Coaching Profile:
Matthew Fidler
Observation Session
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Batting
Stance/Setup - Ensure starting point is consistent, to ensure you can leave the ball with confidence outside off-stump & have a good interpretation of when balls are on the stumps, and/or drifting down the leg-side - Feet square and in-line, toes up to middle stump (currently front foot/shoulder is slightly open, but this encourages the hands to pull across the ball towards the leg-side) - Bat lift; straight back over the stumps, or over off-stump at it's widest |
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Front Foot play
- Try to get closer to the ball with the front foot, the closer you can get with your front foot and head over the ball the more likely you are to make a good contact. Playing away from the body means a heavy reliance just on the hands to predict the line of the ball and not generating power from the whole body
- Good, comfortable stride allowing plenty of weight through the ball on contact
- Don't try to over-hit the ball, if/when setting up the above, you will generate power courtesy of a strong, well balanced position at contact - just ensure the hands are working together
- Try to get closer to the ball with the front foot, the closer you can get with your front foot and head over the ball the more likely you are to make a good contact. Playing away from the body means a heavy reliance just on the hands to predict the line of the ball and not generating power from the whole body
- Good, comfortable stride allowing plenty of weight through the ball on contact
- Don't try to over-hit the ball, if/when setting up the above, you will generate power courtesy of a strong, well balanced position at contact - just ensure the hands are working together
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Wicket-Keeping
Setup - Feet shoulder width apart and weight towards the front of the foot (on toes/balls of the feet) creating a strong, stable, well balanced position and posture (known as the Z position) - Hands out in front of the body, allowing for an area to bring the ball in slightly on arrival (but ensuring they are not beyond the stumps when standing up) - Hands together, thumbs wide apart to create a big catching area with good hand presentation |
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Areas to focus on:
- Stay as still as possible when the ball comes, head and eyes remaining level to provide the best line of sight possible (moving around with feet/head will make it harder to catch the ball successfully)
- Try to prevent weight falling backwards, natural instinct is to back off with something coming towards you but fight against this starting with the slight forward press as mentioned above, so that when the ball arrives it only allows weight to be neutralised rather than falling away from the stumps - backwards
- Stay low - very important to only rise with the bounce of the ball. A common trend with keepers who miss the ball or who are unsuccessful in their attempts to catch it, tend to be through rising too early and the hands being too high
- Relax the hands and maintain a large catching area for as long as possible. anxiously wanting the ball to come and desperately wanting to catch it will lead to closing the hands early or rising up too early and therefore less likely to catch successfully.
- Stay as still as possible when the ball comes, head and eyes remaining level to provide the best line of sight possible (moving around with feet/head will make it harder to catch the ball successfully)
- Try to prevent weight falling backwards, natural instinct is to back off with something coming towards you but fight against this starting with the slight forward press as mentioned above, so that when the ball arrives it only allows weight to be neutralised rather than falling away from the stumps - backwards
- Stay low - very important to only rise with the bounce of the ball. A common trend with keepers who miss the ball or who are unsuccessful in their attempts to catch it, tend to be through rising too early and the hands being too high
- Relax the hands and maintain a large catching area for as long as possible. anxiously wanting the ball to come and desperately wanting to catch it will lead to closing the hands early or rising up too early and therefore less likely to catch successfully.
Hopefully Matthew can see some of the pointers mentioned in the images below, a fairly well known face.....
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