Hat Trick! (35 page)

I love running between wickets, especially when I have hit the ball! I love putting pressure on the fielding team by trying to turn twos into threes and picking up quick singles. Remember to always look at the ball when you are running between the wickets. In order to do that you sometimes have to change the bat from one hand to the other so that you can see how quickly the ball is travelling or whether a fieldsman has made a great save. You should practise your running between the wickets as this will improve your judgment. It is amazing how long it takes for someone to throw a ball over 30 metres—often you can turn that into a run.

There is nothing better than a fielder pulling off a great catch or save. It gives the bowler a huge lift and can often change the course of a match. Players these days have to be versatile in that they have to excel in one area of the game and be good at the two others. My bowling is my strength but I make sure that I am always looking to improve my batting and fielding. Fielding is a fun part of the
game—make sure you help out the bowler. You can save runs, shine the ball and encourage your team-mates.

You can be sure that the one chance you get to take a catch—because they don’t come that often—will be the time when you weren’t as ready as you should have been. To give yourself the best chance of taking a catch, here are a few tips.

Walk in with the bowler, if you are not fielding in a catching position—in other words, if you’re not too close to the batter. This alerts you to the fact that a ball is about to be bowled, has you leaning forwards, anticipating and on the move. Watch the batter. After the delivery, use the few moments you have to relax, but be on the lookout for any weaknesses in the batter that you can pass on to the bowler or captain.

When taking a catch, the most important thing to remember is to keep your eyes on the ball. Try to get your body into position as early as possible so you can focus on actually taking the catch.

For outfield catches, make sure your fingers are pointing either up or down, so the ball will come to rest safely in the palms of your hands.

For close-in catches, the fingers should be pointing down for balls that come below waist height, and up for those that come at you higher.

Stay relaxed, and keep your hands ‘soft’.

One last point. You’ve got to want the ball to come your way. So if you don’t like the feel of a cricket ball, buy one and get to like it. Toss it to yourself. Make the throws higher and higher. Catch 10 out of 10. Then get a friend to toss you more.

Then more, at different heights and speeds. Then more.

A wicket keeper should act as an energy source for their team, encouraging the fielders and bowlers throughout the match. It is also important for the keeper to be confident and skilled behind the stumps—the worst sight for any bowler is a good ball thatbeats both the batter and the keeper.

The keeper also helps the captain set the field, as they have the best view of the fielders and where the ball is going.

Keepers should start low and rise with the ball as it approaches. A great tip is to go through a routine before bowlers start their run-up. Set your feet and get into a low stance—this will allow you to react and move left, right, up or down in response to the ball’s movement once it has reached the batter.

Slips fielding is all about judging the speed at which the ball travels to you. It is not about reflexes. Stand at a distance where you think the ball will come to you about waist height. It is important for the slips
fielders, as well as the wicket keeper, to be set in a well-balanced stance before bowlers start their run-up. Bend your knees slightly and cup your hands with your fingers pointing down. At the time the bowler lets the ball go you should have your hands about 30 cm off the ground. Remember, it is way easier to come up to take a catch than to have to go down to take one. The reason you move your feet is to get your eyes over the ball (the same as batting) so try and catch with your head over the ball at all times.

Also, slips fielders often stand too deep, instead of in a place where the ball will carry to them. The keeper’s position is a good guide as to where the slips should stand: first slip should be half a metre behind the keeper and slightly to one side (depending on whether the batter is left-handed or right-handed); second slip should be in line with or in front of the keeper. Practice is the only way you will improve! Great slips fielders spend hours and hours practising, and as a result they rarely drop chances.

The 12th man is an integral part of a side even though he or she is not in the starting line-up. The 12th man motivates and supports team-mates throughout the game as well as running drinks and equipment to players on the field when needed. A 12th man also has to be ready at all times to take the
field if necessary, and therefore must always be focused on the game.

The role of the scorer is to keep an accurate record of the match. This information allows the players and spectators to determine the way the match is going, as well as individual performances throughout the game.

Taking the opportunity to simulate match conditions during your practice sessions is a great way to give players some experience. You can never totally re-create real game situations, but putting batters, bowlers and fielders under stress is a good way to see who can stand up and perform under pressure.

Turning practice into a game situation also adds interest to the practice. It gives the players something to focus on. Most players love a bit of competition, and most players love to win.

Near the end of a long practice session, introducing a game element, like setting a target to chase, creates the chance for someone to be the hero, if only for a few moments before everyone wanders away to pack up and head home.

Net sessions can be very helpful, if done correctly. A batter has the opportunity to focus on a particular area of his or her batting. Being surrounded by
netting means that there is little time wasted in retrieving balls—either hit or missed. A batter can face many deliveries in a short space of time.

If a particular stroke needs to be practised, balls can be thrown to give the batter the chance to play the stroke again and again. This should develop his or her skill and technique, as well as confidence.

It is important for bowlers to concentrate on their work too. Make sure that you have at least one stump to run past at the bowler’s end and that you’re using a reasonable cricket ball. Bowling with an old, tattered or soft ball may not inspire you to work hard enough. And be sure not to bowl no-balls. Your run-up is as important in the nets as in a match.

Finally, keep alert. Never turn your back to the batters. You may cop a full-blooded drive from the next net!

There are many examples of famous cricketers making practice conditions especially hard for themselves so they could improve their skills. Rodney Marsh, the great Australian wicket keeper of the 1970s and early 1980s, used to throw a golf ball at the pole of a clothesline. He worked on improving his reflexes by catching the ball as it came off at all sorts of angles. And there is, of course, the famous film of Donald Bradman tossing a golf ball against the side of a corrugated iron water tank, then hitting the ball with a stump.

It’s a good idea to try to hit a ball using a stump, or even a section of broom handle, for a bat. The next time you play with a real bat, it will feel a lot wider than it really is, giving your confidence a boost and perhaps turning a small score into a big one.

Hi Andrew

Thanks so much for answering my questions. I reckon you’re an awesome player. You are the perfect all-rounder and kids love watching you bat, bowl and especially field.

I hope you don’t mind answering my questions that will help me with my assignment. Toby Jones

How did you feel when you walked out to bat when Australia was 4 for 86 against Pakistan in Australia’s first World Cup game in 2003?

Well, there’d been two quick wickets. I was sitting there in my shorts and a singlet and suddenly I was scrambling around getting all my gear on. There wasn’t much time to think—a few overs later I was out there in the middle.

Did anyone say anything to you in the dressing room before you left?

There would have been the usual good luck wishes from my team-mates. ‘Go well, mate. Good luck, Roy.’ (That’s my nickname.) I think there were a few nerves in the dressing room, with us four for not too many.

Your first two scoring shots were fours. What’s it like when your first two scoring shots are boundaries?

I can’t really remember those first few scoring shots. It was a bit of a blur
really. But it’s good to put a couple of boundaries away early. It does settle you down quicker.

Is this innings [Andrew scored 143 not out] the highest ever by an Aussie at the World Cup?

Now, that’s a very good question—I’m not exactly sure. [
I looked it up on the internet later, and it is. Mark Waugh held the previous record when he scored 130 against Kenya
.]

What did the players say when you came in after the knock?

Well, there was plenty of excitement in the dressing room when we came back in, and some slaps on the back too. They were all smiling like split watermelons.

Did you think you had the game won at lunchtime?

We would have had to play very badly from there. Defending 310 runs is much easier than chasing them.

What did you have to eat at lunch?

I would have used up a lot of energy and lost a lot of fluid batting, so I had lots to drink and plenty of fruit. It all depends on the activity you’ve been doing.

Do you talk tactics between overs when you meet at mid-pitch with the other batter or do you just chat about stuff?

That depends on the match situation. Sometimes, if things are going really well, you do occasionally relax and chat about other things. But mostly we talk about the game and the bowlers. In one-day games we’re often thinking about how many overs a particular bowler has left and then we might plan to attack more or something.

Do you remember the sixes you hit off the last two overs? Were they, like, planned shots or were they just massive slogs?

Well, I’m careful to set up my batting stance so that hitting sixes is easier. I move my front leg out of the way so that I can hit pitched-up balls and shorter ones. Near the end of an innings it’s good to try and get a few big shots away.

I know you won’t want to say so, but some people (including me) reckon that your innings changed the whole course of the World Cup for Australia. What do you reckon about that? Were the Aussies feeling under the pump a bit with everything going on beforehand?

We were under a bit of pressure. I hadn’t scored a one-day 100 before, and I knew someone had to make a big score. Ricky Ponting was fantastic at the other end. He gave me a lot of confidence. We got going and I was in a zone. I really don’t remember much about the actual innings.

You wear heaps of sunscreen. There’s a few kids at my school who are doing the same, and their mums and dads and the coach are rapt. Do you do it for sun protection or good luck, or a bit of both?

Yep, probably a bit of both. It’s just something I’ve always done. It’s a habit. But it’s also the best protection against sun and wind burn. Not much sun at night, though, is there, Toby?

No way, Andrew. Thanks for letting me interview you and good luck for all your cricket matches in the future. Also, do you reckon I could visit you one day in the dressing room maybe and get your autograph? And I might go and take a look at the game too.

That’s a pleasure. We’ll see if something can be arranged. So, you’ve got a tape of the game, have you? Maybe I’ll have a look with you.

Well, actually, that could be a bit tricky…

Australia v Pakistan World Cup Pool A Match

11 February 2003, Johannesburg, South Africa

Toss: Pakistan • Decision: Australia to bat • Result: Australia won by 82 runs