Again another crap day at work, came home feeling knackered again and the wind from yesterday hadn't really died down, so there was a very brisk wind and the threat of rain. My older son Ben who's preparing for his GCSE exams hasn't been getting out and doing anything much and Michelle suggested that he went training/nets tonight, so any idea that I might not go was then thwarted. So off we went for a net at our club...
Initially because of the weather and the cold, there was only 4 blokes there training in the middle, so we joined them and bowled at the bloke in the net - one of the first team players, a bloke who holds the highest score for one innings at the club.
Feelings
Prior to actually bowling - knackered and not that optimistic, especially when confronted with bowling at this particular bloke. But that turned around over the session, although I was smacked for a couple of big potential sixes.
Evaluation
Good stuff, the bloke above gave me some good feedback and after last nights debacle, I bowled okay considering.
Analysis
I'd said last night that I was going to bowl Flippers and Top-Spinners, I didn't follow this through entirely because if you think it through, the variations have to be bowled in amongst your stock ball in order to have the surprise aspect. Initially to the good bloke I bowled outside of the off-stump and he was able to cut me through the off-side or just guide the ball through the Gully region with ease. Having thrown up a few of those I then deployed the over-spun Googly and that brought about a potential dot ball, but the two that he was surprised by and later commended me on were the 2 Flippers that I bowled. Both of theses were faster and flatter and he said they skidded on quick almost catching him out both times... "In the 4's you'll take wickets with that ball, I only just got the bat down for 1 of them, whereas your other balls were too loopy and too short".
More blokes turned up shortly and Joe, Ben and I and two other U16's players went to the other nets. My younger son Joe batted and despite bowling fairly well with loads of turn, I was generally a bit short. I'd have had him stumped a few times including with an exceptionally good Googly. Unfortunately it then started to rain lightly and progressively got worse. In the end after an hours worth of bowling we had to quit and come home.
Recently I've been thinking about the field set by a bloke on Bigcricket "Angry Ranga".
I don't know how tongue in cheek this was, but to some extent if you're coming around the wicket to a bloke that only seems to have a leg-side shot it may offer something? This set me thinking about extreme off-side fields of a similar nature, but having a more of an in-out field...
I think I need to put it out there on big cricket and see what people say as this definitely an area of my game I'm not that confident with.
http://www.bigcricket.com/community/threads/field-settings-for-leg-spinners.57045/page-8#post-576030
ConclusionOff the back of the commendation of the flippers, this now makes me think I should work on them more, so that I can bring them out in the game with more confidence. It's often the case that when I bowl the Flipper the first one is massively wayward, but not so tonight, so perhaps I should persevere with it? The other thing I need to do is work with the length I bowl, so once the weather clears up I'll get out on the paddock and move the mat around - nearer the stumps.
Action Plan
As above - move the mat around, work with the length and vary it, work with the basic flipper and get it going early on in the practice session, looking for first time accuracy.
