Set the right pitch to win, not to last...

While last week’s Test Match at Trent Bridge may have provided us with some memorable moments in the form of Jimmy Anderson’s brilliant score of 81 in a last wicket stand with the impressive Joe Root, and also Alistair Cook’s maiden Test Match wicket, the main talking point has been the lifeless pitch.

A game of cricket is hugely dependent on the surface that it is played on. It can affect the team that is selected, the decision to bat or bowl, the shots that might be played or the fielding positions for each bowler. I cannot think of another sport where the playing surface itself is so changeable and therefore so influential in deciding not only the pattern of the game but also the result.

At Trent Bridge, there is no doubt that the surface was not particularly helpful to the home side in allowing them to take the 20 wickets needed for a Test victory. However, here in lies a direct conflict. Nottinghamshire CCC, have a main objective to make the Test Match last all five days. For the commercial outlay they are making in bringing the match the Trent Bridge, they cannot afford for the match to be over inside three days. I went to watch on the fifth day, and with a healthy crowd and the beer flowing, the club must have made a significant profit on the match as a whole.

Now the focus moves to Lords where the pressure is on the groundsman to produce a faster, bouncier pitch that will be better suited to the England bowling attack. However, the difficultly then raises its head that if it does too much for the bowlers the game could be over quickly.

It is often said that a ‘good pitch’ is one that lots of runs can be scored on. However, that is not a good surface for all players, it is a good surface for batting! The real skill in producing a cricket pitch is creating one that gives the seam/swing bowlers something to work with while still playing true and coming onto the bat for the batsman. It then needs to offer some turn as the game progresses to bring the slow bowlers into the match.

At Kimberley, we are very lucky to have Stewart Burrows and his fantastic team of groundstaff who put so much work into producing not just good batting wickets, but good cricket wickets. Internationally, the best Test wicket in my opinion is at Old Trafford, where it brings all facets into the game, although I may be a little biased being a Lancastrian! With the bidding system they now use for international matches though, not enough focus I feel is given to using the correct grounds for the right opponents, and the financial fear of the match not going 5 days forces the hand of many groundsmen.

Old Trafford provides a great wicket for Test Cricket

There is no doubt, the bidding system has forced many grounds to improve their facilities, Old Trafford and Headingley casing examples, and that was much needed. However, the ECB will find it much easier to promote the game in this country if the England team are winning, and after 9 matches without a Test win, it might be worth risking a four day finish to get a W on the board.

Department of Education must recognise sport in order to encourage sport

Last Saturday at Welbeck was very much a case of who could get through their overs most efficiently, with both teams missing key bowlers. For us, James Mann was unavailable due to an injury and George Bacon was not bowling due to resting his shoulder. With new captain Alex King still recovering from a knee injury, and only able to get through 6 overs himself, our options were limited.

In saying that, it was great to see Tom Rowe bowl so well again. Tom obviously joined us with a batting pedigree, but we also had been given reports that his bowling was a useful weapon, even though it had never been used during his time with the Notts Academy. He has made a massive impact in the changing room with his dry humour, and has been a great addition for us this year.

This weekend will see us reach the half way stage of the league season as we face Mansfield Hosiery Mills. They are still catching up on lost ground from their 50 point deduction at the start of the season, and have probably not made the progress they would have hoped for. We know that have a strong group of players though and that it will no doubt be a very competitive game.

Sunday will also see us take on Alfreton in the first round of the Derbyshire Cup. This is a competition that the club holds very close to its heart and we are desperately keen to have a good run in it this year having reached the quarter finals and semi finals over the last couple of years.

After the game last week, I headed up north back to my family home in Lancashire. This was because on Sunday, I had been invited to captain my old school’s ‘Old Boys XI’ against the current school first team. This is something I have done a few times over the past few years, and it is always a pleasure to visit Lancaster RGS. It is quite phenomenal what they provide for students as a state school, and is a great example to all schools across the country of how you can balance academic achievement while developing sporting talents.

Lancaster RGS is a great example of how sport can be run in a state school

It is a major concern to me that so much of the development work of younger players is now falling solely on cricket clubs and private schools. I really don’t see why state schools can’t do more to develop young players, not only in cricket, but also in a range of other sports. It was something that was noticed this week by the Head of OFSTED Michael Wilshaw, who had had research commissioned after it was discovered that over 40% of the medals won by Team GB at the London Olympics came from athlete who had attended the 7% of private schools we have in the UK.

While there is no doubt that lack of suitable resources and facilities is a major stumbling block, it is not a suitable excuse. Ultimately, it is down to the enthusiasm and emphasis placed on sport by the Head Teacher and Governors of any given school. With Head Teachers quite rightly focused on the measures that OFSTED and the government places uses to rate school performance, if they do not have any reflection on the sporting activities and performance of schools, then ultimately it will never be a priority.

For there to be a real sea change in state school cricket, and sport in general, then the Department for Education must start to include sporting provision and performance in its school assessment criteria. In doing this, Head Teachers would then be more inclined to allocate resources, and create an environment where young athletes could thrive.

Thank you Sam!

It has been a big week at Kimberley Institute Cricket Club. After a successful result against Ratcliffe on Saturday which saw us pick up 18 points in a strong winning draw, and move ourselves firmly into the mid-table pack, on Monday came the news that Sam Ogrizovic was to stand down as captain after four and half years in charge.

While for many this will have come as a big shock, being close to Sam I know that he has been feeling for a while that it might be soon time to take a break from leading the side, a role which can be all-consuming at times due to the pressure and sheer volume of time that it requires.

For me personally, it was a very sad day on Monday, as it was Sam who brought me to Kimberley and he who has really helped drive me to become a better bowler since joining. Not only that, but Sam has been an exceptional club captain, who has led his players with intelligence, passion, courage and a damn right determination that they would become a better side, and hopefully with it, successful.  The work that Sam has put in as captain has now laid the foundations for the club to become a real success on the pitch, with this young talented team starting to show the signs that they can fulfil some of that promise.

Sam Ogrizovic, a great leader and good friend

I know that Sam is now looking forward to enjoying his cricket ‘back in the ranks’ so to speak, and with his wedding to look forward to to the wonderful Victoria in the Autumn, the rest of 2014 will no doubt be a fantastic time for him, not least because I know he will continue to deliver the type of performances that have made him the league’s best wicketkeeper batsman, and those performances will be crucial in us achieving our goals.

While I said I was sad to see Sam step down, I am also really looking forward to supporting new skipper Alex King in the role. ‘Kingy’, had a great first season with the ball at Kimberley last year, and this year has also shown what a capable batsman he can be. He now has to add the strategic capabilities of captaincy to his blossoming talents. I know that he has everything he needs to be successful. He certainly won’t be lacking in any support or help from those around him.

We now have two important league fixtures before we reach the half-way point in the season. With both games being away from home against teams in a similar situation to ourselves, we know that we will need to be on top of our game as we were on Saturday if we are to walk away with a good points haul. Yet that is no doubt where our challenge is. We have to be more consistent. This is always a challenge with young teams, but we must rise to that challenge if we want to be competing in the right half of the table.

I am sure you would join me in saying thank you to Sam for being a fantastic leader and ambassador for our club, who recognised his role was not confined to the playing aspects of the 1^st XI, but having a vision for what the cricket club should be like and knowing all the members in the club from the juniors to stalwart spectators, and taking an interest in each and every one of them. I also wish Alex best of luck in the new role. I know that cricket at Kimberley will continue to be in good hands.

Are two balls better than one?

As I left my house on Saturday with the rain slapping down on my windscreen, I have to admit, I was not that optimistic of us getting much of a match in. Knowing that Plumtree was not the best ground and taking bad weather, I headed down the A52 on the short trip expecting another disappointing washout. Thankfully, through some excellent work of the Plumtree groundstaff (Mark Oldham) and the perseverance of both sets of players determined to get a match in, we managed to get through a 35 over match.

While it was disappointing for us not to hit our straps again with the bat, there were some real positives with the ball, and it was nice for me to get another good bowl and pleasing a few wickets for good measure.

I enjoyed bowling on Saturday, not just because the pitch offered a little turn, but also because the match ball felt good in my hand to bowl with. It is strange how sometimes you get a ball that feels really nice, almost a doting friend who you can command at free will to do what you wish. On other occasions, it just feels like an alien object, a disobedient child from a Year 11 maths lesson who will not follow any instruction!

Cricket balls, by their nature and construction are all unique. As much as the process of manufacture is a repetitive one, each product has variations in its many raw materials. As a result, each may behave slightly different to the next. Likewise each brand of ball can be quite different in its manufacture, the Dukes balls famed for their more pronounced seam and ability to swing for longer periods, the Kookaburras their flatter seam, durability and lack of swing after the first twenty overs or so.

A Dukes cricket ball with its darker appearance

It is a strange thought that in cricket we use a different type of ball in different parts of the world, or in different matches. Imagine in other sports where for instance a football might have a slightly different composition for Champions League matches than Premier League, or a tennis ball which has a different type of felt which effects they way it plays. I suppose at the South African Football World Cup in 2010 we saw a big fuss about the match ball supposedly swinging more than it should, Oggy would call this ‘wobble’.

Yet rather than have a continuous battle between two or three manufactures around the world, could we make the ball, and the way we use it, a more interesting part of the game? If you look at the way that cricket bats have developed over the last two decades, the batsman have once again benefited at the bowlers expense, as the cricket ball has remained exactly the same as it always has been. I am not suggesting some radical change up of its manufacture or allowing bowlers to tamper with the ball. No, my thoughts are more geared around how we could introduce a more tactical use of the cricket ball.

We could for instance, make it a rule that each team uses one innings with a Dukes Ball and one with a Kookaburra during a Test Match, allowing the bowling team to decide when they use each ball. This would then provide a consistency in the balls being used around the world, and also allow an interesting insight into what difference there really is in each type.

You could also adopt a similar approach in league cricket, where the team who lose the toss are allowed to decide which type of ball is used in the match. Or even allow teams to use 11 Dukes and 11 Readers balls during the season, but they can decide which matches they use them in and just declare their ball choice at the toss. This would then allow a captain to use a Dukes ball on a day where it might swing and seam a little more, or does he use them on the days where there is not as much assistance in the local conditions so as to get some benefit for his bowlers.

This could provide a really interesting tactical aspect to the game, and would also challenge manufacturers to provide the best ball for bowling with, and maybe just a little swing back in the bowlers favour, after all, we need it!

One small step for Butler, one giant fuss over Mankad

In close matches we often look to little moments which went, or might have gone your way, when looking to find the key factor that affected the result. On Saturday at Caythorpe, we just missed out on what would have been a big 20 points, and since then, we have done some soul searching to understand why we did not get out on the right side of a game we thought we should have won.

While it would be easy to point to a close LBW shout we had on Martin Dobson, whose stalwart 67 not out saw the home side over the line, or the five penalty runs we incurred for running on the wicket, our real downfall proved to be our failure to tough it out for another 20 or 30 runs to complete our innings. We made some poor decisions, myself included, and we must, and will get better at playing smart cricket.

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the importance of making good decisions as often as possible. I feel as a group, this Saturday’s result is an excellent opportunity to learn and take stock of what that means. Dominic Wheatley was exceptional on Saturday in his reading of the game and his shot selection. It was just a real pity none of us could match his application. That is where we must now learn quickly.

During the week, many people have discussed the controversial decision making of Sri Lankan Captain Angelo Matthews following his decision to support an appeal by Sachithra Senanayake for a ‘Mankad’ run-out of Joss Butler who was caught out of his crease backing up. While what the Sri Lankans did was within the Laws of the game, many people argued that it was not within the spirit of the game.

Joss Butler run-out Mankad style

I think the key to this point is the fact it is a silly law. How can a batsman be out if no ball has been bowled? There is no doubt that batsman stealing yards has become an increasing problem, and that is ultimately cheating, but there must be a more sensible way of dealing with this.

I personally would like to see the umpire ‘call’ batsman for excessive backing up in the way that they do for bowlers or batsmen running on the wicket. They could then be admonished with five run penalty, which would prove deterrent enough for them to do it. They key would be to allow the umpire to interpret what is taking the proverbial Michael with it and what is genuinely good backing up. Anyone who watched the replay of the Butler dismissal from midweek will be hard pressed to say Butler was, to coin a Baseball phrase, ‘stealing a base’. Yet with the change in the law which has now moved from allowing the bowler to do it during their action, as oppose to before their back foot landed, it becomes very hard for a batsman to back up well and keep focused on the other end.

I will leave you with a thought. If a bowler runs in and breaks the stumps with his bowling hand during his delivery accidently, with the batsman out of his crease backing up, is it a no-ball for the bowler breaking the stumps (recent law change a-la Steve Finn) or could the bowler then appeal for a run-out? 

Kimberley is Shaw of a great future after Jon's input

This weekend was a very frustrating one for us at Kimberley Institute. After a brilliant win the week before against Cuckney at the 2bm Private Ground, we really wanted to use that as a springboard to kick on and pick up some momentum. Unfortunately, despite a promising start on Saturday, and then an intriguingly balanced match on Monday, Mother Nature intervened to cut short our ambitions of two positive results.

This really has been a very wet start to the season weather-wise. Even though this time of year can be notorious for showery conditions, it has been remarkable the number of times that this has hit the weekends. Four of our six league matches so far this season have been affected by poor weather in some way.

Looking at the table, the result of this has been to keep everything very close in the standings. The good news, in theory, for us is that we have played all four of the teams that lie above us in the table. So this will now be a crucial five weeks for us as we head to the half way stage.

It would be remiss of me not to pay tribute to the brilliant contribution that Jon Shaw has made during his six week ‘playing holiday’. His on the pitch contributions have been well documented, and it was a pleasure to see him in action after hearing many stories of his performances over the years. However, it was actually his input on the training ground that proved to be invaluable, not only to me personally as he took on a key role in the coaching department while being here, but more so to our young lads who absorbed his input like sponges. The main thing that I hope most of our team have taken from Jon is his insatiable appetite to compete, which has not dwindled one bit.

Jon Shaw in action during his 7 wicket haul against Clifton

Jon spent a lot of time working with our young seam bowling group, and I really hope that as the season wears on, we start to really see the fruits of his labour. Jon delighted in not only working with our first eleven players, but also some of those lads coming through the 2^nd XI, and it was this care and diligence for the club he loves that demonstrates why we are very lucky to have him. It also highlights the special place that Kimberley Institute is, and that for Jon and many other people, it really is a key part of their heritage and life. As we look to the future and continue with the ambitious plans to develop the club, we must retain that fabric which makes Kimberley a special, community, family club. 

Can we 'switch' it round to let bowlers 'reverse' the trend?

With the football season now drawing to a close, the avid TV sports fans are scouring the channels to find their next fix of entertainment. Many would be daft not to take a look at the impressive road show that is the Indian Premier League, now in its seventh season would you believe.

The IPL will claim itself as the innovator in the growth of world T20 (the fact is it was in England that the game was first launched domestically, albeit on a smaller scale), and it has now seen the birth of many spin offs, Australia’s Big Bash, The Bangladesh Premier League and the Caribbean Premier League to name but a few. In fact, it has now forced the English T20 to look at a re-launch of its own domestic competition, which in its craze for more games and money in the first few years, lost its real appeal of the initial success, which was Friday night matches for all to enjoy. I for one, am looking forward to taking in the T20 Blast this weekend.

There is no doubt that the growth of T20 has accelerated the dominance of the bat over the ball. This may not be a bad thing necessarily, I know. People pay to watch batsman score fluently, and smash the ball to all parts.

Some of the more innovative developments have seen the creation of new shots, particularly with regard to ‘switch hitting’ and ‘reverse bat shots’. Just like in my other sport of hockey, reverse hitting has become a crucial component of the top level performer and has transformed the game. The terms ‘reverse’ and ‘switch’ are often interchanged to mean the same thing, but are they actually the same? For me, it is a distinctive one and it is crucial.

A reverse shot is one which is played with the hands in a traditional grip but the bat rotated as to alter the face of the stick. So for a right hander, they would keep their left hand higher on the grip than their right. A switch hit, will see the batsman swap their grip from a right hander to a left hander. By switching, it enables the batsman to swing more natural through the left hand side. A reverse shot, is a more difficult process and while it can be developed, power is harder to come by, and the range of hitting reduced.

Kevin Pietersen playing a switch hit. Notice how he effectively bats left handed.

Ian Bell playing reverse, his hands remaining in the same position on the handle.

Here Beeston's Heather Morris plays a reverse stick pass.

For me, switching is an unfair advantage against the bowler. Don’t get me wrong, it is a brilliant innovation and one that is of course a risk for the batsman as it has to be a pre-meditation, but what is in effect happening is the batsman is changing from being right handed to left handed at the point of delivery. If the bowler does this, it is called a no-ball, yet the batsman can do it without consequence. In my opinion, we can go two ways with this.

Firstly, we could allow the bowler to bowl with their other arm. Now granted, there won’t be many bowlers who could deliver effectively with their wrong arm at the moment (although I know JT has been working on his left arm delivery for 20 years), but what a great innovation that could be! After all, nobody had really seen switch hitting a couple of years ago.

My second suggestion would simply be that as soon as a person ‘switches’ then they are treated as batting the other way around. As a result, the wide rule alters to the other side, as does the LBW law. This would then add an element of risk to a switch hit, which puts the bowler on a more even keel, and gives them an option to apply a tactical approach with their line.

After all, why should it be that batsmen are the only ones to get to innovate?

Decisions, decisions, decisions!

The weekend proved to be another mixed one for us at Kimberley Institute. The 1^st XI got themselves into a strong position before a poor batting display saw us fall away to defeat. On a more positive note, the 2^nd XI won convincingly in the second leg of their double header against Bottesford and the 3^rd XI also claimed a victory in their first outing. One of the great things with this club is the way we celebrate the success of all our teams, and it has been brilliant to hear of the performances of Sukhdeep Sidhu over the last two weeks.

After starting well on Saturday with a brilliant spell of bowling from Jon Shaw, tearing through the Clifton middle and lower order, it was very disappointing to come away from the match with a defeat.  Despite some promising signs during pre-season, our batting has yet to fire in the three competitive matches we have played this season. I can promise you it is not from lack of trying or diligence at training, and once again this week the boys have been hard at work trying to get themselves into a good place ahead of another tough test this weekend.

Jon Shaw took an impressive seven wickets on Saturday

There are many different mantras of thought when it comes to ‘getting into form’. There is no doubt that it is very frustrating when you score two or three low innings in quick succession (I should know!). It can be very easy to then become very analytical with your game, trying to unpick your technique, and talking in terms of being more or less positive.

Some people work to the basis of ‘hitting their way into form’. Others like to develop an approach of trying to ‘spend time at the crease’ in order to get back in a groove. The fact is, as with most things in cricket, there are many ways to skin a cat.

One of the things that we have been focussing on heavily this week, and it is something that I am a big believer in, is hitting as many balls as possible during practice. Not only that though, we have been trying to re-create the pressures and situations we face in matches. Only by practising as we mean to play can we realistically expect what we do on a Tuesday and Thursday night to become natural to us on a Saturday.

It is important for our batsmen to treat each innings as a separate event from the last. Yes we can learn (technical aspects) from the previous knock, but there is no point in over reflecting on any dismissal. The fact is that when you get out it is for one of two reasons; either the bowler bowled you a good ball, or you made a poor decision. Occasionally it can be a mixture of both, but more often than not in club cricket, it is the later. We therefore have to work hard over the coming weeks to reduce the number of poor decisions we make. Sometimes a poor decision can be to defend a ball you didn't need to. On other occasions it might be to defend a ball you should have attacked. Sometimes a poor decision costs you runs, on other occasions it cost you your wicket.

If we can train with a match intensity, be willing to accept that a decision might have been poor even if the outcome was satisfactory, and focus our sessions on the decision making process, we can quickly get ourselves ‘in to form’. At the end of the day ‘form’ is only the ability to make good decision on a consistent basis.

Past success will inspire the next generation to do it the ‘Kimberley way’

So here we are!! Once again the scoreboard has been dusted off, the grass cut, the covers pushed back and the cricket season is under way.

Things are becoming very exciting at Kimberley Institute Cricket Club. With a young, vibrant and talented 1^st XI group developing, the hope is high that we can now kick on from the experiences of last season and start to produce strong performances on a more consistent basis. While we know that there are improvements to be made, from what I have seen so far, we are working with a group of players in both the 1^st XI and the 2^nd XI who want to improve and ultimately be successful on a consistent basis.

On Friday night of this week, we were able to give the players a real flavour of what is required to be a top side by celebrating and reliving some of the many fantastic performances and achievements of teams gone by at our inaugural Kimberley Legends Evening. We invited many past players from the club to talk about old times, and what makes the club such a special place to not only play your cricket, but also to be part of as a wider family. Jim Fenwick gave an engrossing talk on the all-conquering team of 1994 and then seven players were awarded club caps for their performances for the club with either bat or ball. We were also able to welcome Samit Patel and Andre Adams to the 2bm Private Ground to collect a club cap for their achievements at international level.

Jim Fenwick gave us a run down of the famous 1994 season at the Legends Evening

It proved to be a fantastic evening and really set the tone for us to put on a good show the following day at West Indian Cavaliers the National Champions. Thankfully, our bowlers had been inspired, and an impressive display’s from Ben Savage and James Mann set us up for a brilliant victory. We eventually got there, despite a few scares, and now we can look forward to welcoming Clifton Village to Kimberley this Saturday where we hope to build on that good start.

The Legends Evening on Friday really highlighted what could be achieved with a close group of talented amateurs and hungry to impress professionals. That is the model that we are trying to develop here at Kimberley, and it is one that I know will stand us in good stead over not only this season, but the coming years. We have also been keen to look back to that success of the past to help us pave the way forward this year, and so far it has been great working with our new Cricket Manager Nick Rook, whose wealth of experience is something myself and the team are looking forward to drawing on. We will also be looking to make the most of having Jon Shaw, a club cap winner, back with us for the first few weeks. He has already made a huge impact in the changing room.

The expectations have now been set, and it us up to us to deliver some performances to make the great people of Kimberley proud. I look forward to seeing you on Saturday!