answered
Q: Who is the one player from Newcastle Grade Cricket who played between 1980 and 2000 you’d want as the first player selected if you had the opportunity to start your own Newcastle Premier first grade cricket team?
A: Greg Geise, closely followed by Mark Curry
CricConnect Fans
10 months ago
answered
Q: I’m a 16 year old opening batter who played their first season of grade last year. I found it tough to get starts and struggled batting in the afternoon of 2 day matches. Something I struggled with was maintaining focus for my innings and losing concentration when I got comfortable. Could I get some advice on how to maintain focus and get a routine to make sure I’m concentrating
A: Focus on watching the ball or a smaller part of the ball i.e the seam , the writing on the ball or shiny side etc . I feel this makes you focus more on watching the ball closely rather than just watching the general area where the ball is released . It will also keep things simple and not cloud your head with other thoughts .
Set smaller goals i.e getting off the mark then maybe count your runs in lots of 10 . Once your 20 you should tell yourself its now really important to get a big score as you have a start , so getting to 30 is important then 40 and 50 etc with each 10 runs you should tell yourself to concentrate harder as its so important now to get a big score .
Concentrating harder either side of a break is extremely important and also when a new bowler is introduced into the attack or the current bowler is at the end of his spell . These triggers will help you keep focus for longer periods and at important times of the game .
Don't be content with 30 , 50 or even 100 . Some days a 100 isnt good enough and your team will be relying on you to convert to a huge score . Lots of guys get 50 and 100 so try to set yourself apart , kick on and post a really big score .
Also it is very important to relax in between balls and overs .
Steve Mace
