THE FINAL PREP FOR NORTH WALES’ GLAMORGAN PATHWAY PLAYERS

Last week, I had the privilege of leading the final pre-season pathway session for Glamorgan County Cricket Club's North Wales juniors at The Sports Warehouse. They are very talented individuals and some of the best young cricketers Wales has to offer. Working with them took me back to the days where I was in their shoes.

To give you some insight, these are the areas that we focused on. They will hopefully give you an idea of what it takes to get to the next level as a youngster.

energy sets the tone.

The first thing I discussed with the group was all about attitude. If we have the right attitude individually and as a group, straight away the intensity is at the level you expect. Energy is a choice and we want to make that the norm.  

The pleasing aspect for me was that the players took that on board from the offset: they were on it, their skills matched the level of an academy, and it brought a purpose to what we were trying to achieve in the session.

The higher you go as a player, you learn quickly and sometimes the hard way, that there’s no time and place to just go through the motions. You get found out and coaches will question your attitude. So, it’s important to drill this into players until it becomes habit.

Fielding is important.

One of the biggest things I see throughout age groups is the lack of wanting to field and the drive to get better at it. Fielding is such an important part of the game. It can be the difference between games being won and lost.

A big focus is anticipation; being one step ahead is vital. For me, fielding was an opportunity to make a difference, especially if I hadn’t scored any runs with the bat nor bowled as well as I would have liked. It was the chance to put things right in the field.

The willingness to want the ball, and having no fear, is so important. Team mates appreciate the effort and most importantly, so does the bowler.

When I was at Glamorgan, we worked hard on our fielding and wanted to become better as a unit. We played against teams like Somerset and they were incredible; it was like clockwork. Each player knowing their position and having the best fielders in the most important areas is crucial. As an opposition batter you knew you had to be switched on from ball one.

I like to make fielding sessions fun but with consequences in order to replicate the competitiveness of a match scenario. Train under pressure to get better!

Bat with a plan.

Know your strengths and keep working on them. We talked about batting with INTENT, whether that’s in defence, leaving the ball or looking to score. When we bat with intent we generally get into better positions. People often think intent can mean reckless, but it’s far from it.

We worked with each North Wales player to understand where their scoring areas are, trusting technique and committing fully to the shot - absorbing pressure, having game plans to get through, and building an innings.

The higher up players go, the better quality of opposition they will be facing, so it’s making sure that they’re ready to capitalise on any bad balls - which tend not to come round as often.

Bowl with consistency, not just pace.

At this age, it is tempting to think that pace is everything. It’s not. It may help in some cases and indicate potential as a player grows and develops, but it’s more important to be consistent with line and length.

Some of the best bowlers I faced weren’t the quickest but the ones who gave you nothing - they wouldn’t miss their length and would nag away at you until you made a mistake.

This is something I discussed with the batters: when you feel like a bowler is getting the upper hand, can we be proactive, use the crease, etc.? The importance of using the crease for a bowler is huge - change the angle, make the batter think and cause doubt in their mind. Be patient and trust the process.

If you want to take your game further this season, sessions are available for all levels at The Sports Warehouse in Flint. Get in touch at david@davidlloydcricketcoaching.co.uk

- David Lloyd