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[pacman75cricket]

I am 37 + never kept before but been told might have to keep as keepers left not available any tips.  Only ever put gloves on for one training  session last year bit hit + miss bowling machine + 75+ bit hit + miss any tips

[Simmy]

watch the ball,

stay low as possible
make sure u have a good view of bowler(batter not in the way)
left leg on off stump
soft hands

if u can catch and have good balance and a good eye u will be fine if not u will strugle

[Buzz]

start doing some yoga?
do a few squats.
buy a new bat.
get used to sore hands?

[FvanN]

Only thing to add is make sure you are ready to wear one or two as bowlers dont like keepers giving away byes.... Only thing you will learn to hate is all your team mates throwing the ball in at your toes  our keeper threw a right paddy last night over this one.

Best of luck 

[pacman75cricket]

Squat position not thje easiest being 6ft1

Usually @ slip so hopefully hand to eye ok.

Will have to scrounge some gear for the weekend + see how we do

[pacman75cricket]

[quote autho :Dr=Buzz link=topic=17528.msg280884#msg280884 date=1335941707]
start doing some yoga?
do a few squats.
buy a new bat.
get used to sore hands?
[/quote]

Think the hades will have to do

[Simmy]

Only thing you will learn to hate is all your team mates throwing the ball in at your toes  our keeper threw a right paddy last night over this one.

just do what i do, stand there and dont move or attempt to catch it and hope some body is backing up lol

they get the message eventually

doesnt happen a right lot for me tho most people have a good arm and are accurate

[Red Ink Cricket]

lucky for you simmy. most of my team mates struggle to get it near me half the time. its something we have been working on this season so fingers crossed it will be worthwhile

[richthekeeper]

hello pacman i'm also a tall keeper at 6'2 and i'm afraid you'll just have to get used to crouching! if your knees are near your ears you're in about the right shape

seriously though when standing back the hardest part about keeping is concentration. you might not take a ball for half an over but you have to expect the edge to come every time. you're the cheerleader for the field and it's your job to watch the bowler, batsman and pitch and relay any information to the captain.

when standing up, it's important to stay down until just a fraction after the ball has bounced. move with the line of the ball so you can easily take those wide ones, but keep low!

at all times, you should be "receiving" the ball not catching it, with soft hands and with your head in line if possible.

[Spanky]

Not a keeper but would recommend working on your flexibility especially hamstrings, to help posture when squating down.

[GarrettJ]

i keep wicket and my style varies from some of the methods on here.

One thing i would say is that standing back is very easy ONLY if you stand in the right place. It is essential that you are catching the ball at the height of its trajectory so that the catches carry to you. its worth asking the point to see if you are catching the first few before the ball is dipping. Also remember the first over from the openers are always a little slower than the next few.

The foot position for me depends on the type of bowler. If he is bowling inswing, left foot on off stump and face your body towards the stumps .... not the bowler.... it may feel like he is running towards you at a funny angle but stick with it.

Away swing stand wide off the off stump and face the stumps again with your body, this will mean that the ball will straighten up towards you as it passes the batsman and the ball is coming into your body not away from you. if there is a nick then you are in a good position to take off. For left arms same again but face the bowler and stand very wide outside off stump.

Standing back, staying low isn't that much of an issue if you are stood in the right position as the ball should be hitting you at waist height before it is losing speed and dying on you.

Standing up is where it gets a little tricky. You must stay relatively still and rise with the ball. Strictly speaking you should not be moving if a full toss is bowled as you are waiting for it to bounce. Feet wise line up your left for with off stump and always keep it there and just step across to take the ball with you weight on the left leg, that way you will be quicker for a stumping.

Down legside, step the left leg as far as possible .... the ball will pass the batsmen at some point and you can not see the ball, stick your hands in the place where you think the ball is hope for the best!!! If you get your body across you will probably take it on the chest. when moving across you need to try to get your weight on your right foot and lean into the stumps.

Your hands are another issue. I always take the ball with my hands moving in the direction of the stumps and go for a stumping EVERY BALL but miss the top of the stumps. if the batsmen lifts his foot then you just carry on and hit the stump. It cant be that you catch it then realise he is out of his ground then move your arms to the stumps especially to slow spinners.

I have kept wicket in mens cricket since i was 11 and get over 25 stumping a year, every year. I usually spend 50 overs stood up unless a quick bowler is on. As clayton Lambert used to say to me ....... "up to the stumps maan, keep him in his crease, no worry about the byes maan, one is one"

just enjoy it ............ doesnt matter if you are sh!te dint worry about it.

Another thing I have found is that it is good for your batting, you really really watch the ball before and during delivery as you are looking for the variations in the bowler. Look out for the spinner with his finger down the seam, the medium pacer with his off spinner grip, delivery wide of the crease which is going down leg if it all goes horribly wrong....... etc etc

[thecord]

Very interesting advice with a couple of things I had not considered before, thanks for sharing 

[richthekeeper]

i saw a really good video on youtube with richard johnson showing his legside technique.

it's here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHSPIx_5XVQ

i try to make sure i drag my fingers along the ground when going leg side, this keeps me low

[GarrettJ]

i dont think keeping gets enough coverage, it always seem to just be ............ stay low, watch the ball now lets look at the batsmen and the bowlers and leave them too it!!

I was a keeper by chance, as a youngster i played for a really top youth side and couldnt get a game because everyone had to bowl at least 1 over and i used to bowl off the wrong foot!! The dillemma was i was a good batsmen and managed to 50 in an under 13 game where we played in pairs for 4 overs.

So many keepers do different things. When was was at Durham one 2nd team keeper told me to not look at the bowler just stare at the floor on a length ........ as a 16 year old i thought he was mental and thats why he was in the 2nds!!! ... so I ignored him but now understand his technique having read a few articles on where to look when batting.

For me the most important aspect is the weight transfer when standing up and keeping it towards the stumps when taking the ball even if it is a wide out side off.

Jsut try things out, some will work some wont ......... as long as you are taking 99% of your catches standing back and 99% of your stumpings (including leg side ones) then i'd be happy.

[richthekeeper]

just returning to this after a a game keeping for the first team last weekend when i stood up for 40/50 overs.

regarding leg side takes, i've looked at a few coaching resources online and have noticed that a lot of them advocate staying on the off side as long as possible. the idea is that you need to gain as much information as you can about where the ball is likely to go, then move quickly to leg to take the ball as it passes the batsman.

this was definitely working for me on the weekend, i came within a whisker of my first ever leg side stumping! and only gave away two byes.