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[fromthehip]

having a attended my clubs nets again today i have come to the conclsion they do me more bad than good...
i see them as a valuable part of pre season however
1..bowlers trying to bowl too fast = no line or length
2..spiners trying everthing apart from there stock delivery = fishing it out of net
3..batsman just trying to smash everthing = ok if you normally play that way
4..worn mats with no bounce = unrealistic
5..everyone has an opinion but little understanding with regard to what we should/need to do
we currently don't have a qualified coach with in club
thoughts to help please

[ProCricketer1982]

completely agree re club nets. I've not been to one club net yet that I've thought was effective training. I've found them purely a meeting/banter shop. Like you say, batsmen do things they don't do in games and don't bat long enough to actually 'train it' anyway, bowlers bowl too fast for their normal speed or try and knock people's heads off in bouncer nets etc etc.

I am having to go to them currently as i'm finding myself a new club but once I'm established I'd rather just rely on the fact they know how much I train anyway so not bother. Like you say, does more harm than good half the time.

[farnham_quins_2]

I have club nets this afternoon. I find that its mainly batsmen that turn up, and everyone just wants to bat. You end up having 10 mins batting (which is no where near enough time) against people who arent even bowlers. I think only people who bat 1-7 should be batting in nets so you get 15-20 mins batting, and then its more worthwhile for bowlers too as theyre practising against better batsmen. At the moment im going to nets with a couple of bowlers who are happy just to practise bowling, with one or 2 other batsmen. Then you get 20-30 mins batting against decent balls.

[ProCricketer1982]

Not sure I agree with only top order batting at club nets but I do get your point. How are people supposed to improve if a club did do that and they are currently not in teh top 6 or 7? (many people ahve the talent and/or skill potentially to be better than established batsmen but people either don't teach them properly or give them a chance).


This is why clubs need to ensure nets is part of the selection process. Yes people have lives etc but if you don't turn up why should you expect to get picked ahead of people who do turn up? Plus you need to have nets booked for a 2hours to give enough time for loads to bat and have 4 or 5 lanes which 2 or 3 machines going and rotate through. That way people would get 20 to 30 mins and probably 400-500 balls which is gold dust.

One of the clubs I've been netting with this is someting I've pushed them into. They originally only booked one net as 'we only get 5 or 6 really tbh).. So I said take a risk, book the whole hall (5 lanes) for 2 hours and I'll bring my machien and you bring the club one. We'll set 2 lanes up with machines (one front foot, one back foot) and then 3 lanes for bowling (2 'pace', 1 'slow' with the keeper in)

Added to that a couple of people wiht the guys on the machien just helping them focus for their 10 mins on weaknesses etc and bang.. turn out in 4 weeks has gone from 6 to 21, and when asked they all said 'it's worth coming if I am going to get a decent bat and some coaching'.. That's why it's so wortha  club really investing time and money into nets, its so attractive to players AND will actually improve your team!

[farnham_quins_2]

Sounds like youve done a good job there. We generally only get 6/7 to nets, but it tends to be the decent bowlers who dont turn up. If we had another lane that would be perfect, but no one wants to take that risk at the moment.

[ProCricketer1982]

Sounds like youve done a good job there. We generally only get 6/7 to nets, but it tends to be the decent bowlers who dont turn up. If we had another lane that would be perfect, but no one wants to take that risk at the moment.

All I did was say 'what would you like to get out of nets?' Most of the men in power said they'd want batting time and to have worked on weaknesses etc etc. So that got them interested enough to take the risk. It's a chicken and egg situation though. It's hard to people to come along and then do new things as they won't come in the first place. If however you take a risk for a whole preseason or two then suddenly you get more people along AND hopefully more of a name for running quality sessions.. This means more people are likely to come join your club over others as they see more benefit. Not saying it's perfect or saying it's the be all and end all as I know a lot of 'normal' people can't be bothered with nets and just want to turn up and slap it about etc.

You can generate more interest in improving though if you make it easy for people.

[SOULMAN1012]

At my club it is expected that you attend the pre-season nets, if you don't the capt sends you a polite but firm text to remind you that no one hasa confirmed place in the team.

We have nets for 2.5 hours with 3 lanes, batters get to bat for the full 2 hours, if out then next batter pads up, lower order bat for last half hour. Whilst this is going on the 3rd net is used for 1:1 coaching (we have 4 ECB coaches). I am lucky I am at a very dedicated, well organised club.

[ProCricketer1982]

At my club it is expected that you attend the pre-season nets, if you don't the capt sends you a polite but firm text to remind you that no one hasa confirmed place in the team.

We have nets for 2.5 hours with 3 lanes, batters get to bat for the full 2 hours, if out then next batter pads up, lower order bat for last half hour. Whilst this is going on the 3rd net is used for 1:1 coaching (we have 4 ECB coaches). I am lucky I am at a very dedicated, well organised club.

I'd love the 'only stop batting when you get out' !!!! Just bat forever (or at least try). I assume you count chiping bad shots to cow or in the air when they'd get caught as out though?? (nicks behind etc).. Otherwise on good decks a good batsmen could probably stay there for a while if they didn't take any risks.

Sounds good though! Better than any I've ever seen

[FattusCattus]

I think there is some logic in pre-season nets that the batters bat, and the bowlers bowl. Everyone needs to get the rust out of their system for the first couple of games.ma bias towards people's first skill is a good thing.

Obviously for us stunning all rounders, we should be allowed to do both!

[ajmw89]

My new club has a 2 hour net, of which the first half hour is fielding and fitness based, which is useful. The nets themselves are really slow, low mats which are practically useless. At least I get to work on my yorkers though!