Prosperity in dexterity

After the excitement of last Sunday’s victory against the West Indian Cavaliers in the National Knockout, this Saturday’s defeat to the same opposition was very much a heavy bump back to earth. However, on some occasions you need to hold your hands up and say that you were well and truly outplayed, and that was very much the case this weekend. Cory Collymore may no longer play Test cricket, but in his impressive opening spell at the 2bm Private Ground on Saturday, you could see why the Bajan played 30 Test matches and 84 One Day Internationals.

His control of the ball and skill in moving it both away and back in to the batsman, made him a tough prospect to face, and along with able support from Kafeel Shafique, they took the game away from us within the first 90 minutes of the match.

It takes many hours and years practicing to develop the kind of skill level that Collymore was able to exhibit at the weekend. Those who have been following the recent celebrations of James Anderson reaching 400 Test wickets will know that it took him many years to develop his full repertoire of deliveries. Yet another story on this theme, really gripped me this week and it may be one that might have passed you by. If I say the name Pat Venditte it might not mean a lot to you. However, this week he became first pitcher in 20 years to pitch with both arms in a Major League Baseball game.

It is quite a remarkable story. The guy can pitch a full range of deliveries with both his left and right hand, and he will switch which way he pitches depending on the dexterity of the batsman. Yet he is no young spunk. At 29, Venditte has been selected by the Oakland Athletics (famous for their willingness to choose the unfashionable for those who have read or seen Moneyball), after 8 years trawling through the minor leagues. He started throwing with both hands as a young child at the encouragement of his father when he first started to play baseball.

Pat Venditte throws with both left and right arms when pitching (c) Getty Images

Inevitably this got me thinking, could we at some stage see a bowler at the top level of the game offer deliveries not just of different pace, swing or spin, but even of different arms? It would certainly provide a levelling up to the switch hitting, and it would allow the bowler an opportunity to provide an additional string to their bow. I have played with a few people who throw with one hand and bowl with another, so why couldn't this develop further? One thing is for sure, you would need to start young, so I think my chance of developing a right arm over variation might have sailed!

Play smart and park the bus!

Last weekend was one of mixed fortunes at Kimberley. After a disappointing result on Saturday away at Radcliffe-on-Trent, where we twice failed to capitalise on excellent positions within the game, Sunday saw us complete a very polished display against a strong West Indian Cavaliers side in the third round of the Royal London Cup.

This is the first time I have reached the fourth round and regional final of the National Knockout despite numerous attempts, so it is pleasing to finally get a run together in the competition. We were very much indebted to a superb innings by Sam Johnson on Sunday where he carried his bat through our innings scoring 95 not out in the process. Sam really showed his class on Sunday, and while he has not scored quite as many runs as he would have liked so far this season, despite some very good contributions, he will now hopefully use that innings as a springboard to really kick on.

Sam Johnson was in great form on Sunday showing great discipline

If we are to have a successful season, we must now do our best to eradicate the poor performances, such as Saturday’s, as developing greater consistency is obviously the key to challenging.

There was no doubt that Saturday was always going to be difficult with the pitch offering a lot of help to the bowlers. What we failed to do was to react the situation, and learn about the conditions while we played. We have many talented young players within our side, many of whom have a dazzling array of scoring shots. Saturday however, was a day for playing within yourself to get the job done.

Jose Mourinho famously described opponents who defend deep as 'parking the bus', ironically a criticism that has at times been aimed at his current team.

Sport can be like that sometimes. There are certain days you need to operate in a certain way to get the result you require. It might not always be the most aesthetically pleasing or the purest of performances, but you do what you need to , and play to the limitations the game and the opposition allow you to. Perhaps we are more familiar with this with invasion games such as football. We often refer to Jose Mourinho and his phrase of ‘parking the bus’, where teams operate a low defensive block (or defend deep to avoid tactical jargon) to limit the space and room for opponents to attack. You can then attack on the counter, playing to your specific strengths.  On Saturday, we needed to ‘park the bus’ more with the way we played. Showing caution and patience was the way we needed to go about chasing 160 on a difficult wicket. With the exception of a superb innings from Alex King, too often, our attacking flair overpowered our defensive discipline. That is why Sam Johnson’s innings was so important on the Sunday. It demonstrated someone had learnt the failings of the previous day and applied themselves with steadfast dedication to singlehandedly set up a winning position.

New Zealand played smart by attacking hard at the right times (c) Getty Images

Playing the situation is not always parking the bus. Sometimes you come out and press hard in a footballing analogy. If you think about the way New Zealand played their cricket over the last week you saw a team who set up a winning position from attacking the game. Were they gung ho though? Nope. They attacked smartly. Not when the ball was new, but when it was old and the change bowlers were on. Teams that win on a regular basis play smart, and play the situation. That is where we need to get to in order to be consistent.

Time to turn to youth

Well what a good weekend that was for Kimberley Institute! On Saturday, all four teams won their respective league games, something that doesn’t happen very often. Then on Monday, the 1^st XI followed it up with another excellent win against a strong Welbeck Colliery side to make it three wins on the bounce in the Nottinghamshire Premier League. Winning is a habit, so they say.

We now have a fantastic opportunity this weekend to build up that momentum by winning again on Saturday at Ratcliffe-on-Trent. Then on Sunday we face West Indian Cavalliers for a place in the group final of the ECB National Club Championship. It would be great to see as many people down as possible at Newdigate Street on Sunday to cheer us on in what will no doubt be a tough match.

It was also very pleasing to see the England cricket team win the first Test Match against New Zealand at Lords on Monday. The team, and captain have taken a lot of stick recently, much of it slightly harsh in my opinion, so it was great to see them come out and play such excellent cricket in the second innings despite being up against it.

England still have a major problem however, with their choice of spin bowling. Moeen Ali is clearly a good all round cricketer. He can bat in the top or middle order as required, and within the current structure of this England team, is capable of holding an end up with his bowling. If however, England are going to be capable of winning Test Series regularly abroad, in particular in the sub continent, they must look away from Ali.

Moeen Ali can hold up an end but will he win tours away from home?

When I watched him bowl last summer at Trent Bridge, I was struck by how little he offered variation in flight and pace, such an important facet of any spin bowlers armoury. For all the variations Shane Warne had in terms of delivery, many of his wickets were down to deceiving players in the air, something Ali does not do often enough. In fact, I actually think that Joe Root has more potential as an international spinner than Ali as he has a better variation in flight and pace and can actually turn the ball more. If you invested more time into developing Root’s bowling, it could then allow you to bring in a young spinner in place of Ali who has more of what it takes. It was great to see England give young Mark Wood a chance this week, and no doubt people will be pleased with what they saw. 

Simon Kerrigan was given just one Test in the heat of an Ashes series.

Yet how many times have they given an opportunity for a young slow bowler to establish themselves? The last player they gave a chance to was Simon Kerrigan who struggled with nerves. But, the lad continues to do well in county cricket, this week spinning them to victory with another young finger spinner Arron Lilley, and maybe it is time for them to give one of these boys a chance. People often say, that there are no spinners in county cricket, and they are definitely correct in that there is a limited pool. However, until English cricket starts to take the role of spinners seriously, and works with counties to ensure that they get the right pitches and thus opportunities to bowl, we will always be left with ‘a batsman who bowls a bit’ and our chances of success limited in wider formats rather than just Test Matches in English conditions.

Bouncing back

Last weekend proved to be a very successful one for us at Kimberley. After a frustrating start, things started to click for both the 1^st XI and the 2^nd XI which resulted in two excellent wins. I was given the chance to have a good run out in the 2^nd XI this week, where I got the rare opportunity to open the batting, something I really enjoyed. Although, by Sunday I was regretting it as I was struggling to get up the stairs!

The first team game was dominated by a superb innings from Dominic Brown. Dom is a young man who works extremely hard on his game, and I was delighted to hear that he has scored his maiden 1^st XI century. Any hundred is special, but the context of this one in chasing down a big score of 270, after the results we have had in the first couple of games, makes it all the more impressive. I know Dominic has high ambitions with his cricket, and every season I have played with him I have seen improvements. This year he looks to be really blossoming, and I am of the opinion he could do something very special.

Dominic couldn’t have reached the target on his own though, and Kimberley were indebted to a superb supporting knock from Tom Rowe. Tom has really started to build up a head of steam, scoring 150 runs in two innings a fortnight ago, and then a good 70 on Saturday. If he can continue in that vein, with the positive way he bats, then our middle order starts to look very strong.

This coming weekend we face two league matches. Firstly, Attenborough away followed by Welbeck at home. Both will provide different challenges but they will be stern tests, and it is important we now build on the good batting display from Saturday.

Our success this season will be dependent on how well our young side are able to cope with pressurised situations. Performing well when your backs are up against the wall, and having the determination to turn around situations is a vital component for any successful side. Saturday was hopefully a big step in proving that we have the quality, but perhaps more importantly the shrewdness not to panic when things are not going for you. Here’s to another successful weekend. C’mon Kimberley! 

Can you smell it?

Can you smell it? If you just open your window a little bit you might catch the distinctive smell of freshly cut grass mixed with over cooked sausages on the neighbours BBQ. That’s right the summer is finally here! Well OK then, maybe not wall to wall sunshine, but it looks as though we are finally going to get some weather that is set fair for a period of time, which means for me, the cricket season starts in earnest.

The early weeks of a cricket season are always a funny time of year. It can often be tricky to build up any momentum as the training schedule and early fixtures are interrupted by inclement conditions. Down at Kimberley Institute, the winter has seen us continue the process of building a side which we hope can start to challenge for honours over the coming seasons. We are fully aware that the method we are using may take us time to fulfil the potential we think we have. However, this must not be an excuse for the fact that we have not yet in the league managed to put together an all round performance. Anyone who knows Nottinghamshire cricket, will know that the Premier League is an unforgiving place when you make too many errors. So we will continue to work hard to get the detail right. It is this approach of focusing on getting the smaller details right which should help us put together some stronger performances over the coming weeks.

In the week after a historic and unexpected election result, you would expect the headlines to be full of news of David Cameron fine tuning his new cabinet, which includes our local MP Anna Soubry who I would like to congratulate on her new role, especially as she is a keen supporter of our local Kimberley sports clubs.

Yet there is an enigmatic maverick who has been stealing the headlines once again (and I am not talking about Boris Johnson). Kevin Pietersen has once again split English cricket down the middle. Even within our changing room this week I have seen keen supporters of ‘KP’ arguing passionately with those who were happy to see the back of him. He is very much a marmite character.

However, this is all a real distraction from the serious business of how best to organise the governance of the national cricket team. The problem over the last two years, and especially since the Ashes whitewash, has been who is accountable for the performance of the England set-up. In my opinion, the new role of Andrew Strauss must be all empowering. It should be he who chooses the coach, the captain and the squad for each match. From here, he can select a squad for each match which gives the coach and captain the flexibility to use whichever blend they want. It is a naive view that players do not need technical coaching at international level (a criticism levelled at Peter Moores). They still need the environment from which to practise, develop and improve. However, they do need to be able to hone their skills in different environments, and I would like to see more of our top players encouraged where possible to play in tournaments such as the IPL and the Big Bash. There are some really talented players in the English game, but it is only when this happens that it will be possible to really start to change the brand and style of cricket that England play, something people have been asking for now for a while.

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.