To first understand what “rotating strike” is we need to put it into perspective. Since 2015 what is the average dot ball percentage of international teams in One Day International Cricket? Having asked this question to a multitude of players and coaches at various levels,I am always amazed by the range of answers that this evokes. As an exercise, try it with the individuals and the teams you coach.

England have the lowest dot ball percentage of any team (48%) and Zimbabwe and Afghanistan the Highest (57,5%). This equates to between 144 and 172 balls on average per 50 over innings. Due to the Powerplay restrictions at various times of the innings, the dot ball percentages may differ. For example,in 2018, Bangladesh spinner, Shakib Al Hasan has bowled 70 % dot balls in Powerplay One, compared with 35 % in the last Powerplay. With this in mind, coaches should make provisions for this at practice and discuss game plans which are in line with these norms.

Since the 2015 World Cup, only one player in the world has an overall dot ball percentage lower than 40 %, can you guess who it is? The answer is AB De Villiers with 37,3 %. Of those close to him many are late middle order batsman such as Jos Buttler and David Miller. King Kohli, the best ODI batsman in the world sits at 43,2. The bell curve lands with a majority of top players slightly below or above 50 %. It goes without saying that not all batsmen are created equal. Some are better with manipulating the ball into space whilst others strength involves finding or clearing the boundary and this should be considered when formulating a game plan.

One effective practice session for the illustration of this is to set up a particular field (perhaps for the middle overs 11-40) and divide the balls into 10 ball brackets. The player then attempts to play a maximum of 5 dot balls (50%). A progression on this may be to add one boundary option to the equation as well as perhaps the addition of scoring doubles rather than only singles. This will equate to a healthy strike rate in game play rather and give the player a sense of comfort when facing dot balls with the knowledge that they have the mental know how to manage the pressure, the tactical ability to choose the appropriate options and the skill execution control the ball into the spaces for runs.

“Rotating the strike” is a very important skill to learn and teach players of all levels especially when arriving at the crease and during the getting in phase. There is a whole module dedicated to this topic in Coach Ed powered by Gary Kirsten Cricket involving drills and strategies for individuals and teams to improve this aspect of the game. For more details see www.garykirsten.com

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Prior to this current match, In Tests since 2016 at home, England’s batsman 7-11 have averaged 28 runs each, scoring 3359 runs off 5503 balls. Included in this is 18 individual fifties and 4 centuries. Maybe what may even be a more worthwhile statistic is 36 scores of over 30. To put this into perspective, the next closest team to them is India with 2088 runs. Despite playing fewer games New Zealand’s record is the only one to rival these stats in terms of average. So how does this compare to their bottom order contribution away from home?

Very similar reading, ahead of the pack in terms of run scored, fifties and hundreds. South Africa’s bottom order seems to be firing in the opponent’s conditions with the leading average of 22,8 per batsman and those runs coming at the quickest strike rate. So what is the secret to maximising runs from the lower order? Is it the personnel or is it pride?

Not surprisingly, an Englishman sits at the top of both run scoring charts, home and away. Moeen Ali averages a handy 45 and a contribution of just short of 1000 runs in the UK within this time frame. Away from home the king of the castle is Jonny Bairstow ahead of the pack with a whopping average a decimal short of 50 with 2 hundreds to boot. This however is not an individual effort, it is collective of batsman who are all pulling their weight. Woakes, Buttler, Broad and recently Curran and Rashid are all very capable with bat in hand. They have complimentary styles and a synergy which makes for partnerships that not only score runs and bundles of them, but also occupy the crease, further frustrating opposition bowlers (and batsman).

It seems the often neglected “rats and mice” are becoming the important cogs of the team in the modern era and this is extending from test cricket into the white ball formats with teams opting for high quality primary skills and an above average secondary skill to add value especially in regards to lower order runs. As players we need to have awareness of this fact and schedule adequate time for the development of these skills. As coaches, we need to put systems in place which account for the time, expertise and effort for these players to contribute with the bat. This may mean some extra time in the nets but when your number 8 digs you out a trouble or your number 11 strikes the winning runs. It will all be worth it!

Coach Ed powered by Gary Kirsten Cricket has a dedicated module to batting and included in this content are specific topics related to developing lower order batsman along with strategies, game plans and drills to improve your team. Navigate to https://garykirsten.com/coach-education/ for more information.

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In a previous article, we discussed “starting from where the players is” Tom not only eluded to this as being vital in the coaching process but expanded as to why this is the case, ”For players to grow they need to be at their learning edge, the key element is to stretch and challenge players in the correct way and to do this one needs to understand the players’ framework. ”It is through the correct approach in the questioning process that one can ascertain the players current understanding and their unique situation to “tailor-make” the learning process. When co-facilitated correctly the power in this intervention can be deep and affect real change.

During this session coaches were asked some simple yet difficult questions which pertains to our development as coaches.

• What do my player(s) need to know?
• What do my player(s) need me to know?
• What do I need to know about my player(s)?

In the different aspects of the game, I encourage coaches to ask these questions of themselves for the various levels that they are coaching at. Take coaching short leg catching for example, what is important for the player to know and do you know the key coaching points and drills to coach this position effectively given the players context.

Upon introspection from the coaches, they all concluded the workshop with many answers but also many questions and isn’t this what Coach Education is all about.

For more information on GKC Coach Ed see www.garykirsten.com/coacheducation

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