I feel like I have just blinked and the month has gone! Do you feel the same? We have now survived over a month of lockdown, which I think in itself is an achievement so please do give yourself a pat on the back for this! As you know from last week, we will be continuing the daily weekday challenges until 7th May at least. This is also the date where we will end our tickets to Lord’s competition so keep sending in those videos via WhatsApp to 07388352243. Please read on for the write up of this week’s challenges.
Day 15 - Balance The Ball
As long as you have a bat and a ball you can do this one, but make sure you have ample space if you are doing this challenge indoors! This one is actually harder than it looks, but if you are finding it quite easy then try and go round in a circle faster or even try and balance the ball on the side of the bat or handle! This challenge will help with getting your eye in before you go into bat because it forces you to focus entirely on the ball and ensure it is on the face of the bat.
Day 16 - Reverse Sweep
We have all seen the professionals play this shot in the shorter forms of the game so now it’s your chance to have a go. The positioning of your feet is exactly the same as the sweep shot but this time flip the bat around and ensure the face of the bat connects with the ball. Don’t forget that you want the ball to be hit along the ground so ensure your head is over the ball as you hit the shot. You are more than welcome to set up some target areas that are behind the stumps in the third man position (if you are looking at the stumps for a right handed batsman this would be on the left hand side behind the wicket and of course the right handside for a left hander). Have a go
Day 17 - Flip Catch
You may find this familiar to a game played with a coaster or two. However, this is a great one to do to test your reactions before going out to field as you will need to be ready because the ball could come to you at any moment. Get flipping and catching!
Day 18 - Back Foot Drive
With this shot we want to ensure we move our feet back and across to ensure we are aware where our stumps are and in a good position to play the shot. Our bat needs to be angled towards the ground and we need to play the ball under our eyes. We don’t want to be fishing for the ball… you can leave the fishing for the holidays! We would recommend you set up a target area as explained in the video so you have something to aim at. Once a target has been set up see how many times you can hit the ball through the target ensuring that it bounces before it goes through.
Day 19 - Reaction Catching
This is one everyone can get involved in and it could be your first intro into the cricketing world and once lockdown is over you could be the next Paul Collingwood. All you need is a few pairs of socks and a partner. Make sure you are around 2 metres away from each other and start catching as per the video. If you are finding it easy you can stand closer to each other or the feeder can throw the sock earlier.
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We hope you are enjoying the challenges and if you have any suggestions as to what you want to see then please do contact us on athomecricket@cricketvision.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 07388352243.
Stay safe!