A Few tips on how to practise cricket

Circle cricket

This develops the cricket skills of batting and fielding. Batsmen must use proper technique and strokes, and learn the right tactics to score more runs - like hitting the ball into gaps and only playing balls that are necessary. They will face the ball when turning, and slide their bat over the line.

The fielders must restrict the number of runs scored by anticipating where the ball will be hit, and attempt run outs by returning the ball quickly to the in-fielders or by going for direct hits. They must also back up the throws. Fielders can surround the batsman, but must keep out of the 5m circle. Batsmen retire after they have scored 5 runs.

Variations include increasing the number of runs, increasing/decreasing the number of fielders or size of circle or running area. Again, the best dimensions are those that make it a close competition between ball and bat.

Pairs cricket

Pairs cricket is a great way to develop all cricket skills. The batsmen work in pairs, and have a set starting score, perhaps 100. They bat for a set number of overs - perhaps four, and every run scored adds to the starting score. If they lose a wicket, 5 runs are deducted and the batsmen change ends. After their four overs, the batsmen retire and the next pair take over.

This can be developed into a full scale match between two sides of 8 players, one batting and one bowling. Each batting pair has 4 overs each, every fielder must bowl at least one over and a maximum of 4 in a 16 over match. Wides and no balls count as two runs for the batting side, but no additional balls are bowled.

The horse's tail game

This is a really fun way to develop close catching skills. One end of the arc of fielders is named as the horse's head, and the other the horse's tail. The coach hits a variety of catches to random fielders, who return the ball to the wicket keeper.

Each catch taken promotes the successful fielder one place in the arc towards the horse's head, and each brilliant catch promotes him/her two places. But, each dropped catch moves the guilty fielder down to the horse's tail.

The object is to avoid being at the horse's tail when the coach decides the game is over - this might be a set number of hits, or a specific time. It's a recipe for competition, chaos and fun, as well as sharpening fielder's reflexes.

The rules of all these games can be varied to suit the situation. But, this is just a start, as there are many more games that are great for developing cricket skills, as well as being fun in their own right.

Anthony Jenkins is a cricket player and coach, and has been involved with the game for over 4 decades. He manages a junior cricket team, and plays in the Shropshire cricket league. He also manages http://www.cricket-for-parents.com, where you can read more of his work.

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