Everyone has to put the training hours in

Just as well the season at Englefield Green kicks off with a couple of friendlies. It’s just a shame I’ve got a wedding to go to on the second weekend.

I’m really looking forward to the new season. It’ll be my first as a captain and that, for the time being at least, is making me look forward to the season ahead. The 2^nd XI didn’t win a game last year, so it can’t get any worse in 2013!!

I’m also looking forward to using my new bat. I’ve had a mixed time in nets, but had a good session with a bowling machine a couple of weeks ago. It gave me plenty of time to iron out a couple of issues and I managed to start finding the middle of my Slazenger V100.

As I’ve mentioned before, the TAS inserts make a real difference and expand the size of the bat’s sweet spot. The time spent on the bowling machine was a good opportunity to work on footwork and timing and it also enabled me an opportunity to work through defensive, as well as aggressive play. Even in defence, with good timing and placement, there was enough power through the bat to generate scoring opportunities.

That said, however, a bowling machine in a heated sports hall on a Sunday evening is a different experience altogether compared to being out in the middle, but the portents are good.

Hopefully the optimism of a new season can carry over into the summer this year. There will inevitably be a few low scores, but hopefully there will be a few high ones, too.

I’m aiming to average in double figures this season. I managed this easily in 2011, averaging 20 for the season, but fell away drastically last year, averaging a very embarrassing four! Like all bad workmen the tools have been blamed, so there are no excuses this season…

Another source of blame last season was the weather. Out of 17 league games, seven were rained off. That helped no one. It was snowing in London 10 days ago but the sun was shining this past weekend and long may that continue.

I’ll be back again in a couple of weeks to let you know how it’s going…

By Miles Reucroft

You can learn to play like your heros through your phone

Those who have had coaching most likely received it at school. The problem with this, certainly in England, is that not many schools offer cricket coaching. It is usually offered only at private schools and most people don’t get the opportunity to learn the game at a young age.

I know myself, from starting to play cricket in adulthood, that correct technique isn’t something that I possess! It’s not easy to find, either. You can try to emulate what you see on TV, but unless you have the time to practice for a few hours each day, this doesn’t really help.

I recently came across a mobile app that aims to help people with their cricket. The Cricket Coach App, available on your smartphone, aims to tackle the coaching of the individual areas of batting, bowling and fielding across three apps.

I downloaded the batting and bowling apps (my fielding’s okay, I think…!) to see what I can pick up from them. With nets having commenced a few weeks back, I have found the in depth breakdowns of each discipline to be very useful.

The one area that I have really improved upon from last year is the bowling of wrist spin. I’m not really a bowler, but the videos, talk throughs and analysis of this trickiest of arts has been hugely beneficial.

Don’t get me wrong, I haven’t turned into Shane Warne overnight (more Anil Kumble if a comparison must be drawn) but I have been pitching the ball with increased accuracy and bowling a better length than before.

The app also teaches you about seam, off spin and orthodox left arm bowling. In the same vein, the batting app teaches you about front foot and back foot play; defensive, attacking, leg side and offside play. It even goes as deep as your running between the wickets and games you can play in the nets to improve your accuracy and shot selection.

My batting technique is entirely self taught and predominantly back foot devoid of foot movement. My ineptitude is more dyed in the wool than with my bowling, but the app has really helped me.

There are videos from all angles of a delivery/shot and diagrams to help further explain the techniques involved. You can record your own action and compare it against the videos in the app and it also lists all of the common faults that hold most of us back.

I would highly recommend this to any village or club cricketers, or at least anyone who hasn’t got access to coaching. It’s an incredibly affordable way of accessing thorough information and is a great refresher as to correct methodology.

By Miles Reucroft

you can view the app for Android, iPhone and Blackberry

Practice has commenced

I attended my first session on Sunday having missed the first week of winter nets due to travelling north to see my beloved Leeds United knock Tottenham out of the FA Cup. At least it was a worthwhile trip…

I was, however, a week behind my team mates. The first week is always the most painful. Cricket, unlike any other sport I’ve attempted, leaves you with aches and pains in places that you weren’t aware existed on your body. You have to break yourself into a new season. It’s now Wednesday and I’ve still got a slight cramp-like feeling in my right hand and left buttock.

Both of these are thanks to batting. Gripping too hard as you nervously prod at the first few you face and bouncing around in the crease to try and get the feet moving. It sort of worked…

I was approaching my first net with the added excitement of it being the first opportunity to give my brand new Slazenger V100 Ultimate its debut outing. It’s always something to look forward to, the first use of a new bat.

I enjoyed the experience, too. The V100 has a huge middle and, when meeting the ball, seems to defy the physics of an equal and opposite reaction as the balls flies away without fuss or fanfare. A well timed forward defensive would also open up scoring opportunities.

The TAS (Torsioned and Sprung) inserts also lend more power to the edge of the bat. If you don’t quite middle the ball there is still a good transfer of power onto the ball from the V100 as a result of this addition.

Having a powerful edge is certainly a bonus to a batsman like me! The first net of the season was never likely to see me at my best, but it was good to feel leather on willow once again. I’m looking forward to netting regularly and have been working on my bowling, too, more of which next time.

Last season I set myself the target of averaging 14 with the bat across the season. I failed. Dismally. This season I will be attempting to average in double figures. I will also be captaining the Englefield Green Cricket Club 2nd XI, so a victory or two along the way would be an added bonus!

By Miles Reucroft

Jacques Kallis has scored 13,000 Test runs with a Slazenger bat.

I fell some way short of my own meagre targets last season so I’ve done what all bad workmen do and blamed my tools. Well, one tool specifically: my bat.

My willow wand wasn’t weaving its magic in 2012. The ball rarely found the boundary and, truth be told, the bat rarely found the ball. I’m absolving myself of all blame. Definitely not my fault. No way.

Half the fun of an upcoming season is the perusal of new equipment. ‘I’d look great in that helmet,’ or ‘I couldn’t possibly fail to score runs with that bat.’ Then an e-mail arrived in my inbox enquiring as to whether or not I’d be interested in giving a new model for 2013 a run out.

‘Of course’, ‘definitely’ and ‘thank you very much’ were sent back. A couple of weeks later a parcel arrived and within it laid my new weapon and the thought, ‘I couldn’t possibly fail to score runs with that bat.’

The Slazenger V100 Ultimate.

She’s a beauty. The finest English willow, with a Torsioned and Sprung (TAS) system of twisted oak inserts in the edges that pretty much guarantees the boundaries that my fluent stroke play demands… Ahem, I mean the mahoosive edges this thing has should mean a couple of my flays outside off carry the ball over the slips, rather than to them at waist height.

Slazenger is a brand synonymous with cricket, having been involved in the game since 1881. Such luminaries of the game as W.G Grace, Sir Don Bradman, Geoffrey Boycott, Sir Viv Richards and Miles Reucroft have used their bats. Jacques Kallis recently stroked his 13,000th Test run with a Slazenger.

The bat has now been run in, oiled and faced and is ready for action. I can hardly wait. Nets down at Englefield Green Cricket Club commence on January 27 and I’m looking forward to putting the V100 to proper use, as opposed to as an ornament in the corner of the living room.

My partner doesn’t share my appreciation for its beauty, but then what does she know? She isn’t the one who’s been playing imaginary forward defensives, cover drives and reverse sweeps on the rug with it.

It is exceptionally weighted and the pick up is fluent and light, as I prefer. The sweet spot, so I’m told, is slightly lower down the bat than my previous blade, but I will be able to discover that properly in due course. Whilst knocking it in it felt as though it has a huge middle, which can’t be a bad thing!

The thick edges are also an advantage to someone like me and it’ll be interesting to see how the TAS inserts play out and the difference they make in practice.

I’ll be waiting to see how I go in nets before setting any targets for 2013. There’s a real threat that I might assume the captaincy of Englefield Green’s 2nd XI so that will have an effect, too. Will I be a captain like Alastair Cook or Michael Clarke who scores runs by the bucket load upon assuming the leadership, or will by own batting suffer?

Plenty to look forward to this year folks. Plenty. I hope you enjoy my Life as a Village Cricketer diaries!

By Miles Reucroft

Joe Root has been nominated as the best young player in the LV= County Championship in 2012

Root was one of six players shortlisted for the award. He saw off tough competition from Simon Kerrigan of Lancashire, Surrey fast bowler Stuart Meaker, Derbyshire top order batsman Dan Redfern, Kent all-rounder Matt Coles and Yorkshire team mate Garry Ballance.

It is no less than Root deserves for an outstanding 2012. He was our pick to win the award and, judging from the reaction to the shortlist on Twitter, was the pick of several fans and journalists.

He just seemed to be the stand out candidate, with his average touching 50 in 2012 and his career best to date 222* against Hampshire. He certainly looks to have a bright future and of the players on the short list for this award, you would pencil him in as the most likely to go and become an England regular.

This was a point that Dominic Cork raised to us a few weeks ago. He looks to have such a terrific temperament to compliment his natural ability, that it would be a travesty were this not to be one award in a career of many.

Root received a commemorative TAG Heuer watch in recognition of his outstanding season in the LV= County Championship. As part of his award, Root nominated Sheffield Collegiate Cricket Club and the Yorkshire Cricket Foundation – a grassroots cricket initiative aimed at introducing youngsters to cricket – to be the recipients of a £500 cheque each, donated by LV=.

“Joe Root is a worthy winner of the inaugural LV= Breakthrough Player Award,” said former England captain Mike Gatting upon presenting Root with his award. “Joe has a bright future in the game and strikes me as the kind of player who will make the very best use of his talent in years to come. Joe’s 222 not out against Hampshire was a defining moment – it was a fantastic achievement from one of England’s hottest prospects.”

“I’m over the moon to have won the LV= Breakthrough Player Award,” added Root himself. “I was up against some top players, so even being nominated was an achievement in itself. I’m happy with how my season has been going, especially considering it is only my second full season in the LV= County Championship. I feel I have really developed as a player this season and I owe a great deal of that to the talented players I play alongside as well as the support and coaching I receive at Yorkshire cricket club.”

This certainly won’t be the last of Root’s individual achievements. He can help Yorkshire to achieve instant promotion back into Division One and it might not be too long before he’s adorned with an England cap – the greatest accolade a cricketer could wish for.

By Miles Reucroft

I managed to get a cheeky reverse sweep in this weekend. It made me no runs and probably didn't look good, but it made people laugh. You can't ask for more than that.

After a steady 12 last time out, I again set a season’s high as I notched 17 runs in a mere one hour and 20 minutes of scintillating Sunday cricket in the cold and the dark and the drizzle of Englefield Green.

If only the season had started had started on the August Bank Holiday weekend, my season’s average would stand at a lofty 14.50.

As it is, it now stands at 5.20. I’m not too disappointed. Only two innings ago it was below three.

My 17 was a decent knock. By my standards, at least. I arrived at the crease with the score on 52/2. Our remaining opener soon got himself out for 30 aiming a loose drive to nowhere in particular and then the floodgates opened.

Batsmen five, six, seven and eight all came and went, adding a paltry five runs between them from 37 deliveries.

It was unusual for me not to be a part of such carnage. I’m usually willingly sucked into the vortex that is Englefield Green’s middle order, so it was odd to see so many come and so many go.

I was lucky, mind. One of their pace bowlers had me in his pocket, but fortunately I only faced his last over.

His replacement was bowling right arm around the wicket. I hate the ball coming across me. Hate it. I countered this in unusual fashion by simply giving him the charge. If it works for Ian Bell…

No runs were accrued, but it’s hard to be given out lbw when you’re a third of the way down the wicket. It was a plan born of self preservation.

The plan worked as we took the extras afforded by him slinging too many down the leg side, clearly ruffled by my uncompromising approach…

At the other end was some very friendly slow bowling. Anything flighted I was down the track to, nudging away for ones and twos in the on side. Anything on a good length I blocked. There was even a reverse sweep. Really. Didn’t get anything for it, mind.

I eventually departed the scene with our score on 113/8, looking to up my somewhat sluggish rate. I strode down to a new spinner and tried to sweep him. I missed and was stumped.

I was pleased to get some time in the middle though. It’d been a while. I was also chuffed to lift my average above five.

I’ll get nowhere near my target average of 11.75, but there’s always next season, right? That may have been my final outing of the season, but I’ll be sure to let you know in due course.

By Miles Reucroft

Typical conditions for the English village cricketer during the early part of the season

The issue with netting indoors at this time of year – the start of the cricket season – is that, unless you happen to be good enough to be playing in the County Championship, conditions in the plush surroundings of an excellent centre such as Lord’s are nothing like those you’ll experience on a sodden Saturday in mid-April.

So the early confidence gained from feeling bat on ball at the home of cricket, will not exactly stand me in great stead for my early season forays into the highly competitive environs of the Surrey Cricket League Division 3 with Englefield Green Cricket Club…

The ball will stick, pop, swing and seam as the overcast and cold conditions take hold. The ball will not come nicely onto the bat with predictability as to its bounce.

This at least provides no hopers such as myself with an arsenal of ill-informed excuses to regale our teammates with back in the pavilion after another lamentably short innings – ‘honestly, it kept low and turned square…’

The new season starts for us in the first weekend of May. My season’s target is still to average 11.16, thus matching (hopefully bettering) Kevin Pietersen’s average in the UAE a couple of months back.

I’m looking forward to the new season, although we’ll be facing a slightly higher standard of opposition than last year thanks to a league re-jig. Seasonal changes don’t just occur in the First Class game – oh no, we’re privy to them as well.

To be fair to the administrators of the Surrey Cricket League, though, they are faced with teams pulling out/ceasing to exist on an annual basis. I’m not sure what the ECB’s excuse is as concerns the County game.

So, this season, I’ve got trips to exotic locations such as Woking, Croydon, Wimbledon and Tooting to look forward to.

For now, I am looking forward to them. New season, new hope and all that. The very thought of wasted weekends, arguments with my partner and the inability to move properly on a Monday has got me abuzz with anticipation…

By Miles Reucroft

Chennai Super Kings will take some stopping if they are to be denied a third straight IPL crown

76 games await us; 72 in the group stage as the nine franchises face up to one another before Qualifier 1, the Eliminator, Qualifier 2 and then the final, in Chennai, on Sunday May 27. The tournament is organised to offer the top two sides from the group stage the best chance of reaching the final.

Who will win? Who should you be watching? Well, we’ve reached for the crystal ball once again (it has been letting us down recently, but we’re usually okay with the IPL – click here for evidence!) and brought you our preview, predictions and players to watch. Get involved with your own predictions below. Enjoy!

Players to watch

Brendon McCullum – the Kiwi keeper is available for the entire tournament this time around and a good run in the Kolkata Knight Riders side might be enough for him to rediscover the form that lit up the IPL’s opening fixture between KKR and Royal Challengers Bangalore back in 2008. That evening he blasted 158* off 73 balls. It remains the IPL record top score.

Shakib Al Hasan – a wonderfully talented all rounder, the star of Bangladeshi cricket could carry his recent good form into this tournament. As well as leading KKR’s spin attack, he should provide valuable middle order runs.

Predictions – the final four

Chennai Super Kings – searching for an unprecedented third straight crown, MS Dhoni’s charges start as favourites. A strong Indian contingent (Dhoni, Ravichandran Ashwin, Suresh Raina, Murali Vijay, Abhinav Makund and Ravindra Jadeja) is supported by solid, if largely unspectacular, overseas players in Dwayne Bravo, Ben Hilfenhaus, Suraj Randiv, Nuwan Kulasekara, Albie Morkel, Doug Bollinger, Mike Hussey, Faf du Plessis, George Bailey and Scott Styris.

There are enough fireworks within the squad, married to experience and professionalism, to ensure that CSK will be there or thereabouts come the final reckoning.

Shakib Al Hasan will be crucial to KKR's chances

Mumbai Indians – Led by Indian outcast Harbhajan Singh and featuring a certain Sachin Tendulkar, MI are always contenders. This is a well balanced squad that won the Champions League last year, too. Alongside Harbhajan and Tendulkar, Pragyan Ojha, RP Singh, Munaf Patel and Rohit Sharma are the stand out Indian names. Add to that Herschelle Gibbs, Clint McKay, Mitchell Johnson Richard Levi, Lasith Malinga and Kieron Pollard and you have a really well rounded outfit. They will be very tough to beat at every turn.

Royal Challengers Bangalore – 2011’s runners up retain Daniel Vettori as skipper in a squad that oozes class. If only they could pick more than four foreigners in the starting XI… With Tillakaratne Dilshan and Chris Gayle opening, pyrotechnics are assured. The on fire Virat Kohli adds depth to the batting but the likes of Mohammad Kaif, Zaheer Khan, Abhimanya Mithun, Surabh Tiwary and Vinay Kumar will need to perform if RCB are to go one step further in 2012.

Assuming Vettori, Dilshan and Gayle are automatic picks, only one of AB de Villiers, Charl Langeveldt, Andrew McDonald, Muttiah Muralitharan, Dirk Nannes and Luke Pomersbach will play. Choices, choices. It seems likely that de Villiers could wicket keep with Nannes and Vettori rotating depending upon the playing conditions.

Kolkata Knight Riders – Gautam Gambhir’s charges should pip Delhi Daredevils to fourth spot. With only Gambhir, Manoj Tiwary, Yusuf Pathan and the young Jaydev Undakat as ‘big’ Indian names, however, KKR will need a couple of the lesser lights in the squad to step up. The squad is furnished with some illustrious overseas talent, though.

Second IPL top scorer of all time Jacques Kallis, Brendon McCullum, Eoin Morgan, Brett Lee and Shakib Al Hasan are supported by James Pattinson, Merchant de Lange, Brad Haddin and Ryan ten Doeschate. They have the talent to be there until the end.

And the winners…

It’s hard to look beyond CSK and MI reaching the final (as in 2010) with CSK coming out on top (as in 2010). These are the two to beat without doubt, although RCB look best placed behind MI to break CSK’s recent dominance. I’m backing a third straight CSK win.

By Miles Reucroft

Are net sessions more, or less, important to the game's pros like Shahid Afridi?

But what of us mere mortals, those untouched by professionalism and, in a lot of cases, natural talent? Time in the middle is something of a luxury. 10 minutes is a long innings for me.

So, to some extent, nets are a waste of time. Batting uninterrupted for 20 minutes is unnatural and unrealistic. It’s cricketing fiction for many.

There’s also a lack of fear in the nets. You let a few go by your off stump in an attempt to make it appear as though you are taking your precious practice time seriously and then you simply throw the willow at everything with gay abandon. Lose your off peg? No bother.

There are also net shots and ‘real’ shots. In the nets you feel much freer to attempt the expansive drive that you wouldn’t resort to in an actual game in late April. A teammate of mine had a particular penchant for the sweep, except he never felt able to play it in the nets due to a perceived lack of space.

Another issue in the nets is deciding whether or not you’re out. Would that uppish drive have been caught? The bowler always thinks so! Only when you get a chunky edge into the corner of the net can you be sure that four runs would have been collected.

But, for all its flaws, the raison d’être of the net session is feeling the leather on the willow. Aside from leaving you unable to move your body correctly due to muscle strains in awkward locations, of course…

A bit like practicing penalties at training in football, nets don’t prepare you for the real thing. Sure, you can practice those wristy flicks and landing the ball on a good length, but instinct in a game overrides this. A once weekly net session won’t alter your instincts.

So, Sir Ian is right. In a way. For professional cricketers. For the rest of us, it’s the only chance we get to experience a prolonged spell with the ball or time at the crease. It is also a rare bit of exercise for some of us, and that should be encouraged.

By Miles Reucroft

England had been enjoying their best period since an Andrew Flintoff inspired 2005 prior to their rude awakening in the Middle East

The last time the two met in a Test series, the term ‘spot-fixing’ first came to light for many people, and the series result was far less important than the impact it had on the sport. Three Pakistan cricketers ended up in jail.

Going into this tour after their first prolonged rest period since the end of 2010, faith had been restored in an England side that looked like it could take on anyone in world cricket. Batsmen were in form, bowlers were taking wickets and players weren’t guaranteed their place in the team, because there were challengers on the fringes waiting for their chance to shine.

The 4-0 whitewash of India last summer took England to the number one ranking in Test cricket and the ICC Test rankings soon after showed that four of the top 10 Test batsmen, and five from the top 12 bowlers, were English.

These were the best times England had seen since the Ashes victory of 2005, when Andrew Flintoff and co. brought cricket back into the mainstream.

But already it seems, after the 3-0 whitewash at the hands of Pakistan, as though England has been premature in thinking its cricketers are the world beaters many pundits and followers thought.

Man of the Series, Saeed Ajmal was the main tormenter of the English batsman, taking a total of 24 wickets. Instead of congratulating the man on three fine performances in which he confused every batsman, however, English pundits questioned the eligibility of the off-spinners bowling action.

Former captain-turned Sky Sports pundit, Bob Willis commented: “The problem I have is with the doosra. Why do all these bowlers bowl with their sleeves buttoned around their wrists? Why aren’t they wearing short-sleeved shirts? The answer is clear. They are bending their elbows.”

The rules permitted by the International Cricket Council say that the bowling arm should not bend past 15 degrees. During the second Test, however, at least one of Ajmal’s deliveries was delivered with a flex at the elbow of roughly 35 degrees, 20 degrees over the legal limit. The majority were delivered at around 23.5 degrees.

After the third Test, when collecting his award for Man of the Series, Ajmal said: “Someone is telling me my action is bad, but the ICC allows me to bowl 23.5 degrees because my arm is not good, but that’s my problem. Apart from that, there is no problem with my action; it has been cleared by the ICC.”

If this is true, and the ICC are allowing Ajmal to bend his arm more than anyone else because of a childhood injury, then he may be the first of many bowlers trying to get special dispensation.

The English batsmen before the series had sparked fear into teams with their ability to take a game away from the opposition, with anyone from Andrew Strauss down to Stuart Broad able to win a game on their own. Following capitulation after capitulation in the UAE at the hands of Ajamal et al, teams will now believe they can trouble England and beat them.

It wasn’t all (although mostly it was) doom and gloom in the desert for England, with Monty Panesar successfully coming back into the fray after four years in the wilderness and Matt Prior walking away with his head held at a respectable level.

Next to come for England in the Test arena is a trip to Sri Lanka, a country that is renowned for conditions just like those in the U.A.E, and this series will again provide stern tests for the batsmen and bowlers.

This trip will be crucial for England to prove the doubters wrong and win a series in conditions that the team doesn’t seem suited to, before coming back home to a series against the West Indies, starting at Lord’s in mid-May.

By then, they could already have lost their number one Test ranking.

By Georgie Lewis