Fielding practice.1

 Quite  apart from anything  that a coach may achieve by  instruction and  organized  practice, boys can do a very  great  deal  for  themselves if only  they  are keen  enough or made keen  enough to keep on playing  about  with the  ball and  so  learning ‘ball sense’. Even a very  small boy by himself  can  learn  to stop  and catch  a ball  by throwing it  against a wall and to  throw it  accurately  by  aiming  at a  target  chalked  on the wall. Similarly,  the  coach should  encourage all his  boys  to  keep  practicing   among  themselves  when he  is otherwise  engaged, suggesting that  they  should  follow the  lines of  organized  practice and  competition  on which  he is trying  to train  them.

Fielding practice.2

Confidence  is a great asset in fielding, and much  harm can be done if  in the early  stages hands are bruised  and the cricket  ball  becomes an object  of dread rather  than  a focus of  enjoyment. For  that reason, especially at  the start of the  season  before  hands  have  hardened, or on cold days, the  coach  should , if possible , use  old and podgy balls and  be  careful not to hit  too  hard. Even  tennis  balls  or  other  soft  balls  should  not  be  ruled  out  for  quite  young  boys, for  the  technique of  judging  and positioning can be  learnt as well  with  them  as  with  a  match  ball.

A deep field may find the following considerations helpful

(1)    It is always  easier to  run  in than  to run  back, so  that  he should err on the side  of being  too deep: but especially on big grounds he should  not  automatically  think of  his  position as  being ‘on the  boundary’. His  distance from the batsmen  will  depend primarily  on the  estimated  carrying  distance of his  full hit and  in his estimate  the  strength and  direction of  the wind  must  be  given  due  weight.

(2)    He should always be moving in as the ball is  bowled  and watching  first the ball  and  then  the batsman; intelligence and  experience will  often enable  him  to  anticipate the  direction of the  stroke and so  get  an  invaluable start  towards its  interception.

(3)    On sighting  a high hit in his  direction, he should  not  immediately  rush in  but  should  wait  until  he has been  able  to  judge the  length and  line  of the  ball  accurately. Once he has  done  this, sooner he can  get  into  position  for a catch  and   the  more  balanced and still  he can  be  when  it arrives, the  better.

(4)    He should try to catch the ball chin- high, allowing his hands to give gently on impact.

(5)    For length of return the over hand, rather than the flat, throw is the best; for pace and carry a proper follow through is essential.

(6)    A really fine thrower can sometimes run out the striker at his end  when going for a second  run, especially if he is taking it easy in fancied security; it is possible to induce this sense of security by not  at  first  moving  in on the  ball  at full speed.

(7)    When an off spin bowler is hit to the on, the ball tends to swing  slightly to the fieldsman’s right; this is  the more  true of all hits behind  square leg; they carry ‘running side’ and carry  farther and arrive faster  than  at first  seems likely.

The chief qualifications for these deep fields are

(a) Pace to cut off the fours or convert the possible tows into ones. (b) Good hands for catching high and hard hits. (c) A powerful and accurate throw. To watch an expert deep field sprint to intercept a hard drive, swoop down in his last few strides so that the ball runs into his hands, and then return it like an arrow full toss or first bounce to the wicket is to enjoy one of the glories of the game.

The Deep Fields

With the decline of driving which has characterized most cricket in recent years the importance, even the existence of the true long  fields long on, long off, and  deep mid wicket  has tended to  diminish, though with the  prevalence of short  of a  length  bowling directed at  the  leg  stump  and with  development of the hook, the role of deep square  and long leg has  gained in  emphasis.

Of course  no  captain will  weaken his  attack  by  stationing men  in the  deep  unless the batsmen  force him to do so, but there are times when  he  will  have no  choice, especially when  he is  fighting  to  save  runs  against  the  clock, whilst nearly all slow  leg break bowlers and slow  off spinners, unless they  are  completely on top, will need or more  men deep on the  one side.

Mid off

Whatever the bowler and whatever the state of the wicket, there will normally be a mid off, thought his actual position in the field may vary between wide limits. We are not concerned here with a true silly mid off except to suggest that this role can be easily overplayed and can lead and has in fact frequently led to a side virtually fielding with ten men. It  is of  course, justifiable if the  position is clearly unsettling and  cramping  a  batsman, especially when  he first comes in or if  he looks  like playing the forward push to a left hand  spin or leg  break bowler  which may  lead  to a catch close in. Only too often we see a silly mid off persistently retained on a good wicket when no prospect of such a catch is apparent and even after the initiative has clearly passed to the baths man.

For the normal mid off the main qualifications are:
(a)    Good strong hands to stop and if need be catch the hard hit.
(b)   Ability to start and move quickly to cut off the drive on either side of him and to anticipate  the         stolen single from the push.

     (c)    Courage, that will face up to  anything that will come to him  either on the ground or  in the air, and that will get the  legs  and  body  behind the  hands as a  second  line of  defense.

      (d)   An accurate, strong, low throw.

His position will be determined by:

(a)    The pace of the ground.

(b)   The bowler.

(c)    The batsman.

(d)   The position of the other off side fielders: e.g a short extra cover will mean a deep mid off. The faster the ground, the deeper can he  stand to any  batsman  who  is  ready  to  off drive, and  still  be  able  to  save  a single.

With  an ‘away swing’, left  hand  spin or leg  break bowler  he will  tend  to  stand  appreciably wider  than  normal.

Mid off  will  normally  always aim at stopping  the  batsmen from  running  short single; especially is this true  when a man  first comes in  and is  often on  edge  until he has broken his duck. By watching the batsman carefully he can often anticipate the probable line of the stroke. For  hard returns from the  one  side  it will  often  be  mid off’s business to  get  to the  wicket in order  to save the  bowler’s hands.

                          There is no better place for a captain to field.

Offensive Fielding

So far we have been concerned with the basic technique of defensive fielding, but there is an offensive technique as well, at which every boy must aim if he aspires to be a real fielder. In this the object is to receive the ball in such a position that the throw in can follow immediately; indeed can almost be regarded as the last phase of a single process.
 In attack the fielder must:

(1)    Intercept the line of the ball as early as possible: this means moving not only on to it but in to it.

(2)    Get sideways to the line with the left foot carried rather away from the right.

(3)    Bend both hips and knees so that the head can come and stay down over, or just in front of the right knee.

(4)     Receive the ball in both hands just in front of the right foot and with the weight of the body on that foot

For the maximum speed of return, he will have to risk using one hand and aim to pick up the ball just in front of his right foot. By so doing, he will be able, without further adjustment of feet or Body to begin the mechanism of the throw.

But this is a refinement of the basic technique of fielding and should not be taught until the essentials are mastered; even then it will probably be followed with success only by the naturally gifted and well- co- ordinate boy.

In either practice the essence of safe  fielding is that the head  should get  down  on to the line of  focus and  then be kept still so as to  watch the ball right into  the hands.