Tactics
Cricket is quite possibly unique in the sheer
number and diversity of tactical possibilities
that lie within the game. Whilst there is
nothing as blatant as the differences between a
5-4-1 and 3-4-3 formation in football, the
subtleties and nuances are worthy of their own
book - and many have been published, the most
famous of which is The Art of Captaincy by
former England skipper Mike Brearley - essential
reading for any captain, as far as I'm
concerned.
In this section, I'm not going to look in detail
at the aspects of field setting and plans for
batsmen - it goes without saying that this ought
to vary depending on the strengths, weaknesses
and confidence of both batsman and bowler
alongside the game situation. There has been, as
I've said, much written on this subject, so I'm
going to leave it at one quote (yes, it's
indirectly plagiarised from Brearley's book, but
for me it's an excellent summary) - 'You only
regret the things that you didn't do' I'll let
you think on that.
Instead, I'm going to concentrate on less
specific tactics, both technical and mental,
that are often successful in getting the best
out of a team's performance. There's a chance
that this may descend worryingly into the realms
of autobiography in some of the following
examples - you have been warned!
It's an old cliche, but the best eleven players
don't necessarily make the best team. 'Team
spirit' and plain and simple self-belief can go
a long, long way to bridging any gaps of talent
in any team sport at any level, and cricket is
no exception. The hallmark of the great
Australian sides of the current era - under
Border, Taylor, Waugh and now Ponting - has
been, alongside great skill, unshakeable belief
that they will win, no matter what the story the
scoreboard tells - something never more evident
than Michael Bevan and Andy Bichel breaking
English hearts at Port Elizabeth in the 2003
World Cup.
Now, this is something that only comes from
consistently winning and obviously this isn't
within everyone's reach, but the principle of
playing at the very limit of your personal
effort and for the team above anything else is
very much possible for any side. It's difficult
to express in words exactly how this can be
built, but countless teams upsetting the odds in
all sports show that it's not just the stuff of
back-page fantasy. For me, the first stage in
building a spirit and unity along these lines is
to encourage enjoyment in every aspect of the
game's play - the coach, the captain and any
individual player can play equally strong roles
in establishing this, and once this foundation
is created, it becomes easier for a player to go
the extra yards for something he enjoys and
feels part of. Once this stage is reached, the
'snowball effect' often takes hold, then the
team as a unit goes from strength to strength -
then there's little limit to what's possible, as
countless tales of FA Cup shocks show.
Another approach that can have a significant
effect on team performance is to emphasise the
importance that running between the wickets has
upon the course of a game for both the batting
and fielding sides. If a team isn't allowed to
pick up singles and rotate the strike, pressure
will always build in the batsmen's minds as they
become conscious of the run-rate falling. On the
other hand, if a batting team is able to easily
take four or five runs an over due to lax
fielding or unnecessarily defensive field
placings the match could be lost. A fielding
side that's able to restrict the flow of runs
will not only benefit from a lower scoring rate,
but also from more mistakes from the
under-pressure batting side.
The basics of positive, aggressive fielding and
running between the wickets (reinforced, of
course, by backing up in both aspects of the
game) can be concentrated upon in
training/practice sessions in the form of either
exercises or competitive environments, as
natural inter-player competitiveness is likely
to increase the intensity - and as such
effectiveness - if there is a genuine 'edge'
around them. With enough practice, these actions
will become second nature and become an integral
part of what the players see as cricket. Another
benefit to 'competitive' practices of this
nature are that they encourage batsmen to assess
fielding positions and promote shots that are
not only appropriate to the delivery, but also
to the game situation and field setting - the
mental aspect of a cricketer's development is,
for me, just as important as the technical side
(if not even more so).
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