Yep still going and still gagging for it!
So this year we've got 6 indoor net sessions at the Harris Academy in South Ockendon again, fewer than last year, I think we lost money on it... hire fee versus people showing up meant the cost wasn't covered by the weekly fee of £5.00. I can see why to some extent, net sessions aren't the best. I don't know how batters feel about them - whether they're any use to them. I don't like the fact that you only get to bowl once every 6 balls or so and I'm always looking to find the net with the least amount of people in so I can bowl more frequently. At the start and quite often during the one and half hour sessions there's an empty net where I generally start to get the first few ropey balls out of the way or try deliveries that I don't bowl that often such as Flippers which is what I did in this session.
Session 1 of 6
So over the winter I've been considering bringing the Flipper back as in the last 2 seasons I've bowled it infrequently in games in part because I don't trust myself to bowl it with accuracy because of the lack of practice with it. So the idea over these 6 sessions in the nets was to give it a go, but in this first session it wasn't looking promising. The first 6 balls albeit effort balls were 3' down the leg-side and it wasn't till I slowed them down that I got my radar right. After the initial 10-12 balls in the empty net the batters were ready and I went and bowled at a couple of blokes.
I did the thing where I explain my field (See image) and tell them to bat with that field in mind and the 2 blokes that I bowled to I got within 6 balls and neither of them would have scored more than 6 with that field in place. That was using Leg-Breaks and Top-Spinners. The good news was that the Top-Spinners were straight and not breaking to the off like a Googly which is something I'm concerned about e.g. creeping Googly syndrome which seemed to be happening over the winter in the indoor cricket games using a rubber ball.
I'm not fussed on who I bowl at and I would like to bowl at the good batsmen in the 1st XI net, but there's always at least 6-7 bowlers in that net and to get them out is a different prospect. Really you kind of have to bowl 6 balls at these blokes to get the measure of them before you can come up with a plan which is never going to happen. I have been known to walk into their net and bowl a bloke around the back of the legs with my first ball. In a way it might be better not to bowl at them and wait for opportunities in inter-club games where they then generally show some respect because they don't want to be shown up by "The old bloke who bowls in the 5th and 6th XI".
Session 2 of 6
Plan - What I'll probably do is use the empty net to practice with the Flippers and take some markers and bowl 12-18 balls just trying to get the line and length right from the off. Then move over to the nets explaining my field and say to the batter - bat in accordance with that field and see how you get on. The intent being to get them out within 23 balls - trying to improve on my strike rate of 23.10 from last year.
Once in the nets I'll bowl as I would in a game - Leg-Break variations and Top-Spinners till I get them out and then I'll focus on bowling Flippers at them and see how that pans out.
On top of that I'm doing general fitness and agility stuff starting today.
