With the changes in the modern game and the introduction and mass popularity of franchise cricket in the shorter match formats, such as T20 and 100 BALL. We have seen the game transition more in favour of the batter. However, in the UK, we are still raising first-time junior cricketers with the mindset of preparing them for test cricket. Schools, clubs all start junior cricket with the format of T10/T20. No child will ever play test cricket until they reach First Class or international status, and this mindset needs to change.
When I started cricket almost 30 years ago, the first cricket coaching instruction I ever received when batting was to master how to defend the ball and wait for the bad ball to put it away. Thirty years down the line, children are still receiving those exact instructions at a junior club or school level. Why is this? These children need to prepare for one-day and short-format cricket with the mentality of trying to score run a ball and only defend as a last resort. This develops the ability to rotate the strike and keep the scoreboard ticking over!
"He is a perfectly balanced batsman and knows perfectly well when to attack and when to play defensive cricket. He has developed the ability to treat bowlers all over the world with contempt and can destroy any attack with utmost ease" - Greg Chappell
The main issue with having a defensive mindset for the English club game is problematic. Most children who are aged 12+ end up playing Saturday adult 4th, 5th, and 6th teams in lower divisions where the pitches are not of the greatest or highest quality. Whether you’re a junior or senior player, I have noticed the number of dot balls wasted in an inning, scoring 20 runs from 60 balls instead of 20 from 10-15 balls. Every run in a one-day format is pivotal and can quickly shift the game's result by being short only 10-15 runs.
These clubs, social grounds, and school pitches are mostly slow, low, and damp. You will eventually become highly bogged down and unable to shift a gear to score runs. The best way to play is with a slightly aggressive mindset. Especially, when a pitch is behaving so erratically with unprecedented bounce, turn, swing etc. is a defensive approach the best way to play?
The best insight we can take is from the sub-continent; having played in Pakistan and the Middle East, many players from India and Pakistan, due to the lack of facilities available, have grown up playing street “Galli” cricket or tape ball. Due to the speed, swing, and insane ball movement, no one defends as they eventually get bogged down very quickly! Later on, when these children get the opportunities to play at clubs, schools and academies, their skills are developed into driving the ball first and then defending the ball as a last resort as every run makes all the difference in the short format.
Yes, there are risks of developing players with erratic mindsets of trying to hit everything and anything! As coaches, it is our job to harness that attacking approach into an all-rounder batter who can defend when needed but has every shot to find gaps and trouble the bowler and fielders.
When looking at AB, Virat, Jos Butler, McCallum, Gaye, Russel, and Afridi, how many dot balls did these guys play in T20s and one-day games? Some of these players had ridiculous strike rates.
"It is not about hitting fours or sixes for me. For me the intent is to score, to look for runs. I want to play less dot balls, want to keep ticking singles, doubles or boundaries. Don’t want to do just dots and boundaries" - Shubman Gill
Here are some tips to help you correctly develop and change your batter’s mindset.
Tip #1 - Drive the ball first - then defend!
Firstly, we need to stop encouraging kids to learn to play a defensive shot first! We are not trying to generate the next Michael Atherton and Rahul Dravid of the future. We need to encourage kids to look to score a run a ball. They will never play test match cricket till they make first-class status in the UK, so why are we breeding the next generation of test batters?
The biggest problem I see with kids who have a defensive mindset is their inability to play a shot. They wait all day for that lousy ball, which only comes occasionally. Missing plenty of scoring opportunities from 50/50 balls that can be put away easily with a simple glance or back-foot push down the ground into the gaps.
Imagine a simple game situation, as a captain you're chasing 50 runs needed to win from 25+ overs left in the game. However, one of your batters has a total defensive mindset. Who is only confident waiting for that one bad ball to happen ends up playing 8-10 overs worth of dot balls? Pressure shifts to the other batter to take on the burden of suicidal runouts to get on strike, changing their style and game to prevent the team from going from a winning situation into a losing one?
The drive-the-ball-first mentality helps to create better shot selections and much stronger decision-making in pressurised situations. They will then have the ability to manipulate the field with a full 360-degree array of shots to play all around the ground.
Tip #2 - Stop telling them "not to give their wicket away"!
Kids need to be encouraged to play shots with full commitment and content. I would rather a junior player have a go at a power drive, hoping to break a fielder’s hand if they try to get to it or have them miss-field it …over, giving the fielder catching practice with a dolly up. This is due to a half-hearted shot they just executed.
With the latest mental health research, this is far too much pressure for a child to focus on. They need to be given encouragement and freedom to play with heart, passion, and dedication. As coaches, it's our job to allow them to experiment and let them develop through self-discovery and problem-solving, which balls they can play and which ones to defend. We won’t always be out of the field with them, they can not rely on us to get them out of tough situations that’s where their own learning and understanding will be applied to the game.
Tip #3 - Don't teach them to respect spin bowlers!
I’m already expecting you as a reader to crucify me for this statement, but it’s the honest opinion of someone who’s coached and played cricket with over 30 years of experience.
Let’s first look into the history of club cricket. Pick any club league in the UK and look at the bowling averages as far back as you can. I think Play-cricket was launched around 2005, maybe? Some leagues will have records of the best averages and highest wicket-takers. You will find a common theme: the highest wicket-takers and best averages in the lower division will always be slow spinners and medium pacers.
If you ask anyone, they will tell you that the most dangerous bowler at club level is a spinner or medium pacer as they don’t really have to do anything, just bowl straight and full and let the wicket do the work. Spinners generate so much turn they end up “ragging it” on this low and skiddy wicket by constantly defending the ball you’re asking to be dismissed. Most spinners forget that their job is to try to spin the ball! Not to just loop it up and let the pitch and wind do the work.
A great little drill I use is placing coloured lines of tape at full (Red), Good (Yellow) and Back (White) of a length. When I am feeding spin bowling deliveries, the batter is only allowed to play backfoot shots or defensive if the ball is past the Red tape line. The batter must play attacking shots (Sweeps) and drives to push the ball into the gaps if the ball lands beyond the Yellow tape line, and if the ball lands before the white line of tape, they must advance down the pitch to defend, hit over the top or push a drive into the gap.
In my personal opinion, this is why the subcontinent has had a long history of developing much better spinners through the decades of cricket, with the likes of Murli, Saqlain, Ashwin, Kumble, etc., having better records and averages than the likes of Croft, Swan, Panesar and Giles of the English game.
It is much harder for a spinner to make it in India and Pakistan because they are not shown any respect unless they can really earn it. Hence, their batters are some of the best spin-bowling players in the game for the last decade.
"Part of the art of bowling spin is to make the batsmen think something special is happening when it isn’t" - Shane Warne
Tip #4 - Allow them to fail! You have to back your junior players!
Coaches need to allow players to develop through self-discovery and develop their problem-solving ability without intervention or correction! Failure to do so and your batter will always be dependent on you to a point they won't know what to do alone out in the middle.
Our job as coaches is to find solutions that work for them through various feedback and questioning their understanding: “How did that feel?” “Could you have done anything differently?” “Why do you think that happened?” … “How about you try this for a second?” Guide them to correct their mistakes through self-discovery so that when they are out in the middle during unprecedented game situations, they can problem-solve the challenge and avoid the impact of undertaking pressure.
This applies not only to coaches but also to parents. You need to back off and let your child play. Please don’t be so hard on them for making a mistake; let them learn at their speed with encouragement and support, not by being in their ear every ball or every shot.
Captains and club committees, I urge you to back your juniors for a whole season over their performances in 2 or 3 games. It’s a big ask to challenge children to prove themselves in a short time frame to succeed in the game of cricket, which is highly complex and takes time to develop the greatest of players. No one is ever born a natural cricketer. Those diamonds must be found in a rough state where you polish and fine-tune them into real gems.
Final thoughts
The late Shane Warne once said, “The greatest weapon of a spin bowler is the ability to create an illusion that something special is happening when it isn’t really the case”.
Every ball should be played on its own merit and according to the style of your player. Our job as coaches is not to fix their mistakes for them; it's for them to find what works best for their own games and to bring out those talents through their own problem-solving and self-discovery.
The above not only applies just to a batter, but also to the bowler. So many bowlers take too long to get into their stride and rhythm. As a bowler, you need to be able to work out batters’ weaknesses quickly! In the first couple of balls, you bowl as they're always nervous. By not bowling with an attacking mindset, you allow the batter to become comfortable and read the pitch as well as your bowling.
Finally, as a coach, let the child play their natural game! For heaven's sake, stop getting them to change the way they play. Give them freedom and encouragement through experimentation. Don't order them to hold one end off or limit certain types of shots that are generally effective. Just be sensible and think about what they’re doing to develop better decision-making. Educate them to read the game and develop their tactical understanding and knowledge for better game management.
Good luck and happy cricketing from Ali Choudhry Cricket Coaching.
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