Catches win matches

28th May 2015

Our product development manager, Anthony Burton – a former cricketer who represented both Yorkshire and the Yorkshire Cricket Board – shares his thoughts on training aids to help hone those all-important catching skills…

With the 2015 season well underway, it’s important not to lose sight of those pre-season aspirations. Whether you have, or haven’t, got off to the start you’d hoped for, it’s still equally important to work on the skills and techniques to either improve – or at least maintain – your best level of skill and performance. As players, we have to work at our standards – it’s what we all call ‘practice’.

And when it comes to skills, has there ever been a truer adage in cricket than ‘catches win matches’? It’s heard around the grounds today as much as ever, perhaps due to the influence of the twenty20 batting approach leading to increased catching opportunities – especially for fielders in the deep. With this in mind, it’s perhaps more important than ever to get used to ’not dropping the ball’ and doing whatever it takes to claim every given opportunity. It’s what genuinely makes the difference between winning and losing!

With this in mind, at thecricketgroundshop.co.uk we have broadened our offering of training aids to incorporate both the new and the traditional…

Slip cradles have been around for years – no aspiring club is without one! Traditional bent stem ash lathes are secured to a galvanised steel base for durability and longevity. It’s a great opportunity to get the team split either side and involved in a great simulation of being ‘in’ the slips, gully or cover fielding regions for some warm-up and catching practice. The ball ‘whips’ out of ash lathes as if being accelerated by a flashing slash outside off stump, and the unpredictability certainly engages everyone involved. http://www.total-play.co.uk/products/cricket-training-products/catching-practice-devices/Slip_Catch_Cradle

The ‘Katchet’ device works along a similar theme. It’s certainly more portable than the slip cradle; so much so you could take it to away matches. Hit the grooved ramp and simulate a snick through to the keeper and slip regions. Put two together and then either side can then work on their catching – http://www.total-play.co.uk/products/cricket-training-products/catching-practice-devices/katchet

The Crazy Catch is a rebound-style device and is available in various sizes and designs. The ‘freestyle’ is a handheld version, great for coaches or team mates to control drills and games in a very portable package. The larger, double sided models incorporate a ’sane’ and ‘insane’ side, which basically means one side provides a consistent rebound and the other, a less predictable one. The ’upstart’, through to the ‘wild child’ and finally the ‘professional classic’ all provide increasingly more surface area for practice. All models come with a vision ball, timer, activity pack and throwing target to aid coaching. http://www.total-play.co.uk/products/cricket-training-products/catching-practice-devices

We now offer various coaching batsto help deliver the high ball effectively and replicate deep catching or more accurately deliver a flatter, driven catch – http://www.total-play.co.uk/products/cricket-training-products/coaching-bats/skyer

Multi-stump targets http://www.total-play.co.uk/products/cricket-training-products/fusion-multi-stumpalso provide a realistic and safer target alternative to develop throwing and wicket keeping techniques.

The undisputable benefit of bowling machines have long been beyond the reach of most grass-roots clubs – however, with the introduction of the price competitive Paceman range, this is a thing of the past. This versatile product can also be used to enhance fielding practice as well as providing accurate bowling simulation http://www.total-play.co.uk/products/cricket-training-products/paceman-bowling-machines

Never before has there been such a choice of training aid to encourage and develop fun, excitement and engaging practice for every age group and ability level. The drills, games and coaching applications are only limited by imagination. Go practice!