Awareness
Fielding Drill 1 – Awareness
Fielding is a really important part of the game – here’s why:
Whether you are stopping boundaries, preventing quick singles, taking catches or running players out – these are the differences between winning and losing. It’s not just about how many runs you score and how many direct wickets the bowlers get.
- The most important thing when fielding is to always watch the ball – if you stop watching it you will either fumble it or drop a catch.
- When fielding always ‘walk in’ as the bowler starts his run in, this makes sure you are on the front foot and alert ready to field the ball if it comes to you. If you are playing cricket regularly this should become an instinctive movement.
- Trouser pockets are a good place to keep a handkerchief, not your hands!
- When you have collected the ball and are ready to return it to the bowler or wicket keeper, look at where the batsmen are and whether there is the chance of a run out. Listen for the shouts of your team mates telling you which end to return it.
- If the batsmen are at rest – do not do a hard throw in as this presents a risk of overthrows and more runs for the opposing team.
- If the ball is a long way from the wicket and too far to throw in one go – throw it to a team mate half way in – work in pairs to cover each other in the outfield.
- Overthrows cost a lot of runs in junior cricket and are easily prevented. Fielding Drill 2 tells you how.
