Development of junior batsmen

[TigerCraig]

We were playing 20 overs a side in under 10s in the mid 80s.

Ahead of our time!

And we played on roads - literally

 

[revo333]

Oh don't get me started on this. Near full teams of blokes playing about a thousand grades lower than they should. Just playing down there 'to have some fun.' Most I played against weren't having fun and played like maniacs and cheated worse than anyone (even more absurd as they really didn't need to). Long time ago now but think I copped about 3 teams like that in my first 5 matches in 2002 in B1 Mornington Peninsula.

Sent from my XT1572 using Tapatalk

I know a team 3 seasons ago of 'mates who played together' beating up on 6XI teams and won the premiership going though the season undefeated.

The club they played for asked some of them to help out and move up to the seconds but they didn't want to and left to go play lower grades at another club.

Heroes!

 

[revo333]

Times have changed mate, family dynamics are different with more mothers working etc. the expectations on blokes to be more present at home is different. I can tell you this from experience as I am living through it

No different from the guys who miss trainings cause of work yet they can still stay in the grades of their ability.

I was just making one example to show it's not only the kids that are lacking the commitment.

It's across all ages now.

 

[Ohitsthatguy]

Remember Martin Love, Stuart Law...

What changed?

 

[MisterMarcus]

My son has just started Under 10's this season (all 20 over, 2.5 hour matches).

Funnily enough, they spend a huge time getting the kids to practise and improve bowling. There's lots of help and advice on getting the arm straight and high, having a good run-up, getting body positions right, etc....

But with batting, it's literally just "if it's a good ball then try to block it, if it's a bad ball then smash it!" stuff. Over 90% of runs would be scored between mid-wicket and fine leg...even if it's pitched outside off, kids will run across their stumps and try to hoik it over square leg. They are literally better at the cow corner slog than they are at a forward defence.

I do nets with my son, deliberately bowling full on/outside off to get him to play cover drives, or even just a defensive off-side shot. But already it seems the "go big or go home" mentality is taking root....

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

Very young kids can really only score runs on the leg side. Difficult to swing the bat with any power anywhere else. High % scored on the leg side in the youngest age groups would be the norm (and would always have been).

Bowling has to be the priority initially because if the team's bowlers aren't any good then the batters don't get any practice and the game doesn't function whatsoever.

Would love to see double runs for off side shots though! And triple runs for runs scored in the V!

No fielders allowed in the V either

 

[Howard Littlejohn]

Very young kids can really only score runs on the leg side. Difficult to swing the bat with any power anywhere else. High % scored on the leg side in the youngest age groups would be the norm (and would always have been).

Bowling has to be the priority initially because if the team's bowlers aren't any good then the batters don't get any practice and the game doesn't function whatsoever.

Would love to see double runs for off side shots though! And triple runs for runs scored in the V!

No fielders allowed in the V either

I'm wary of those sorts of fixes, as it could just encourage bowlers to bowl short and/or leg side to not give up double/triple runs. There's no point fixing a batting problem by risking a bowling one.

 

[Soups]

My son has just started Under 10's this season (all 20 over, 2.5 hour matches).

Funnily enough, they spend a huge time getting the kids to practise and improve bowling. There's lots of help and advice on getting the arm straight and high, having a good run-up, getting body positions right, etc....

But with batting, it's literally just "if it's a good ball then try to block it, if it's a bad ball then smash it!" stuff. Over 90% of runs would be scored between mid-wicket and fine leg...even if it's pitched outside off, kids will run across their stumps and try to hoik it over square leg. They are literally better at the cow corner slog than they are at a forward defence.

I do nets with my son, deliberately bowling full on/outside off to get him to play cover drives, or even just a defensive off-side shot. But already it seems the "go big or go home" mentality is taking root....

I feel like this has happened for many years. Most kids naturally won’t have the strength to break the offside ring. That’s why they are trying to play through square leg and mid wicket. They are going to score the most runs there. I can see your point though and T20 is going to be partly to blame for it.

But I think if you keep working on the offside shots, it will all click somewhere down the track that he’ll have to score all over the ground.

 

[The Speaker]

Given the emphasis on participation at that age level, you'd think the better thing to do would be to get them to focus on making good choices with the bat, even if they don't score, rather than letting them revert to cow corner.

 

[Bomberboyokay]

I'm sure I've seen Cricket Australia point to figures that suggest cricket is Australia's favourite sport. I'm not so sure.

They're lying.

 

[MisterMarcus]

Given the emphasis on participation at that age level, you'd think the better thing to do would be to get them to focus on making good choices with the bat, even if they don't score, rather than letting them revert to cow corner.

With a T20 game, where you only face 12-18 balls each innings, there is a fair bit of pressure on kids to score big...or at least turn the strike over to someone else who can.

(Although tbf, our comp has -4 penalty runs for each wicket lost, so kids do receive some praise for playing sensibly and keeping good balls out)

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

I'm wary of those sorts of fixes, as it could just encourage bowlers to bowl short and/or leg side to not give up double/triple runs. There's no point fixing a batting problem by risking a bowling one.

Funny you should say that. We did an activity at training where there were no fielders allowed in the V and there was also a line across the pitch just short of a length. Any ball the pitched short of that line was worth double runs to the batters. Forced the bowlers to bowl full and attack the stumps. And the batters were rewarded if they could hit down the ground.

Typically the level we're talking about though is beginner so not exactly the age where they can hone in on a spot for tactical negative bowling. It's an achievement just to hit the pitch!

 

[Bomberboyokay]

They're lying.

AFL gets $418m a year from TV. NRL $360m. Cricket Australia? $200m a year.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

AFL gets $418m a year from TV. NRL $360m. Cricket Australia? $200m a year.

Is that from Australian television?

I wonder what the India series gets them

 

[Bomberboyokay]

Is that from Australian television?

Yes.

 

[The Speaker]

How does one measure favouriteness?

 

[Bomberboyokay]

We just did.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

Usman chimes in

Link

Australia’s batsmen copped a hammering for their shot selection and decision making firstly during their 2-1 ODI series loss to the Proteas and then in their T20 defeat on the Gold Coast last weekend.

Shane Warne teed off, blasting batting coach Graeme Hick and criticising Glenn Maxwell for moving around the crease and Ben McDermott for getting out to a ramp shot.

Mark Waugh also chimed in while Andrew Symonds took offence to Marcus Stoinis trying a reverse sweep early in his innings during the Aussies’ four-run win over India on Wednesday, saying: “That’s not on.”

Khawaja has heard the barrage of criticism about Australia’s approach at the crease and when he stepped in for a guest commentary stint alongside Symonds and Adam Gilchrist, he set the old guard straight.

“It’s expected. You train for it, you play for it, you do it all the time,” Khawaja said of the new shots batsmen attempt.

"I hear you guys talking a lot about the classic cricket shots. The game’s changed, we do play different shots now. The bowlers are getting better, they’re getting smarter, they’re putting in better fields so as batsmen we need to adapt a little bit. A lot of the old traditionalists don’t like the reverse sweeps, the paddles. But sometimes, they’re the little risks you have to take to bring in those classic cricket shots."

"The game has evolved a fair bit from where it was. Sometimes it does look ugly when it doesn’t come but when it does everybody loves it and that’s the entertainment of T20 cricket.”

Khawaja paid respect to former Australian players but he doesn’t believe they’re in the best position to comment on what’s happening in the middle these days. Gilchrist asked if players of his era were misguided in their assessment of Australia’s batting woes and Khawaja said the amount of mind games on the field means a lot happens that outside viewers don’t see.

“The game has changed, but the basics are still the same. Good shots are still good shots but as the game evolves bowlers set different fields,” Khawaja said. “You sort of know what they’re going to do but at the same time there’s a bit of bluff going on you don’t realise. There’s a lot going on behind the scenes."

"The game has evolved. The game has changed a bit in the last 10 or so years. That’s no disrespect to guys of your era who were excellent players. You can only go on what you play on but the game’s evolving and unless you’re playing it and you’re part of it you do feel like sometimes there is a bit of a disconnect between what the players are trying to achieve and what the outside world, especially traditionalists and former players, are seeing.”

 

[The Speaker]

Not especially relevant to this thread's question.

We just did.

You just claimed to. Doesn't mean that your measure is the best measure available.

 

[Bomberboyokay]

You just claimed to. Doesn't mean that your measure is the best measure available.

It is the best measure available.

 

[Bomberboyokay]

The Speaker why do you think the AFL and NRL get so much more TV money?

 

[The Speaker]

The Speaker why do you think the AFL and NRL get so much more TV money?

Concentrated markets delivering a reliable product for six+ months of the year.

Cricket has a viable claim to being the favourite sport because it's national in a way that neither footy nor league are. What matters more to measuring 'favouriteness', breadth or depth? CA would say breadth, and that's entirely reasonable.

 

[Bomberboyokay]

Concentrated markets delivering a reliable product for six+ months of the year.

Cricket has a viable claim to being the favourite sport because it's national in a way that neither footy nor league are. What matters more to measuring 'favouriteness', breadth or depth? CA would say breadth, and that's entirely reasonable.

Pfft. They're national TV networks.

 

[The Speaker]

Pfft. They're national TV networks.

pfft all you like, the NRL doesn't have much weight outside the north-east, and the AFL has always been second fiddle there.

 

[Bomberboyokay]

pfft all you like, the NRL doesn't have much weight outside the north-east, and the AFL has always been second fiddle there.

It says something about how strong they are in their 'halves' of Australia that they both easily dwarf cricket.