I have shared some thoughts regards Development Cricket already, along with a suggestion for a Development Officer within each club. Having played for a couple of teams for a few months now I have formulated a Blue Print Plan!!!
It is amazing what the brain finds to fill the time when you are sat watching the best part of thirty overs after another failure with the bat!
Parts of this post will have been covered in the previous posts, but not all so it may help to read through the previous ones.
Would stress this is a Blue Print so easily adapted. I have based it on a 40 Over game, with a split 5 Seniors and 6 Juniors. Are a lot of variables that may effect the specifics, but not the approach: number of Seniors/Juniors, number of overs in the match and the age of the Juniors determining the number of overs each can bowl.
Before I start a generalisation, and an observation: in general Juniors are more adept and have more impact bowling than batting when they first start playing Senior cricket, and an observation that there is a tendency to give Juniors a ‘good game’ so they develop cricket skills, but not necessarily develop the skills and art of playing cricket. As an example a Junior All Rounder should not necessarily expect to bat and bowl each week, or bat high up and bowl all their overs, and perhaps a Junior that has played another sport the morning of a match should only bowl half their allocation of overs to ensure that aren’t doing too much.
Learning how to win, how to play your part in the team, accepting that it is not going to be your day are all part of playing cricket and learning this is as important as learning the skills of playing.
My Theory
I would approach the innings (both batting and bowling) as a hybrid of red ball and white ball cricket.
The first 10 overs would be red ball mode: try and see off the opening batters, try and keep the runs down and take a few wickets to put them under pressure.
Middle 20 overs would be white ball mode: stroke makers and quicker runners to push the score along, rotate the bowlers with short spells to keep the batters on their toes.
Final 10 overs would very much depend on the match situation: batters to see the team home, or secure the draw, bowlers to defend a total or take crucial wickets.
Batting Line Up
Based on the above theory and assumptions:
- Senior
- Senior
- Junior
- Junior
- Senior
- Junior
- Senior
- Junior
- Senior
- Junior
- Junior
Two old heads (and legs) opening up and trying to see the first 10 overs out. Not losing wickets rather than scoring runs the priority. Then would look for one opener to push the run rate along and the other to aim on batting as deep as possible.
Approach then is Senior rotate the strike, encourage the Junior and let them bat in their most comfortable/preferred method.
Aim is to have a balance of Junior and Senior together at the end so a run chase is an option, but Juniors not left exposed with a ‘long tail.
Bowling Attack
I would try and open with my two best bowlers, regardless of style, to bowl 5 overs each. It is not uncommon for teams to open with their development players and leave more experienced players to the middle order, so I would try and put pressure on them: early wickets and/or a slow run rate achieves this.
Overs 11 to 30 I would go into T20 mode: bowlers bowling 1, 2 or 3 over spells to stop the batters getting established, play at a fast pace, keep the oldies on their toes, take the youngsters out of their comfort zone.
Overs 31 to 40 a combination of the two best bowlers seeing out their overs, supported by a few older, wiser heads. Again it is not uncommon for the game to be taken away in the last 10 as a result of “giving everyone a turn bowling all their overs” matching up an inexperienced bowler with an established and experienced batter.
Fielding
There are necessary restrictions on how close and where a Junior can field and there the unavoidable restrictions related to age effecting the Seniors, but where possible I would try and limit the number of positions one person fields to two or three. By way of example if I was captaining me I would start me at slip for the first ten overs, then for the middle twenty overs I would have me at short cover or mid wicket and then for the last ten I would have me catching on the boundary.
One thing above all I would stress is consistency! Far to often it seems the batting line up is decided at the last minute, the bowling strategy is more about giving the Juniors a bowl than ensuring the team competes, and fielders are allocated to gaps rather than positions they are experienced in.
In so many ways the game has followed in the footsteps of the professionals since I last played: the equipment, the clothing, the apps and websites but an area that does not seem to have evolved anywhere near as much is that of planning and preparation.
Better Use Of Nets And Training
I would start with selection, which should take place before the weekly training session and the team should be announced before this session. In addition I would post the batting line up at the same time as I announced the team so players had the week to plan and prepare and use their training sessions better. At the same time I would talk to players on development plans to discuss which aspect of their game they will be focussing on in the game: an allrounder may play as a batter and bat higher up. An opening bowler may be used in the middle overs and leave more overs for the death. A Junior that will be playing another sport in the morning may only bowl a couple of overs in the middle overs.
Planning and communication avoids disappointment on the day and educates about the concept of playing for the team.
I would extend this planning to the nets and training night: ideally a session attended solely by the Development Team Squad.
If I can assume two nets and an outfield been available then I would set up a schedule each week. I would start with the Opening Batters and the Opening Bowlers in the nets only, with each bowler bowling an over at one batter and then swapping over: focus on facing 6 off the same bowler and the bowler on developing a specific plan and rhythm.
The others would be working on specific fielding drills: middle order batters practising range hitting to fielders who will be used on the boundary and in the deep.
General fielding drills for all, but again with specific groups by fielding position so players are continually working on skills they know they are going to need in a game.
Back in the nets I would leave the opening bowlers bowling to number 2 and 4 batters initially and then replace with bowlers 3 and 4. Again I would be trying to simulate probable match day experiences with batters facing 6 balls from the same bowler.
At the end of the session I would bring back the opening bowlers, again so their minds and bodies got used to coming back after a break.
I would end the session with a team talk about the session, focussed on how it had met the development needs of the Juniors and talking through the plans for the weekend.