normally do some shorter sprints. I sprinted 20m, walked quickly back to my mark and repeated 10 times. Sprints are all done at 100%. All of my times were between 3.5 and 3.7 seconds. Throw that into a match situation with some pads, backing up at the non-strikers end, and sliding my bat through the crease, ans I'd like to think I'm quite sharp between the stumps

Didn't get up to much Thursday and Friday, would normally have an under 16's game Friday night, but with there being 7 teams in the league we ere the side with the week off.

Had a game for the 2nds today, had the top side, so we were up against it.
We were bowled all out for 103 off 35 overs. They knocked off the runs only losing 1 wicket.

I only made 8 opening the batting. Didn't get my eye in properly from the start. Got tempted by a bit of width and chased a few without getting my feet in the right places early on. Pitch was a little slow by our standards, bit of early morning rain. Was caught by the keeper thanks to a top edge while hooking. Was the right shot to play, ball bounced on me a bit and I didn't control the shot well enough.

Keeping was ok, dropped a half chance, a thick edge while standing up to a medium pacer. Just got the tip of my right glove to it. Just the 1 bye.

Didn't play that badly, things wern't quite going for me. A bit of luck tomorrow would be nice

Well, a rare appearance for the sunday team didn't go do well.
Huge toss for us to lose, got put in on a slow, damp, soft track. Ball didn't come onto the bat at all. Found myself in a strange position batting at number 5 and coming in after 18 overs. At the end of the day, I struggled to hit the ball. It would pass outside off stump, with a swing and a miss. Front cover cover drive, back foot cover drive and cut just wouldn't connect. I was caught, again from a top edge for 5. Stupid amount of bounce from a slow medium pacer.
Fielding for a change, had the first team keeper behind the stumps so I had a run around. Did quite well for myself, nothing got past me.

Strange game for the under 17's tonight.
Played one of the top sides, turned up knowing there was a good chance of us getting a good beating.
Kept ok, there was 5 byes, one that went for 4 took off and thought it would go 3 foot higher and 3 foot wider down the legside than expected. Part time fast bowler had a go in the 19th over. Suceeded in being hit for 20 and almost breaking my nose. Full toss down the legside, hits the outfield and pops up while in mid dive. I've done well to avoid a break.
Couldn't middle a thing with the bat. Kept playing my shots and scrambling quick singles to the poor fielders. Made 10, before being bowled, a rash sweep to the spinner, trying to relive the pressure of the run rate. Ended up losing by 3runs, with us needed 4 off the last ball. Nightmare - considering we dropped 2 catches and conceaded 20 extras :/
Caps a disasterous weekend. Need to get my head down and work hard with friday night in mind.

Tuesday night, thought I needed the batting practice at training after the weekend.
Stuck my gloves on a took a few throws for a bit, but the main event was always going to be batting against the ball machine for a bit. We do quite a bit of work against the ball machine at our club at the indoor nets, I find it of great use. Its much more intense than having a few tired part time bowlers jogging in at you, just to throw it down the legside. It always takes a few balls for me to adapt to it as I have a back and across trigger move, which I need to time perfectly as the ball is dropped in.

In all honesty, it wasn't much use. I know what I should be doing and what shots I should be playing, but my feet just don't seem to want to get across quite as far as they should be. Balls full on my pads where the only ones that got dealt with properly. Just getting myself in a huge muddle and playing all around it.

Doesn't help that the machine kept on being tampered with, facing balls anywhere between 45 and 85mph. The pace swing and spin kept being altered, that made it a total lottery.

As least its a few days until my next game, Friday. Before then I plan on going for at least one run, rewatching my Pitchvision front foot batting course and staying positive. Anyone else got some ideas to get my confidance and focus back with the bat ready for the weekend?

Wednesday morning, went for a run.
Did a single lap of the big lake in 11mins 45seconds. Had a 4 minute rest and completed the same distance again, one second slower. Shows the 4 minute recovery time was more than enough for me.
Did a few 20m sprints same as last time. Times arn't altering much now; sticking around the 3.6 second mark.

Going up to the club later and facing the ball machine for a bit. See what shots I can find again ready for friday.

Well, the ball machine failed, the club wasn't quite open and we could see heavy rain in the distance, so we just had a normal net.

Very happy with the way I batted, the timing of my shots is coming back to me a bit. Kept out the good balls, played straight whenever possible, cut and pulled well. Wasn't the longest net in the world, the rain was always going to win in the end.

Lost our last under 16's game tonight.

I won the toss AGAIN. (Only lost one all season) Opted to bowl first. I'm normally all for batting, but the wicket was green and damp. In general our bowling attack isn't the best, with the opposition making 147 off their 20 overs. Kept wicket ok, not the best, 5 byes I think and I took a high catch.

Made a slowish start with the bat, 5 per over while keeping wickets in hand was inviting the rate to increase past 8 quite soon. I was run out for 6, a direct hit from mid midwicket, in a run I should have made, didn't start off fast enough. Good piece of fielding in all fairness. My opening partner went on to make 80 not out. A shame no one could build a serious partnership with him. Fell 14 runs short in the end.

Hopefully make a big mark on the game with the bat for the 2nds tomorrow.

Well, today was alway going to be a tough one.

Playing the side who are 4th in our league (we are one off bottom) away from home. Nice long journey.
Lost the toss, fielded first. Horrible low wicket, with uneven bounce also. Any keeper on here will understand that a nightmare first innings could follow. Did what I could, still around 10 byes - I didn't fancy checking the book for an exact figure. I see anything over 10 as a terrible game for me. A lot of wides down the legside I couldn't take as the ball sat so low. Anyway, they made 304-4dec off 44 overs. If they'd dont their homework, they would see our top score with the bat this season has been 223. So 304 on a bad track was never going to tempt us.

I was solid and stood strong for 13 overs. Left the balls I could - which tempted a lot of sledging regarding batting for draws so early in my innings. Only their captain to blame in all fairness for a stupidly late decaration. Defended the balls I needed to, pulled a couple of stupidly short balls that sat there, and drove the half volleys, which always seemed to find mid off or cover. Made 15 before nicking behind. Just short of a length, should have been a little bit more footwork back and across I think. We were bowled out for 144 off 40overs.

Won't post tomorrow, in London for a christening for the day, nice 2 hour drive. U17's game monday night. My last but one t20 of the year.

That was the highest suscessful run chase I've ever been part of.

u17's t20, our skipper won the toss and we bowled first. We're a strong bowling side, and our batsman keep our nerve under pressure. We got hit for 144 in the end, not good. Our wicket is the best in the league, but 120 would have been reasonable. Keeping was ok considering there was 9 byes. Ball decided to start swinging late in the innings while I was standing up.

Got myself a new opening partner. Lad a year older than me whos been out of the game for a couple of years has come back. Pleasure to bat with. Nice guy, we have a laugh at slip, and our running between the wickets was top draw tonight. We made a 56 partnership off 8.2 overs, with me falling after 8.4. Bowled playing across the line on the front foot. Cleared the front leg to play over midwicket. Wasn't to stupid, had 10 wickets in hand with just over 11 overs to go so we were still in good shape. A nice 28, with 5 boundaries.

Won with 7 balls to spare, and 8 wickets in hand. Great effort.

as you're an opener, there must be times you feel you're batting quite slowly and need to push the tempo up a bit, how do you do that, whats your concentration like and do you pre meditate or still treat balls on their merit?

Thanks for posting vishccc

In mens cricket I don't think I've ever felt under pressure to up the tempo of the innings. There is always bad balls around the corner to be hit. I know that my role in the side is to make it until at least the drinks break at 25 overs, and if I'm only on 30 runs (like I havew been once this season) at that point if the bowling is tight and the wicket is difficult to score on then I know that is what the captain will be happy. Most of our mens team like to hit the ball hard, so its useful for me to be holding up the other end and running well between the wickets. I would like to think that my concentration is good for the level I'm currently playing.

Opening in t20 cricket does lead to me putting my arms through the ball a bit more. Not letting yourself get under pressure in the first place. Make every single between the wickets count. If you're chasing a tough score and the bowling is tight, just doing the best you can to start with by making sure the bad ball is put away, and good balls are worked into singles. That way a huge change in tempo isn't needed.

If a push is required, batting further out of my crease is something I do. I like to drive down the ground, so coming down the wicket or batting out my crease helps to get on top of the ball. Length balls become driveable. Scrambling singles to mid on and mid off is something I do. Just making sure that dot balls are minamized, I se rotating the strike early on as key. Unless you're playing at a really high level, theres going to be a ball on your pads or a short ball that can be put to the boundary.

I don't like to pre meditate, I think its a bit crazy. I like to treat balls on merit when I can, but if you need 80 from the last 12 overs in a t20 and you're 30* a forward defensive isn't going to do it. If you can stand up striaghter to drive the ball or drop it at your feet to make a single off the good balls then I see that as the best way.

Plenty of reading there hope that helps.
What does everyone else think? Any other tactics to increase the run rate when under pressure? Could apply to anyone really, not just openers.

Anyone that says you don't have to be fit to keep wicket and open the batting; they lie.

Won toss and bowled first. Damp wicket, touch of grass, bit of cloud. Nice day for the openers to bowl well and the keeper to take a few edges? We had them at 90-4 off 20overs. Sun came out, wicket got flatter and we gave them 310-7dec off 44. Poor bowling in the end. I got myself 3 catches, and whipped off the bails for a run out. 2 byes, and they were a couple down leg while standing up, wides in t20 cricket. SO very happy with my own performance behind the stumps. Apart from improving on my legside takes, there wasn't anything extra I could have done.

Batting wise, we were always looking at batting to save the game. I lost my opening partner after 10 overs, he was struggling with a thigh strain so fair play to him for knucking down. Had a mix up with my number 3. Ball flicked just behind square and I called for a single in which he wasn't interested in. At the end of the day, he's not a number 3 and has never played t20 cricket, but if both batsmen commit then there was a run. Nearly left me stranded. A direct hit would have got me.

Got to drinks 70-3. I could have been taken just before. Got a faint nick from a cut shot (not my strongest area) thankfully, the keeper couldn't hang onto it. I was running out of partners quite quickly. Found myself batting with the number 10 in the 40th over, thought I should try pinch the strike and open up at this point, try push us to the next batting point. We were bowled out for 144.

I batted for 40.2 overs, in an attempt to save the game.

I was bowled for 49.

Totally gutted.

Keeping and opening the batting is hard work.

Bowled first, they were 90-4 off 20overs, before going on to make 310-7dec off 44 overs. Poor bowling in the middle overs. Took 3 catches, and whipped off the bails for a run out. Only 2 byes, and they were down the legside while stadning up. So I thought I did an almost perfect job, catches really stuck to the gloves, hands were always in the right place.

Opened the batting. Got stuck into a decent batting wicket. Batting to save the game. I lost partners at regular intervals. I found myself with the number 10 in the 40th over. Thought I should pinch the strike and open my shoulders a bit at that point to push on toward some batting points. We were all out for 148.

I batted 40.2 overs

for 49 runs.

Gutted.

Long time no speak.
I think I went on holiday at that point in the summer and my laptop my playing up a bit after that. Not good.
Will start posting regarding training again soon. I'm hoping this snow in the midlands will go soon, can go running without ending up on my backside. Will bite the bullet soon, promise.

Anyone who is reading and is currently doing some form of training or planning on, post below what you're up to and if you think its working well.

Pre season nets start 4 weeks today. I think the hard work should start here...

Evening all, hope we had a nice Christmas.

Been itching to get out and go for a run, but the snow and ice has put me off. Breaking my neck at this point in time wouldn't be good. Snow started to melt today, hoping to be out by the end of the week.
In the meantime, I've been keeping my legs spinning on the cross-trainer we have a home. Been on it for 30-45 minutes most days this last week. Been lifting my dumbbells and doing a few press ups. Just keeping myself in a fair shape for when I can get outside.

Anyone out there up to much training? How about you David?

I've been hiring a sports hall and getting my two lads (9 & 12 year olds) and a bunch of their mates in playing kwik cricket and indoor cricket type games. Helps a bit but generally feeling really lethargic. The one thing I do all the time is flick the ball from hand to hand indoors (Being a wrist spinner) which drives the wife nuts. Running I don't really do as it's not cricket specific, I'll start that around end of Feb and I do a thing where I power walk for a minute or so sprint for 15 seconds and do that over a period of 20 minutes. But rotational press ups, planks and work outs with a stretch band thing round the back of the head for the rotator cuff and pull ups will start after Jan 1st giving me an easing in period leading up to nets which start towards the end of Jan.

Yes I've been training hard putting a lot of weight on my squat. Up to 105kg back squat now which will not break any records but is decent enough. Moving to single leg work next week. Dave is doing some good injury prevention training I notice. I'm not a fan of running. It's rubbish except if you are a runner, so I do my intervals on the treadmill (not perfect but it does the job in the cold) and lift up heavy stuff.

Agree with the running comments guys, I'm far from training for a marathon. Got a 2 mile lake that I cover at the minute, just raises my overall fitness. The next step is to get some sprints and interval running involved over the next week. My first net is Monday the 10th, so just want to be sharp and strong for that, then build on that and increase the intensity with time. Quite a a while until the start of the season as it is.
I don't have access to a gym, I'm a bit out of the way to be travelling 2/3 times a week. I've got 10kg dumbbells, but working with them on 8 kg at the moment.
I like the power walking and sprinting Dave. I have a drill where I mark a 20metre track, sprint it, take another 10metres to pull up and come to a stop, jog lightly back to my mark and complete again.

I'm not sure what "overall fitness" is, but if it works for you, keep doing it. That's my rule.

What I mean by overall is having a high level of physical fitness that could be adapted to everyday activity, before going too cricket specific now, months before the start of the season. There's no point having the explosive power to hit big 6's, if you're not fit enough to last the first innings in the field first of all - I'm a very energetic keeper. Like the wicketkeeping course by the way. Lots of drills in there.

I do think a lot of thus stuff is mental though. In a match situation, if you feel as if you're the fittest out in the middle, and feel good about your preparation, then you should score more runs.

Dumbbell routine - all can be found here - http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/dumbbellexercises.html

Hammer curls,
French presses,
Flat chest presses,
Concentration curls, (All 10 reps, dumbbells at 5.5kg)
Reverse flies,
Half squats,
Front raises,
Seated shoulder presses,
lunges,
Lateral raises.

All exercises completed one after the other, with minimal rest between. Dumbbells can be made as heavy as 10kg, but with my first competitive game of the season 5 months away, there's no grand rush to get to 10kg as quickly as possible. Front this I'm hoping to strengthen my upper and lower body, therefore improving my bat speed and shot power. Expecting the lunge exercise to improve the control of my sweep shot, and the half squats to aid my wicketkeeping.
After completing this for the first time I feel pretty good. Over the weeks can slowly increase the weight, and increase reps to 12. Unsure to how often this should be done though. Its only a 5/10 minute set, so I'm thinking it could be done every morning.

Nets are starting soon for me, an hour and a half Monday evenings, and an hour and a half Sunday mornings, but hoping to get down there early on the Sundays to see if anyone wants to drop a few extra balls in the machine at me.

Planning on starting some interval running this week. Fridays and Tuesdays work best for me. Going to look at a longer distance and shorter rest to start with (general work capacity), and slowly make it more cricket specific.

Along with a bit of mental rehearsal and keeping my log up to date, I think this covers most bases to get my ready for the season. I'll adapt my training to what I find needs most work, but I see that as a good plan for this month.

What do you guys think?

Well, I'm not very impressed truth be told.

But let me start with a positive: It's a full body circuit which is a good way to develop strength and endurance, so you get a lot of bang for your buck.

However, I'm less impressed by the choice of exercises. Lets break it down:

• Bicep isolation exercises: 2
• Tricep isolation exercises:1
• Shoulder isolation exercises: 3
• Upper body horizontal pushing exercises: 1
• Upper body vertical pushing exercises: 1
• Upper body vertical pulling exercises: 0
• Knee dominant exercises: 2
• Hip dominant exercises: 0
• Core exercises: 0
• Mobility exercises: 1 (being generous and counting lunges)
• Power exercises: 0

The ideal would have at least a 1 in every category except the isolation exercises.

So you can see instantly that there is a massive top heavy emphasis on isolation work, especially round the shoulders. Here are my thoughts on isolation training (it's not very good).

More worryingly there is a total lack of upper or lower body pulling exercises. The 'posterior chain' is crucial to cricket for performance and injury prevention, but there is virtually nothing. You could argue about lunges I suppose but even counting them (debatable) there is way too much pushing and not enough pulling.

And there is nothing for the core. mobility or power development. Which is frankly bizzare.

Also, a knee dominant exercise is a half squat. Why anyone in their right mind would consider a half squat with dumbbells a good exercise is beyond me. It's building strength on dysfunction, which is a recipe for injury.

I'd be very suprised if whoever wrote this programme actually used it on real people.

My advice would be drop the isolation exercises (Hammer curls, French presses, Concentration curls, Reverse flies, Front raises, Lateral raises) and half squats. Add in some of the movements you are missing to replace them and get some mobility work in there.

If you need some suggestions for exercises let me know, I have a tonne that can be done just with dumbbells or bodyweight.

Thanks for the feedback David.
My instant thoughts to the upper body vertical pulling and power would be pull ups and clap press ups. Possible inclusion?

Injury is the last think I want, so I'll scrap the half squat right now.

Any exercises with dumbbells or bodyweight would be super.

Do you think a set of this intensity is fair to be completing each day, along with 2 interval runs?

Thanks David

*2 interval runs per week*

Evening,

Had to ditch the interval run today, got exams over the next couple of weeks, and had to stay at 6th form past 5.
Got lots of time on my hands this weekend though, with my first net Monday night.

Had a brainwave last night. I've just downloaded the bleep test for my ipod. I see this as ideal motivation for me, and is a fitness test that is easily measurable. I've got a mate who plays for England u16's and after speaking to him, he does similar running activities to this, in which the intensity of the run is increased. He's training with 2/3 day cricket in mind as he is off to South Africa in a few weeks time, so its useful work capacity related stuff.

Dumbbell / bodyweight work still under revision. Hoping to have that nailed by the end of next week. Will post how the bleep goes and will look forward to picking up my bat Monday night.

Hi Jack, I tried to write a long reply twice but got bogged down with details so instead I'll post a suggested workout. Consider it something to work from rather than gospel or set in stone.  

3-4 times per week (one days rest between workouts minimum). perform the exercises with the rest detailed.

Warm up (10 reps each or each leg, no rest between exercises)

• Cook Hip Lift
• 1 leg SLDL (no weight)
• Spiderman
• Leg Swings
• Lunge Matrix (no weight)
• Goblet squat
• t-spine rotations

Power:

• Clap press up/single arm snatch (alternate between workouts). 3 sets of 5-10 reps, 1 minute rest.

Circuit (8-10 reps per exercise, no rest between exercises, 1 minute rest between circuits, 2-3 times):

• Split squat
• Chin up (as many as you can)
• 1 Leg SLDL
• Plank row
• Press up
• Goblet squat with pulse
• Shoulder press

You could do the warm up every day if you wanted.

Thanks for the workout info David, you're a cricket coaching hero.

I'm really not as fit as I thought I was. My best in a bleep test, just over a year ago was 13.3. I managed level 8. There is a lot more work to be done than I first thought.

I've thought hard, and there is a few reasons for this:

Now I'm at 6th form, I've got less spare time on my hands, and even though I'm studying A Level PE, we only have 1 practical lesson per fortnight, compared to last years 6. So there is 2 hours lost a week.

This time last year I was in the middle of a football season. As an article somewhere on PitchVision says, an ideal way of keeping yourself fit is a winter sport, and I can back this one up heavily. There's more hours lost per week.

My diet overall is fair - but the days leading into that bleep test it was rather poor.

I'm hoping for some sharp improvements on that. Just got to make sure I don't push myself too hard too soon. Plenty of time until the season.

First net of the season last night.
All was pretty fair. I batted in the first team net - a promotion to opening the batting for the first team is rumoured at the moment, I think I'm a bit of a fringe player between 1s and 2s. I batted poorly, but who bats well first week back? My back and across trigger takes a couple of weeks to settle in the winter again. Just need to be in a better position. I was a bit quick to go onto the back foot, I was expecting a bit more bounce than what there was, I just wasn't adapting to it. Hit a few nice drives back at the quick bowlers though.

My glovework felt good. Kept in the second team net - standing up to the first team quicks first week back would have hurt. Just needed to keep a little lower for longer at times, just the lack of bounce again.

Turned my arm over a bit for the last 15 minutes. My left side has been reminding me of it all day...

With exams, aches and pains and so on, I haven't done much physical work over the last week. Will work hard at the weekend.

Anyone else started pre-season nets yet?

"Anyone else started pre-season nets yet?"

Haha, nets already, that is some serious stuff. I'm a lower level club cricketer in NZ so a bit of an eye opener there.

If you see some of the nets here Stephen you would not say it's very serious! 

Good to be back though Jack eh? Ours start in February.

It's not that serious. We're a division 2 club in the Warwickshire league, with no paid pros or anything fancy. We just want to hit some cricket balls again! The kind of weather outside is enough to drive you back to cricket.

Great to be back, just got to get my head down now.

Picked up the man flu. Going to leave the training for this week now, recover properly, net at the weekend, and put some of these exercises to good use next week

You guys sound like grim faced professionals when WE start netting three weeks (officially anyway) before our first game in October

I don't know about grim faced, being a pro looks like quite a lot of fun to me.

It's a/the county cricket stereotype I hear. Anyway that's the end of my sidetracking of Jack's log.

We started our preseason nets in November! Not because we're super serious, but because nets are fun. It seems strange to me that cricketers would consider practicing their chosen hobby to be hard work. I would play cricket 365 days of the year if I could.

I like that AB. Its out of enjoyment being the main motive.

First junior net of the new year this morning.

Got there early and did a bit of coaching today, worked with a 13 year old wicketkeeper and a couple of batsmen on the ball machine. With is being the first week back, I feel raising everyone's confidence is the main objective, so they have something to build on. After 20 minutes in there, the keeper was happy standing up to the stumps taking balls clean up to 53mph, so I think we've really achieved something there.

My session was pretty smooth. Had my gloves on just taking some throwdowns and getting my feet moving again to start with. Had a much better bat than last Monday. Applied myself well in the net against the bowlers, didn't give my wicket away. Faced 4 rounds against the machine. Didn't miss out on anything at 60mph. (even with it being first week back I shouldn't at 60) Played a few nice back foot drives that were just back of a length. As soon as it was taken up to 65 on a good length things got rough. Tried to carry on playing off the back foot - which is bad news for me being 6"0. I played and missed a few times and nicked a couple. Wasn't a total shambles, but 65mph wasn't rushing me this time last year.

I'll post how I get on tomorrow night

Monday night, men's net.

Was in the 2nd team net tonight, and felt good. Batted very well, any width outside off stump was put away. Lots of practice to my cut shot. Only gave my wicket away once, hit on the back leg at the death. The kind of lbw that you're halfway back without the umpire moving.
Turned my arm over, but didn't do much with the ball, as you'd expect from a wicketkeeper!
Kept quite nicely. Was standing up to some greater pace this week - the 2s opening bowlers showing their faces. They're the kind of pace in which I stand 8/9 paces back to normally, but stand up if the batsman is walking down the track or trying anything funny. Legside takes while standing up to that pace need work.

Overall, very happy the way things have started

Are you doing any keeping drills?

Yes, our coach for the junior section does a little bit of work with me as part of the warm up.
(The guys is a hero, old west Indian guy, level 2 coach, ex keeper, faced Mularithan years ago - and told him he was bowling too fast to be a spinner!)

Plenty of praticing legside takes, footwork drills, and getting the ball back to the stumps. Got some diving work on crashmats lined up for a few weeks time.

No training for me yesterday - I've been on my level 1 goalkeeping coaching course (I coach football for an under 9's team) so training yesterday morning had to give way.

Men's nets later, been told in the week I'm with the first team for a few weeks - sounds as if there is a few fans of my batting out there.

Monday night was pretty poor for me.

First to bat in the 1s net. Was clean bowled twice. Beaten for pace once, and trying to drive a yorker. Not good at all. Balls wide outside off stump we're being put away very often - footwork wasn't sharp enough. Keeping was average.
Net to forget. Not to worry, it's January after all.

Indoors can be tricky too - fast surface, lighting not perfect. If the bowling is a little bit quicker than you have been facing it might take a session or two to get into the swing of it.

In reply to your comment David, the surface we use is pretty strange. The ball generally keeps low, but carries more its pace and skips through. Its a strange one for us as we have the fastest track in the league.

Tonight's net went very well. Keeping was very good. Took a legside catch to a medium pacer up to the stumps that was fairly impressive. Need to work on my legside takes to the guys that are getting it through 65mph+. Wasn't staying low enough in my stance.
Batted pretty well also. Went my net without getting out. Had a couple of back foot defensives to the quicks where I was late on the shot, bumped into the floor and bounced over my stumps. No nicks or balls in the air. Cutting better, but that was against the 2nd team bowlers. Feet are moving a bit better.

Got my gym induction tomorrow afternoon. I feel some high intensity, short burst work on the treadmill and rowing machine would help my fitness for the new season quite a way, along with squatting and benching some heavy stuff.

What do we think?

Sounds good, don't forget the 'pulling' exercises are equally, if not more, important. Chin ups, rows, deadlifts should all be high priority.

Cheers David

Induction is now Thursday, instructor was off ill today.

Listen carefully to the instructor. There are some brilliant ones and awful ones (it's almost totally unregulated). If you need a second opinion on anything you are told, report it here!

Hi guys,

Gym induction was Thursday, went well. Haven't got much to feed back really David. She was alright, just basic technique while using the equipment. With me training for cricket, she encouraged interval work on running machine, rowing machine, cross trainers and bikes - but we on here know the running machine would get the best results, but a bit of variation wouldn't hurt.
Various strength related machines. As discussed on pitchvision, machines aren't the best, so i'll stick to them in moderation. Focus on adding weight to my bench press, and go for a heavy weight and low reps.

Net session this morning.

Had a little bowl to start with. I'm really getting the ball through at a fair pace now for a keeper. A bit of practice on my bowling isn't going to help my cricket in the long term, but what it will help with is my a-level PE assessment...

Batted pretty well. Had a very long bat, must have pushed half an hour, so pretty tiring in the end. Anything full of a length was driven well. I'm good at driving straight length balls down the ground by standing up straighter. I tried to do this outside off stump a couple of times and it just wasn't happening. Short balls got the full treatment.

Feel as if I'm missing out a little on the legside. Balls outside leg stump I find sometimes I'm not putting away for 4 as I should be. I think I might be closing the face of my bat a little soon. So will check that one out.

Sounds like a typical induction and not that relevant. I suspect she gives the same advice to everyone no matter what their goals: use the machines and do some cardio.

But maybe I'm wrong!

Pretty much. I did mention cricket as soon as I walked in, and she mentioned interval training, but thats year 9 PE. She didn't really have much background knowledge of the sport at the end of the day.

Mens nets tonight.

Kept in the back of the 2nd team net reasonably well. Footwork down the legside needs to be a bit sharper, but thats something every keeper in the world is constantly working to improve.

Batted in the first team net. Again, reasonable. Anything short was taken apart. Front foot is letting me down a little.

Gym session tomorrow in my free period.
The hard work starts here.

Leg side is always a tricky job. It's difficult to practice as well.

Leg side isn't a problem to me standing back, got much longer to cover the distance, if a controlled dive is needed to a wide one then so be it.

Standing up to guys that are bowling 65-70mph is tougher. Best practices for me is intensive stuff against the ball machine. Machine set for balls down the leg side and whatever speed than can be increase as you go, and get moving. You've got a ball coming down every 5 seconds, so its not doing your fitness any harm ether. Each time making sure I'm on my toes, balanced, and able to get my right hand back to the stumps.

To make it a bit harder, you can put a batsman in there, with him playing and missing, or leaving balls, and just being a pain really. The speed can be increased, could move the machine so it's going over the wicket, or could make the balls shorter or fuller.

Yes I agree the machine is a handy tool. So is the sidearm with some practice.

Do you find the ball skids on and hits the gloves a lot harder on the indoor surfaces?

Is it really good to use a bowling machine for keeping practice? Don't the balls hurt the hands unduly or are you using a different machine (ground fielding machine)?

The balls are less forgiving than cricket balls on the hands, that is a down-side. But not so awful that you can't use it at all. It's a handy way to get accurate leg side feeds at decent pace.

Fair enough, I just know that when we've used bowling machine balls in the past some of the keepers have complained. There is the option of using the light weight 3oz balls although you do have to lower the machine in order to take away some of the extra bounce.

As you say above, the sidearm is excellent for keeper practice.

Tell them to man up. I dunno they are bringing the good name of the 'keeper's guild into disrepute.

I'll have a word next time! If they moan I'll ask them to hand in their badges and join the off spinners union!

David - I don't tend to notice much of a difference - indoors to me is like keeping on a low wicket. This might be because the seam bowlers are coming off a shorter run indoors.

I don't have a problem with the balls from the machine being a problem on my hands.

Had two gym sessions this week just passed. No training this morning as the school we use needed the sports hall. Men's nets again tomorrow night. Hoping that all the first teamers don't all appear at once so I can go in their net.

Possible interval running Tuesday or Wednesday this week, and ether a gym session or another interval run Friday morning. Might get a bleep test done in there somewhere this week. Could then do another in a months time to see to what degree my fitness is improving.

Mens net last night.
With it being valentines day numbers were a down quite a way - 10 people, 5 in each net. This led to me bowling for the majority of the evening and the keeping gloves staying in the bag.

Batted nicely. I feel as if I've adapted the the pace of the first teamers. Still plenty to be done. I think having balls being fired in at me at 70-75 mph is going to help me a lot this season. The likelyhood is that I'll be doing the same role as last season - opening for the 2s and keeping wicket. So batting against extra pace should make things easier some the first game of the season. I don't see a 2nd team bowler being able to bowl a bouncer at me and get away with it. Is there any such thing is technical overload?

Struggling for time this week. I'm now working tomorrow so no gym work.

Hi guys,

Sorry its been a week. Been run off my feet.

Juniors nets yesterday morning. It wasn't that impressive, did the best I could with it. Wasn't many of the older lads there. The 2 half decent seam bowlers my age were padded up at the same time along with me, so I was facing some filth. Did the best I could with it by turning it into a little practice with me trying to pick balls early in which to come down the track to - something I very rarely do.

Hoping for a good net later with the men.

Very poor turnout last night.
Can't understand how we can have 18 one week then 7 the next. Crazy.
Had a lengthy day working, and everything was pretty average really. Continued to come down the wicket given the chance.

Planning on getting in the gym tomorrow after work.

Mens net last night.

Had about 14 down in our 2 nets, I kept in the 2nds net and batted in the first team net for the last 15 minutes.

Everything went very well. Feeling great. Even bowled well. I'm light on my toes behind the stumps, hands are sharp.

Felt in good touch with the bat, the first team spinners were surprised with me using my feet to come down the track. I did nick a couple - tried to cover drive a couple on the front foot - and my front leg was in a position where I would off drive from, so the gap between bat and pad needs to be closed a little there.

Gym tomorrow morning and Friday afternoon.
PE cricket assessment Thursday lunchtime, so plenty going on for me.

Anyone else doing much pre-season work now?

Sorry for the lack of posting recently.

Netting is going well. I feel as if I'm in a good position to score runs this season with about 7 weeks to go. Itching to get back out in the middle for a couple of friendlies next month. Only so much netting I can take!

Wicketkeeping is a bit of a focus for me at the moment. I was standing up to the ball machine at 63mph last weekend, taking 75% of the balls cleanly. Leg side takes are on the improvement. I feel as if I'm taking this machine work into the next session well.

Physically, i'm feeling pretty good also, but theres still plenty to do. Technically, I'm almost ready for the new season, physically, I'm slightly further behind. In the gym 2/3 times per week around my A-Levels. My 1 rep max on the bench press is now 75kg. Taking 75% of this weight and producing rapid contractions to improve explosive strength. Using 3 sets of 10 reps. Been doing some interval work on the rowing machine and interval running also.

Disadvantage with the running machine is that you can't work at 100%, sprints can't be done. This is the next step, to make use of this extra work capacity, and get some sprints done outside. Interval running over a short distance.

Training Monday night was pretty average.

Gym session today, fully gassed after it. Was planning on another session tomorrow, but I think we can safely call that a recovery day now. Feeling strong and sharp though.

we've got 2 more nets until we finish indoors. I assume we'll have a couple of weeks off and get outside mid/ late April.

7 and a half weeks until my first game of the season.
5 and a half until possible friendly matches.

All is good.

Sounds like it's going well Jack. Have you set any goals for the season?

Hi guys,
I was forced into taking a couple of weeks off due to work and illness.
First net for a little while Saturday night and it pulled off pretty well.

Just over 4 weeks to the start of the season for me, so intend on counting it down in the gym come Monday, when I'm fully recovered - got a busy week ahead with exams around the corner. We start training outside at my club as of Monday evening.

Targets/goals for the season. Good point David.

Fitness wise, pretty general in just to be stronger than last season. I was pretty sharp come the first game last year, so to top that would be good.

Wicketkeeping - less byes that last year. Have it worked out to be 4 per 50over game on average, that I feel is pretty poor. Want to take all my chances, think I put 3 catches down last year, and missed out on 2 stumpings.

Batting - last year I averaged 19 opening the batting, so I want to push that past 25. My top score in mens cricket was 49, juniors 72*, so I think 3 50's on a Saturday this year is realistic. The biggest goal of mine is to score my first century. I think this is possible for me playing 2nd team cricket, and would most likely see me earn a few innings in the first team top order.

OK great start. What 'controllable' things are you going to do to help meet those goals?

Contributing factors that are going to get me there:

Fitness wise, I've got to find the hours over the next month to be at my best at the start of the season. I've got work and exams, so this is going to be a difficult one. I've just got to manage my time wisely.

Wicketkeeping, in order to hit those targets, I've got to be fit. Work capacity has to be high so I can take the 300th ball of the innings as well as the first. With training in mind Monday, I'll be making sure my glovework is sharp, rather than work solely on my batting and tread water with my wicketkeeping this season.

Batting, again, fitness. Hard work in the nets over the next few weeks, and spending as much time as possible against the machine.

Apart from hard work physically and technically over the next 4 weeks, there are other things I can control:
Amount of sleep the night before a game.
Mental rehearsal the night before.
Correct diet.
On the morning of games making sure kit is prepared.
Getting to games early, even more so home matches.

Thats what I intend to do off the top of my head, anyone else is welcome to add to this list. I hate keeping wicket while tired, just as much as I hate turning up for games 20 minutes before the start.

Have ou got any targets yourself David?

Good goals but they need to be measurable targets too. How are you going to measure those things?

My goals are a little more vague this year. I'm not sure of my role yet (it's dependent on what happens to the 1st XI wicketkeeper) so I'm staying general at the moment:

* Gym 3 times a week
* Training 2-3 times a week
* 40-60 minutes a week of keeping drills

I'll add more when I know what I'm doing all season.

I'm 99% sure I'll be the 2nd team keeper and opening bat this season, although the 1st team were keeping there eye on me this winter, so they might come knocking if things start going pear shaped at the top for them. Must be an akaward position to be in.

I can only really start measuring them as soon as I get out onto the pitch and in how I perform. Fitness wise I can conduct tests, but technically I've just got to see how things pan out. We always try and get a friendly in the weekend before the start of the season, so thats 3 weeks on Saturday for me, and I'll see how I feel from there.

i know what you mean about turning up to matches with only 10 minutes before its due to start. Hate it so much!

I'm the kind of person that likes a good look at the track, get changed in no hurry, have a full warm up and know what set of pads I need on. Turning up late at a ground because of traffic or something to be told you're facing the first ball in 5 minutes is bad.

yeah, even if its just to chill for 40 minutes and relax, sometimes for away games i just get dropped off instead of getting a lift from one of the team and usually get lost haha. last year got to a ground, toss already done, openers nearly padded to be told im batting 3 and had to rush. When's your first game? do you plan on playing during your exams?

Sorry Vishccc, really been struggling for time. Getting to the ground early is a must, agreed.

My first league game is Saturday 7th May. There was a chance of a friendly this weekend, but looks doubtful now. Will have next week.

Yes, I'm doing my AS exams this year - I'm a year 12. Due to exam work, my fitness was much higher last year before my GCSE's. This year I've been struggling for time.

First training session outside Monday. Waited a long time for it.

All fielding work based. Ground fielding, backing up, throwing at single stumps and catching were all tested, after a winter and early spring of netting.

Felt good to have some throws hitting my gloves.

Morning!
Well, first game today providing the rain holds off.

I'm under prepared in all fairness, but in the last few weeks I've had to put my exams first, with earning a close second. I'll do all I can and let you guys know.

How did you go on Jack?

Well, we didn't expect a game. Here near Tamworth in the Midlands we had heavy rain all morning. I was driving up to collect my new shirt for the season and come home.

The rain stopped as soon as we got to the ground just over an hour before play. Hot sun came our and we got rid of the covers sharp. A delayed start led to a 44 over match.

We won the toss and bowled, and a good toss to win too. After 10 overs, we had them 28-2, which became 55-4 at drinks. The rate was always slowly increasing, and with one strong partnership they worked their way up to 194-9. I kept well, 3 byes with just the single catch. Had a half chance when standing up. First ball from our spinner turned hard, caught the edge, found my shoulder, and managed to go over first slip.

I didn't look good out in the middle. Didn't feel in good touch. Was dropped on 5. Was one of those days where nothing wanted to ping out of the middle. Soon understood that I wasn't going to be the one to hit the match winning innings, so went for rotating the strike and holding up an end. We had a top start and were 76-1 off 15. Wickets fell, including mine, LBW for 26. Hit on the foot infront of leg to a medium pacers quicker ball. All 4 results possible.

We needed 5 from the last over, 8 wickets down. Last ball, 192-9 now. Out number 11 flicked the ball off his pads. A misfield gave us a second run. First tied match I'd ever played in. Not bad considering we lost heavily to them home and away last season.

This year, all scorecards have to be put on PlayCricket. Will leave it with you guys each week. Only mistake is that I bat number 1, not two. (My last name is Chapman).

http://warcl.play-cricket.com/scoreboard/scorecard.asp?id=11203027

Training tonight. Plenty of fielding work. Lots of throws taken on the outfield. Tidying up balls being thrown at a single stump, and a bit of keeping to the seam bowlers on the square.

Did a bit of work with some throwdowns. My main problem Saturday was my front foot movement outside off stump. My banker shot is the front foot drive through wide mid off. I scored 1 run in that area Saturday. Just focused in getting into the correct position.

Will post how I get on next weekend. Back to revision.

Evening.

We lost by 10 wickets today. Played a side who have just been relegated into our league. We got put into bat first, and they're opening bowlers were swinging the ball well. We were reduced to 40-4 with me making 8 after 17 overs. a 48 from out captain meant a modest 153 all out was made.

We didn't bowl badly. We had a plum lbw turned down, I took a feathered nick while standing up not given, and we dropped 2 good chances. With an extra 30 or 40 runs on the board and a bit of luck we would have been in with a shout.

I struggled early on against the swinging ball. One is swinging a foot away, next is the straight one. Wasn't my day with the bat. Did keep well, kept the team motivated in the field. Not a bad effort from the new vice captain, just need some runs now.

t20 cup game tonight.

Won off the last ball, after being set 148 to win.

Kept wicket, despite having the first team keeper as out captain. 2 catches and a single bye. A decision that won us the game.

I made 14 off 12 balls from number 5. Thats pretty rapid for me. I was caught on the boundary at deep square leg. 14 without a boundary. Running between the wickets was impressive. This left us needing 8 off 7 balls. Huge six hit off the last ball with 1 required.

And our captain, he took 3-13 off 3 overs. Not bad for a keeper.

Home game for the 2nds tomorrow.

Sounds like a good workout Jack. How are you keeping?

Lost by 5 wickets today.

We got inserted and batted poorly. I was bowled for 5, and were 15-3. 90 partnership got us back in the game, but we had another mini collapse and were 144 all out.

We had them 40-3 at tea, but didn't quite have the rub of the green from there on in. Had a nick while standing up that was just a bit wide, couple of run out chances where direct hits would have done the job.
There was also the cheating factor I'm afraid. 2 lbw appeals in consecutive balls, both turned down. I was standing up the the stumps - both stone wall plub for me.

Then had a stumping turned down when the kid was 3 inches outside of his crease for at least 2 or 3 seconds. Wasn't even in with his foot down. I didn't make too much of a fuss, could have had a go at that point. Pathetic umpiring.

Then we shelled a catch next over. Just needed the rub of the green today and it wasn't happening for us.

Keeping - overall has felt good so far this season. A nice benchmark. Too many byes today though. There were pretty kind on the wide calls, and the pitch not behaving as it normally does. Spending a lot of time up to the stumps this season for the second team. The bowling just seems to be getting slower each year.

Saturday was a big game, two well matched sides.

We won the toss and batted. Fair track with a fast outfield. We had a strong line up, with no one missing from the first XI.

For the 3rd week in a row, our top order failed. We found ourselves 38-3 after ten overs, me just stopping the wickets falling from both ends. I was bowled for 21 just before the drinks break, were were were now 100-6. Our lower middle order then chipped in with a couple of 20's, and we were 160-9. Our last wicket partnership saved the innings. 31no from out number 10 and 26 from our number 11 meant we were bowled out for 225 off 47 overs. Too many batsmen have the attitude that if they score 20/30 then they've done their bit. No one made a big score against a poor bowling attack.

We made a good start in the field. They were 30-3, with two catches behind the stumps for me. They were always in a similar position to us, 100-6. We then went on to put 3 catches down, and a stonewall LBW turned down. They them found themselves 220-9, before their number 11 got them over the line. One of our opening bowlers must have gave away 15 no balls, our spinner 15 ful tosses that were smashed for 15 boundaries over cow corner. Not a happy keeper and vice captain.

Meant to have a game today. Should be my first ever game captaining a mens 50 over side. Its been raining heavily all night and all morning, and still is.

And I've just got a call from our groundsman saying its off.

Played away today against one of the strong sides in the league.

We lost the toss and got put into bat. Another rubbish performance with our top order left us 60-5 off 20 overs, with me sitting tight on 25n.o. A ton partnership was just what we needed, me making my first men's 50. I was out for 59 lbw, and out number 6 followed soon after for 58, when the tail folded, 172 all out.

We kept ourselves in the game, looking good at 50-4, looking bad at 140-6. Unbelievably, the game finished in a tie. Their number 11 skying a ball to mid wicket with the score 172-9. Our 2nd tie of the season, with 5 games played. I took a neat diving catch, and there were 3 byes from the 42 over innings. Not a bad days work.

Today's game was a load of dross.

Playing bottom of the league, they made 240-9 off their 50overs. Us dropping catches, giving away extras, misfielding. Total village. I took a catch down the legside while standing up to the stumps to a medium pacer. 6 byes.

Another top order failure. I was out for 9, a slower ball, that was also a yorker that I played about 3 weeks early bowled me. We finished 129-8 from 40overs due to rain, giving us 7 points for the losing draw.

Got a t20 cup match Monday night.