Cricket SkillsOne of the best ways to learn cricket skills is through game like simulations, so that players can see a situation in practice that they’re going to see in a match. Sure, there are lots of ways to hone individual batting, bowling and fielding skills, but the next step for a coach is to create practice drills that bring them all together. These drills can be great fun for players, and their range is only limited by the imagination of the coach. So, here’s a short selection that always goes down well at my cricket club, though they’re equally as good in the garden or on the beach. In the diagrams, the fielders are labelled as F, the batsman as B, wicket keeper as Wk, and the coach as C. Team catching and run out game 
This is good for developing the cricket skills of catching, throwing and running between the wickets. On cue, the wicket keeper throws the ball to the first fielder and the batsman sets off for two runs between positions B1 and B2.The ball must be thrown and caught by all four fielders, and returned to the wicket keeper. The batsman must complete two runs to avoid being run out. The arrows show the path of the ball. Variations include using rolling and ground fielding instead of throwing and catching, making the game non-stop until the batsman is run out, and turning the whole routine into a game between fielders and batsmen. The length of the pitch takes some fine tuning, so that its always a close race between the ball and the batsman. Circle cricket 
This develops the cricket skills of batting and fielding. Batsmen must use proper technique and strokes, and learn the right tactics to score more runs – like hitting the ball into gaps and only playing balls that are necessary. They will face the ball when turning, and slide their bat over the line.The fielders must restrict the number of runs scored by anticipating where the ball will be hit, and attempt run outs by returning the ball quickly to the in-fielders or by going for direct hits. They must also back up the throws. Fielders can surround the batsman, but must keep out of the 5m circle. Batsmen retire after they have scored 5 runs. Variations include increasing the number of runs, increasing/decreasing the number of fielders or size of circle or running area. Again, the best dimensions are those that make it a close competition between ball and bat. Pairs cricket 
Pairs cricket is a great way to develop all cricket skills. The batsmen work in pairs, and have a set starting score, perhaps 100. They bat for a set number of overs – perhaps four, and every run scored adds to the starting score. If they lose a wicket, 5 runs are deducted and the batsmen change ends. After their four overs, the batsmen retire and the next pair take over. This can be developed into a full scale match between two sides of 8 players, one batting and one bowling. Each batting pair has 4 overs each, every fielder must bowl at least one over and a maximum of 4 in a 16 over match. Wides and no balls count as two runs for the batting side, but no additional balls are bowled. The horse’s tail game 
This is a really fun way to develop close catching skills. One end of the arc of fielders is named as the horse’s head, and the other the horse’s tail. The coach hits a variety of catches to random fielders, who return the ball to the wicket keeper.
Each catch taken promotes the successful fielder one place in the arc towards the horse’s head, and each brilliant catch promotes him/her two places. But, each dropped catch moves the guilty fielder down to the horse’s tail. The object is to avoid being at the horse’s tail when the coach decides the game is over – this might be a set number of hits, or a specific time. It’s a recipe for competition, chaos and fun, as well as sharpening fielder’s reflexes. The rules of all these games can be varied to suit the situation. But, this is just a start, as there are many more games that are great for developing cricket skills, as well as being fun in their own right. If you’re interested in finding out more, please use my contact form to get in touch. Want more coaching information? Why not visit my pages on top tips for batting, and bowling, and cricket fielding positions.
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