How to become a better batsman through crease management

When does crease management start? Crease management starts well before a game. You should be comfortable with your grip, stance, guard and any pre-set routine such as trigger movements or actions. Repeating these in practice or even in front of a mirror at home will make these feel natural and comfortable. Repetition brings the feeling of control and with control we can reduce nerves. At the match crease management can start early. Arrive in plenty of time, never be rushed. Allow time to look at the conditions and pitch. Get a feel for the ground and visualise playing positive cricket. Take your stance at each end to get used to the background for when it is your turn to bat. The game begins When the game starts, keep alert and looking for clues to give you an advantage. There are two things to examine: How your batsmen are doing and how the opposition are playing. Watch how your team call and run between the wickets. Every team has a whippet and every team has a poor judge of a run. Know who they are. Make a mental note to talk to them about how to take control of calling and running if you are batting with them. Don't panic if your teammates are struggling. Remember everyone’s game is different. It's more important to watch the opposition. Try to see what tactics they are incorporating.  What line and length are they bowling? What fields have they set? Watch all the fielders closely. There will be one or two that are a bit sleepy or wander into bad positions. Others may not have strong arms or accurate throws. Some will be left-handed so you can take care which hand you take them on for before a quick single. Take a close look at the bowlers. Try to see what they are attempting to bowl, (seam up, finger spin, leg spin) and how well or poorly they are doing it. Watch out for strange actions that might catch you out, such as a low arm action, bowling off the wrong foot or a delayed release as a spinner. You want as few surprises as possible when you face your first ball.  What to do when you are not watching the game Of course you can't watch every ball, but there are more productive things you can do instead of having a quick go on the Nintendo DS. Pad up in good time. Each player should get his own routine but there is nothing worse than rushing to get ready, particularly when a couple of wickets have fallen and panic is setting in. Be prepared. When the openers go out to bat 3 and No 4 should be padded up with all kit at hand. When the first wicket falls No 5 should get ready, and so on. Get comfortable and ready. Some players like to have throw-downs, some to tap the ball up and down on their bat; others just sit still and relax. Don’t get too relaxed and stiff, stretch your legs and have a walk now and again to keep loose and flexible.  Keep crease management going when you get to the crease When it comes your turn to bat try to relax and breathe deeply before walking in. As you walk out, look up and adjust your eyes to the light. Walk out with a positive stride, even if you are trembling inside. Loosen your arms by stretching with the bat or playing positive air strokes. You will get some form of welcome from the keeper and close fielders. Ignore their comments and use any negativity to focus yourself and increase your determination. Take guard; take a good look at the field settings (making no direct eye contact) and note where the weak, strong and different handed fielders are positioned. Put all of this information to the back of your mind. Now, all there is to do is keep your head still, watch the ball, judge the line and length, make the correct shot selection and move into the correct position with footwork, head and hands working in unison.  As this is all over in generally half a second, aren’t you glad that you made the effort to implement basic crease management?

How to take wickets in limited overs games

Taking wickets in the opening overs
The first few overs present a problem. On one hand, with the ball fresh in your hand and the batsman at their most nervous you have a golden chance to take wickets. On the other hand, attacking too much can see the opposition gets off to a flyer.
Most teams take the route of cautious attack. With the ball pitched up, hitting the top of off stump the field looks something like this:

The bowler who gets some movement in the air or off the pitch could bowl a great opening spell and end up with 2 or 3 wickets. Inswing/seam bowlers may prefer a short midwicket or square leg instead of second slip. Away swing bowlers could move point to gulley.
Consider any wickets as a bonus and look to defend the scoring areas as quickly as possible.
If fielding restrictions allow, a good tactic is get spin on early. Unlike the professional game, a club or school level player will be reluctant to go for all out attack against them. This gives the spinner more confidence and you can frustrate the batsman into an error.
That thought brings us nicely onto the key to taking wickets in limited overs games.
Born of frustration: Taking wickets in the middle overs
Eventually your early advantage will run out and we enter the middle portion of the game. If cautious attack was the plan initially, defence is the first and last consideration from now on.
Remember your aim is to restrict the opposition to a low score, not bowl them out. That means three methods of taking wickets:

1. Luck. You are playing in conditions that are so friendly to your team you will easily outscore the opposition.
2. Skill. You bowl a series of 'magic' balls that blow the opposition away.
3. Frustration. You stop the opposition from scoring through defensive tactics and frustrate them into mistakes.

Most teams rarely are in a position to exploit the first two methods. However, almost all sides can use the third tactic.
This starts with what the professionals call the 'squeeze' field. It is so called because you are trying to squeeze the batsman's scoring rate by cutting off all their shots. There are no singles to be had and they have to be very precise to thread the ball through the small gaps in the field. There are several variations, depending on the type of bowling.

Seam/Swing tactics

Using this field, the bowler pitches the ball on or around off stump consistently. Accuracy is the key. Length can vary slightly from back of a length to fullish, but line must be impeccable:

The fielders are set close enough to save a single. One mistake with this tactic was highlighted in an English county game recently: Essex against Northamptonshire in the 50 over competition. Northants had set an excellent target of 281 and Essex were going about knocking the score off with a well paced chase. The Steelbacks needed to put on the squeeze if they were to have any hope of success. Captain Nicky Boje kept fielders up in the 30 yard field restriction circle but made the mistake of placing them on the edge to try and stop the four. This gave easy singles and the odd boundary when Essex needed less than 6 an over to win. It just goes to show even professionals can make mistakes.
The squeeze field only works when you are stopping singles so get close enough to do it. Extra cover and midwicket need to be alert to tip-and-run tactics too. If you are leaking runs you can't frustrate the batter. Slower medium pace bowlers can bring fine leg and third man up to save the single too.
Apart from that you can experiment with what works best for your bowling against different styles of batter. You may find outswingers have no need for square leg for example.
You will find good batsmen will try and hit over the top to get out of trouble. This carries a risk and could get you wickets. If someone is having success hitting over the top you can place a boundary fielder in their scoring area. Most club players are limited to where they can hit over the top so you should not need many players out.

Spin tactics

Spinners are excellent in limited over conditions because they have to be hit that much harder to go for runs. The batsman is forced to play more attacking shots and more likely to make a mistake. That said, if a player does get hold of spin bowling you can be hit to all parts.
This means the squeeze field for spinners has more men on the boundary but the tactic is the same: cut off the runs.
The key to this is to bowl on one side of the wicket and protect that area. Club batsmen are not good enough in most cases to hit both sides of the wicket effectively.
The off spinner who is getting turn to the right handed batsman will be hit into the leg side more often with the turn and has to defend the leg side boundary as shown here:

Again, extra cover and midwicket should be alert for tip-and-run tactics. If needed, deep gulley can be moved to short fine leg. This is especially effective with the off spinner bowling around the wicket.
The orthodox left arm spinner will be hit more with the turn into the off side. The standard tactic is to bowl around the wicket on or outside off stump and the double ring of fielders should cut off most shots:

It is especially hard to work the ball behind square on the leg side so this area can be left open unless you come across a very skilled (or unorthodox) player.
Dealing with the long handle: Taking wickets at the death
Bowling at the end of an innings is the least difficult time to take wickets. It's also the most likely time to get hit; so many bowlers don't like it.
The tradition at the top level is to use the faster bowlers at the end. This is fine at lower levels as long as the bowler is accurate. Spinners can also be used if they are doing a good job.
Tactics will remain similar with bowlers pitching the ball up, aiming for the stumps and not giving the batsman room to swing their arms. The field will depend a great deal on the style of bowling and batting. A good framework to work from looks like this:

Deep midwicket may perhaps be better at deep extra cover but it's unlikely you will need sweepers on both sides of the wicket. Square leg could be moved almost anywhere the ball is going.

Ways to keep motivated

We all have times where we don't want to do it (even me).
Whenever I get a little low in the motivation stakes I try these tricks to get me back into the swing of things.

1. Don't make assumptions. Don't assume you are too old, you don't have the time or you are not fit enough. Those factors make no difference. With the right work EVERYONE will improve, even you.
2. Train with a buddy. If you have someone to train with then you are not going to leave them standing at the gym or net on their own.
3. Know the difference between a reason and an excuse. Going on a work trip may stop you training, but not going because you 'don't have the time' could be an excuse in disguise.
4. Learn more. I find that when I get stuck in a rut getting online and finding out some new training technique or theory gets me wanting to head back. So learn more about your training. You could subscribe to harrowdrive for a daily dose of motivation?
5. Do something new. Just as finding out something new is great, so is actually doing it. I always recommend changing your training every few weeks. That includes your gym workout and what you do in the nets or practice field.
6. Reward yourself. Psychologists call this 'extrinsic motivation'. It means rewarding yourself for training hard, for example; promising yourself a new DVD if you train without fail for a month. Itdoes work but it can be counter productive in some cases so handle with care (i.e. great workout, lets go to McDonalds!)
7. Remember the positives. Playing and training will make you fitter, healthier and give you a better outlook on life. Skipping your commitments to improve will do the opposite. So just remember the reasons why you are trying.
8. Involve your family, friends and work. Letting your friends and family know what you are doing is better than keeping your plans to yourself. Why? Because if you slack they will be the first to pass comment. Workmates, I find, are even more brutal in this respect. It also helps when your work know you have an external commitment as they are more likely to accommodate you (hint: make your training a charity fundraiser if your boss is really tough to get around).
9. Train closer to home. A big reason for people dropping out is the distance to travel to get to training. So, find a gym close by and find a club near your home. You could even train at home with a few key bits of equipment.
10. Get a coach. Personal trainers and coaches are expensive, but good ones will motivate you in the way you need.
11. Slow down. Heavy training causes soreness, which can lead to reluctance to try again. After my first game of last season I literally couldnot walk the next day through soreness. The answer is to slow your training down to a more comfortable level. Body builders may like the pain of training, but you don't have to put up with it to become a better cricketer.

And the most important motivational tool of all: Goal setting. Without goals you are training or playing for nothing. Set goals for everything: How much weight you can lift, how many runs you plan to get, how much body fat you have, how fast you are and anything else you can think of.
Once you have those goals in mind record and review them obsessively.

Steps to bowling spin against an attacking batsman

1. Stay confident

Spin is a mental battle as much as a physical one: The spinner is trying to tease a mistake and the batsman who is playing a few shots is more likely to make one. That's why you have to stay confident in the face of an assault.
This is easier said than done. The captain suddenly can't look at you, the batsman has biffed your best ball to the boundary and you don't know what to do next.
The secret is to clear your mind, set a plan in your head and bowl that ball. A classic cliche in cricket is to play the ball not the man. This is just as true for the spinner under the pump. Keep bowling to your plan and you can force an error.

2. Cut off the big shots

Speaking of a plan. What is it?

All players, even at Test level, have their favourite and less favourite shots. Club and school players are even more limited than the professionals. This means the first job is to cut off the big shots, especially if they are with the spin.
For example, if you are an off-spinner bowling to a right handed batsman who plays with a lot of bottom hand you might put boundary fielders out at long on, deep midwicket and deep square leg. This suddenly makes it a lot riskier to play the big shot through the leg side.
In this example, you can accentuate the point by bowling around the wicket, pitching on off and turning to hit the stumps. The arm ball will slide across a batsman making it possible for it to be sliced straight up.
Your foe may still go for it, and with a big enough hit may even succeed, but suddenly they are the one taking the risk. If you get hit for a six and a four and then get a catch on the boundary your average is 10 and you are having a good day!
For leg spin and left arm spin against right handers the big shot with is more likely to be with the spin through the off side.
3. Keep the weaker areas open
The other side of blocking off a batsman is tempting him or her with a gap in the field. Let's imagine our off-spinner again bowling to this field:

As you can see from the yellow "danger zone" area, there is a large gap between slip and extra cover. Remember the batsmen plays with a lot of bottom hand? They will see the gap and look to play the ball into it for boundaries.
As long as you bowl well (pitched up, round the wicket, turning a little) it's very difficult to hit the ball into that area and the chances of bowled, LBW, caught at slip and even caught on the leg side are massively increased.
The left arm spinner can use a similar plan, keeping mid on up and inviting the on drive over the top. Not many batsmen can play this shot well, especially against the ball turning away and can slice it to the off side or bring the bottom hand in and hit it to deep midwicket.

4. Use variety

The final element is what type of ball you bowl. Each batsman has a different pace and flight that they are least comfortable against. So like it thrown up but hate it fired in. Some are the opposite. Even when you are under pressure you can experiment with how muchspin, pace and flight you give the ball.
Tossing one up might seem like the last thing to do when you are being hit. Most bowlers tend to bowl flatter and more at the stumps in this situation. However, if you have confidence in your plan (which is the first three steps) you can risk trying something different.
All batsmen are better when they know the pace of the ball. Adding a little or taking some off in the flight it a great way to disrupt their rhythm, especially if they have their best shots cut off and are trying to do something unfamiliar.
The captain isn't going to take you off in the middle of an over so you have at least 6 balls to tease even the biggest hitter out.

How to bowl an arm ball

Variety and spice: How the arm ball can turn you from stock spinner to strike bowler

The arm ball, or floater, is probably the single best weapon an orthodox finger spinner can have. Ray Illingworth says he once took 41 wickets of 135 in a season just with the arm ball.

At first the ball seems counterproductive. Spinners should spin the ball hard, hoping to impart enough revolutions on the ball for it to dip late in its flight and move off the pitch. This is true for the stock delivery and is what you should do at least 80% of the time.

The arm ball gives you the perfect suprise variation from this.

The batsman is expecting the ball to spin as normal but you have bowled a ball that swings in the opposite direction with almost no change to your action: The off spinner's arm bowl swings away from the right hander, the left arm spinner's swings in.

This brings in the possibility of deceiving a player. Getting him bowed or caught at slip (in the off spinners case). In short, a true wicket taking delivery.

How to bowl an arm ball

The key difference between the arm ball and the stock ball for a finger spinner is the grip. The basic grip looks like this:



As you already know, this grip allows you to roll your fingers and wrist around as if turning a key in a lock. This imparts spin on the ball. The more you 'rip' it, the more spin is possible.

The arm ball is best bowled with no change of action, however your grip changes to one that looks like this

This allows you to swing or drift the ball using the seam as a rudder in the same way as a medium pace bowler. However you still look like you are bowling a stock spinning delivery. The shiny side of the ball should be on the leg side if you are an off spinner.

While you no longer use your fingers or wrist to impart turn, according to Ray Illingworth, it's still important to follow through in the same way. This is mainly to trick the batsman, but it also helps the ball swing.

Line and length for an arm ball

The arm ball is a shock wicket taking delivery. As a result you should be prepared to take more of a risk with it by pitching it further up. This makes the ball hard to sweep (bringing in bowled and LBW dismissals) and tempts the drive.

The line for off spinners to right handers is best on middle stump. If the batsman plays for spin he will edge it or be bowled.

The line for left arm spinners is outside off stump, swinging it back in to bowl the batsman through the gate.

Using the arm ball

It's important not to overuse this variation as it loses its element of surprise. Your main variations will come from the amount of flight and turn you impart on the ball.

However, used now and again you can have great success. It's especially effective early in a batsman's innings. You can use it on almost any kind of wicket, but if conditions do not suit swing think very carefully before trying it.

It certainly will not allow you to rip through an opposition order in itself, but when used in combination with excellent control can put doubt in a batting team and give you the chance to bowl a side out.