As a PE teacher nothing has made me happier than seeing girls enjoying cricket as their main summer sport. For years I never quite understood why girls were often made to play rounders whilst the boys played cricket. Having spent the summer term working as a games coach I have been able to observe 100’s of girls enjoying the sport, different formats of the game and have developed some opinions on how to develop the entry or recreational version of the game. I intend to use this article as a platform to share some of my reflections and ideas around how we can make the recreational version of the game better and more enjoyable for those taking part.
I would like to start by saying that my comments and ideas below are aimed at the recreational game and not the performance level as I know that there are coaches working in that space delivering programmes of outstanding quality which are innovative and engaging. My ideas are largely focused on school’s cricket and at players new (ish) to the game.
THE FORMAT
Perhaps the most controversial or debated topic is around the format and how fixtures or training matches should be played. Underpinning this debate is the unavoidable fact that the majority of girls playing cricket now in secondary schools are behind boys in terms of their exposure to the game due to the fact that girl’s cricket is still “fairly” new to the majority of schools whilst the majority of boys would have played in their prep and primary schools. As a result, there is a need for an alternative version of the game however I do believe that we need to be slightly more innovative than we currently are to accelerate the progress and participation levels of girls new to the game.
Currently the dominant format for entry level players appears to be 8 a side pairs cricket. In this format players bat in pairs for a maximum of 2 overs. In my opinion this is simply too short and doesn’t allow significant time for repetition or to learn the craft of batting. Considering that it is entirely possible for one player to not face a ball during their two overs I believe that this format is not helpful for developing both a love for batting and for skill development.
To address this, I would like to see 6 aside cricket being played where pairs bat for 4 overs per pair. Yes, the format is slightly longer and two less players are playing however I feel that this format would be so much more enjoyable and beneficial for those playing. This format would be more inclusive and would result in more opportunity for batting, fielding and bowling and in my opinion would enrich the experience for those involved.
BATTING
One thing that stood out to me was the leg side dominance in girls’ cricket. Hardly unsurprising as all of the other stick and ball or striking games girls typically play in schools involve movements towards their ‘leg’ side i.e. a tennis forehand. I have watched many games where the fielder at cover hasn’t touched the ball in both innings. At an entry level I do not have an issue with this as learning to strike through the leg side is also fundamental (and easier) however we must consider how to develop the offside game of girls new to the sport.
One thing you could do to address this is to double the value of runs scored on the offside. I believe that this would suitably incentivise players to look to score on the offside and encourage players to be a bit more creative. This could be really exciting if the team batting second are in a run chase and have to score a significant amount of runs in the last over or two to win the game. You could quite easily take this further by creating different zones which are worth more runs dependant on what shots you are trying to develop. This might be slightly more challenging for an inter school fixture scenario however definitely worth playing around with in training.
Secondly, fielding restrictions such as only allowing 1 player on the offside (6 aside format) could also produce a similar result. A potential adaptation of this could be as a power play where the batting team (or bowling team!) could select a certain number of pairs to bat with the restrictions in place. Both of these suggestions could provide an additional level of challenge for both the fielding and batting side and will act as a great entry into tactics and game management.
BOWLING
It really frustrates me when the highest run scorer is wides and extras. Can we be a little more creative in ensuring this isn’t the case. Rather than using the indicative age guidelines for pitch length I’d like to see multiple pitch lengths used within the same game. For a player completely new to the game I would like to be able to give them the opportunity to bowl from a length suitable to their stage of development rather than forcing them to bowl consecutive no balls or wides. An example of this would be a completely new to the game player would bowl off of 15 yards whereas a more experienced player could bowl from 19. Again, I feel that this will really help to motivate new players and provide more opportunity for the players to experience success.
EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES
One thing that stood out to me from this summer is the disparity in equipment and facilities used between the boys and girls. Obviously, teams playing hard ball cricket require more protective equipment however I feel that there is a further disparity between both versions of the game. We must question how we are addressing gender inequalities if we are never allowing our girls teams to play on the first team square when the boys u14 c team do week in week out!
If schools are fortunate enough to have enough space for multiple pitches, I would like to see more rolled pitches to allow girls to play on. Often girls’ fixtures are placed on astro pitches or on school fields used for rugby and football in the winter. I am not suggesting that we need more finely manicured squares dotted over playing fields as astro pitches do serve a purpose. Merely rolling a strip of grass with a roller will suffice and provide a much truer surface for girls to play on. In addition to this, the use of wooden stumps with wooden bails in place of plastic stumps with no bails will really add to the experience.
Choice of ball is also critical in my opinion. Nowadays there are many types of soft balls available to play with. I believe that we should use a tennis style system where newer player’s play with a bouncier ball progressing up to a slightly less bouncy ball, then an Incrediball followed by a hard ball. I witnessed many fixtures this year where I felt that the ball was inappropriate to the stage of development and that players were prevented from developing and having as much fun as they could have done.
The only other thing I feel needs addressing is bat weight. Plastic bats absolutely have their place, but we must ensure that they are the correct weight for the players using them. There is no way that year 7’s should be using the same bag as year 11’s as there is huge changes in strength and power during that period and an appropriately weighted bat is so important; especially if we hoping to improve the quality of batting on the offside!
CONCLUSION
I would like to finish by saying that I am fully aware that lots of schools and clubs will already be doing lots of things that I mentioned in this article and will be being way more innovative than my suggestions. My purpose for writing his was to hopefully create some discussion about how can make this format of the game more enjoyable and share some of my ideas for people to steal and adapt. Hopefully by being a little more creative we will be able to transition more girls out of our school programmes into our clubs and embed a love of the game that will last for lifetime.
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