Custom Bats Cricket Forum
General Cricket => Cricket Training, Fitness and Injuries => Topic started by: adi on April 25, 2014, 05:43:20 AM
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So this season will be my 1st as a full time skipper of my side. I’ve had my share of this fruit last year but for few games only. I guess being a full time; official captain is (and will be) a different experience, really.
I have been into this role before, 5-6 years ago when I led my University-11 (good old days) but this time around it’s a different ball game as club cricket has it’s unique skin, so I’m wondering what is the best advice I can get from the members, based on your club experiences/observations etc. and of course, there’re quite a few seasoned fellas here with a hefty experience as a captain. Any suggestion, advice, thought, opinion is appreciated.
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I'm in the same boat, skippering our 5s this year. Should be a good experience. Im trying to mix some talented youngsters with a few old boys and mates to balance it out
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Be the leading run scorer or wicket taker, easy after that.
But seriously leading from the front has always been a good start, hard to get respect if your no good. In terms of on the field, you need to constantly be on your game. Moving fielders, making bowling changes etc.
Also making sure you turn up to trainings and games on time, showing commitment to the team and respecting all the players and management.
You'll be fine.
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1 tip... You can't keep everyone happy so do what's best for the team
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. dont follow the ball around by changing the field to put a man where the ball went ... especially if it was a bad ball
. watch the batsman and try to work out their scoring areas and move the field accordingly. If that means 2 on the on side and 7 on the off then do it and tell the bowler to bowl offside. I've had 4 people in the point area before as a player just cut everything. He got frustrated and tried to play on the leg side and got out.
. don't set fields for bad bowling.
. dont let anyone move the field without consulting you first
. keep encouraging
. never start blaming or shouting at people
. make sure you keep an eye on the fielders you know lose concentration and keep talking to them .... usually young kids
. take a bag of sweets in your pocket
. dont put the shocking fielders on the boundary .... if they let it go its 4. Stick them close in so if they miss it you only lose 1.[/li]
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Resign as soon as possible! ;)
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Be the leading run scorer or wicket taker, easy after that.
But seriously leading from the front has always been a good start, hard to get respect if your no good. In terms of on the field, you need to constantly be on your game. Moving fielders, making bowling changes etc.
Also making sure you turn up to trainings and games on time, showing commitment to the team and respecting all the players and management.
You'll be fine.
i reckon it's crucial to *lead* by setting the example on and off field, scoring runs, getting wickets no doubt is a must to gain respect but at the same time being deciplined off-the-fied is probably as important as anything else.
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1 tip... You can't keep everyone happy so do what's best for the team
ahh, i wish it was easy to keep everyone happy, i guess the problem is when you do something in the best interest of team and it doesn't work (maybe because of luck, poor execution of plans by the team, exceptional performance by opponents) than you have to feel the heat
I think there's a fine balance between couple of factors, i'm just trying to enlighten myself with all these suggestions
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Always be aware of the match situation. I.e. Run rate required, trying to keep a certain batsman on strike etc.
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While there is some good on field advice here, 80% of being a club captain has little to do with on field activities. It depends on the level you play but man management and organisation is crucial. We have a saying that games are won and lost at selection - if half you 1st choice XI aren't available you are sometimes looking at defeat 3 days before the game!. Get your key players available and then get the team to gel ie. become greater than the sum of the parts . I've seen so many talented teams where the captain hasn't a clue how to best use the resources available and they lose to a far less talented, but organised XI. Be honest and upfront with people, especially on issues like selection (in/out) and why you did x on the pitch and not y. Take advice,but you don't have to follow it. Be prepared to lose games to win them and don't be afraid to try something different - too many captains play by the rule book instead of looking at what's in front of them ie. send in a pitch hitter to boost the run rate or play a hunch on a certain bowling suiting the conditions.
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Be a diplomat and stay calm but positive!
In particular, I agree with the 2 points made previously!
- keep encouraging
. never start blaming or shouting at people
The worst a Captain can do is get stressed and start blaming people as it will stress your team out and discourage them!
Always stay positive, even if you are getting a hammering - if the Captain seems positive then the rest of the team try to follow suit!
Always be the first to shake the oppositions hands, even if they have been a bunch of muppets! :(
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Always make a mental note of how many overs each bowler has left.
Always let them know a couple of overs early if they're going to bowl. Fast bowlers are a bit moody (understandably) if you say 'Oi, you're bowling that end now'
And as said above, just stay calm & be positive. If you lose your head then everyone else will.
Oh also, whilst being fair to your players as to where they bat, bowl & field, be honest with yourself as well, too many skippers either sacrifice their game just to keep others happy, or try to do everything, just because they can. There's a fine balance to be struck.
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one point often missed is the importance of the wicketkeeper
you need to get him to be full of energy, encouraging and keep asking him questions. He will know if a pitch is slow, he will have to stand closer than usual and he will know if a batsmen is trying to force balls into certain areas .... always playing offside to the leg etc
thankfully im a wicketkeeper so can do both jobs at once
Also one trick often missed is not getting the wicketkeeper to stand up. If he can stand up for the whole game get him to do it, he may feel uncomfortable but it will really unsettle most batsmen.
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Increase you're mobile phone text and mins limit.
Start picking and informing your team well in advance allowing plenty of time to get fillers in if needed.
Send a final text the 1 or 2 days before confirming with every one.
Try and find 2-3 decent juniors that might not be ready for selection every week but are keen and can fill in at last minute.
Set out your expectations to the team and stick to them. Firm but fair ie don't just continue to bowl someone cos you thought before the game you'd get 8 over out of them. If they bowl a bad over pull them before it's too late (even more important if you're playing T20 with limited time)
Say goodbye to your hair! ;-)
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Appoint an experienced player as your vice-captain. It's hard to on top of everything especially early in the season when it is all new and you are trying to also scope out what your own players strengths are, etc. having this trusted person that can quietly make suggestions or observations to you through a game I found was invaluable!
Good luck for the season and remember to try and enjoy it as it will be over all too quickly!
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If you go a few overs without taking a wicket then put fielders in inventive positions. Apparently being a good captain (like Clarke and McCullum) is to put lots of short midwickets in. According to the forum this makes you a good captain, unlike Cook, even if these short midwickets don't take any catches. As long as you do this then you will be considered a good captain regardless of your results! ;)
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Be a diplomat and stay calm but positive!
In particular, I agree with the 2 points made previously!
- keep encouraging
. never start blaming or shouting at people
The worst a Captain can do is get stressed and start blaming people as it will stress your team out and discourage them!
Always stay positive, even if you are getting a hammering - if the Captain seems positive then the rest of the team try to follow suit!
Always be the first to shake the oppositions hands, even if they have been a bunch of muppets! :(
This!! 100% agree with this!!
Last year we had an awful side, awful in the field and at batting. But the captain just kept getting stressed and agitated and just shouting at the younger lads when they made a mistake.
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If you go a few overs without taking a wicket then put fielders in inventive positions. Apparently being a good captain (like Clarke and McCullum) is to put lots of short midwickets in. According to the forum this makes you a good captain, unlike Cook, even if these short midwickets don't take any catches. As long as you do this then you will be considered a good captain regardless of your results! ;)
You mean like this?
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/t1.0-9/428216_10150582781659480_304328457_n.jpg)
You could also put on some grenade merchant on to toss it into the clouds after 20 overs of being battered by pace, that works quite well ;)
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Don't be afraid to get spinners on early doors. Underrated as far as I'm concerned. Quite often top 3 batsmen at lower levels are batting in the top 3 not just because they like pace on the ball, but because they absolutely hate it off the ball.
Try to enjoy it, this is the part I found hardest.
And trust you hunches and keep your head up. Everyone has an opinion and everyone thinks their own one is right! :-[
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All the above is good advice but do it your way.
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Don't be afraid to get spinners on early doors. Underrated as far as I'm concerned. Quite often top 3 batsmen at lower levels are batting in the top 3 not just because they like pace on the ball, but because they absolutely hate it off the ball.
Couldn't agree more - as a "lower level" opening bat I break out in a cold sweat when the oppo opens up with spinners using the old ball (in our league you don't have to take the new ball in the 2nd innings). But always strikes me as a good tactic - if it doesn't work, just take the new ball after a few overs, nothing lost really.
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Couldn't agree more - as a "lower level" opening bat I break out in a cold sweat when the oppo opens up with spinners using the old ball (in our league you don't have to take the new ball in the 2nd innings). But always strikes me as a good tactic - if it doesn't work, just take the new ball after a few overs, nothing lost really.
Can you take the new ball at any time??
Is there anything stopping you Bowling 2 spinners out from the start, then taking the new ball after 16-20 overs??
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Can you take the new ball at any time??
Is there anything stopping you Bowling 2 spinners out from the start, then taking the new ball after 16-20 overs??
Absolutely, you can take the new ball at any time if the old one isnt working for you. We dont play straight limited overs games - the matches are limited to 90 overs and you must declare before 48 - and bowling 2nd you must take 10 wickets to win. Altogether it means captains have to be a bit more imaginative. We dont have good enough spinners to employ this tactic regularly though...