Harlow Town cc - Batting wagon wheels

Taylor Wood No.4

Taylor Wood - Harlow Town cc 2nd XI

I encountered Taylor in August 2018 having been drafted in to our 2nd XI team. We went onto the field with several 4th XI players and a man short as well. Needless to say the outcome of the game wasn't pretty. 

Taylor batted at No.4 and looked pretty good. Looking at his Play cricket data here  he doesn't have any particular weaknesses with regards being dismissed - roughly a 50/50 split between bowled and caught. Only a 2% incidence of being stumped.

The image above are his scoring areas...

With the make of the team being as described above, there were obvious weak areas in the field and Taylor was able to identify and exploit these. In particular our bloke at No.3; when the ball glanced off the bat finer, being slightly further out you'd have hoped we'd have had a bloke there that could have stopped it. The regular 2nd XI team would have dealt with it easily, but because we had old blokes like me and small boys playing Wood was able to guide the ball through there with ease. The bowling attack was medium/medium fast with the bowlers seeing good bounce and carry in the wicket. I didn't get to bowl and fielded at 6, dropping one that was hit straight at me - off the middle of the bat and another breaking through my fingers over my head. In this game Wood didn't face any spin at all. 

At the end of the game I spoke to him briefly and explained what I'd be doing with this blog post when I asked to get the photo of him and in that conversation having explained that I was a wrist-spinner he said "Funnily enough I always get out to spinners".

With regards ideas as to how to bowl at a Left-Handed player like this... 

As I recall, he played the shots down the ground with a straight bat, in part because our bowling was pretty good. The shots through the point and square-leg regions were the shorter balls that he was more than up to playing - targeting the leg-side. You can see that despite the fact that the shortest boundary was on his off-side, virtually no shots were played through that area. Looking at the scoring analysis for the game, there were a lot of wides that I'm assuming were leg-side, so perhaps the bowling was targeting the leg-stump region? 

My field therefore, is set for the classic approach of bowling on a good length outside of his off-stump, trying to drag him out wide looking to get the edge and a catch on the off-side at 2,3,4 and 5. He obviously sees himself as a being a leg-side player as a lot of his shots targeted that area and there may be a need to adapt the field and accommodate that scenario if it arises, giving yourself either more protection or the potential to get wickets with something that is more conventional, see here for the classic Peter Philpott field for left-handers.

The theory here, is based on the fact that he says he struggles against spin and that in our game he played no shots what-so-ever in the space between (8) mid-off and (5) Backward-point. So, with this field we're saying here's this space with no fielders except for (7) Silly mid-off, you've got pretty much 4's all day long if you bring out your cover-dive/lofted cover-drive. (11) Mid-wicket is potentially in the game, I fielded here as mentioned and got my hand to at least two balls, but a more athletic player would have had him, so I would have one of your more agile catchers in this position.

The two blokes at mid-on and mid-off need to be good athletic ground fielders as they're definitely going to be in the game. Similarly (10) Fine leg, needs to be agile and a decent catcher, I'd start with him out and bring him up if it looks like a catch is going to be on. Only make such moves if it looks like it's more of an attacking option.

Please note - You set these fields at your own risk. The owner of the blog is in no way responsible for you getting carted around the park for 4's and 6's. Seek professional advice and guidance if in doubt.

Check out my other posts here

Cricket scoring – Dot balls & runs

Cricket scoring – Wides and No-Balls (No runs made)

Cricket scoring – Byes and Leg-Byes

Cricket scoring – Wides with runs made

Cricket scoring – No-Balls with runs made ‘Off the bat’.

Cricket scoring – No-Ball Byes and Leg-Byes

Great Waltham cc Batting wagon wheels

G.Reed RHB No.3 Great Waltham cc 3rd XI

G.Reed RH bat. Batted at No.3 in this match and hung around till the end. Looks to be a relatively cautious player, not looking to smash the ball out of the park other than loose balls - full tosses. These he tends to hook for 4 through the fine leg region, in the case of his game off of one of our junior players who I think was bowling Leggies? 

Most of the shots were straight and in the V, but none of these reached the boundary although the outfield was slow. He was dropped off of Debond's bowling (I think) at Mid-wicket when two of our fielders went for the catch without calling and put each other off.

I bowled at him (See below) all the pink entries and he only scored 5 runs off of my bowling which was a little unorthodox but effective today as I bowled Flippers for every delivery except for 2 (See the other blog for an account of the game here).

Looking at the bowling analysis, it doesn't look as though he dominated anyone with the bat. Full balls he presented a perfectly straight bat, not necessarily over-reaching and always maintained his position in the crease with a stable base and doesn't look like a candidate for a stumping. The straight bat defense might be an option to exploit when we play them again. But the most interesting aspect of his play is the lack of leg-side flicks down to the fine leg region, which might indicate a weakness. If you look at his wagon wheel here there were 3 significant shots for 4 that came about as a result of the bowler bowling full-tosses. If it wasn't for them there wouldn't have been a single run in that region. Additionally, several of my balls were close to the stumps on the leg-side and he didn't get a bat on any of them.

G.Reed RH No.3 Bat - Great Waltham cc

So, off the basis of the analysis today and what we've seen I reckon the field below might be a starting point.
The light area indicated by the B (below) is his primary scoring area. It was noted that the ball didn't bounce a great deal on this wicket and stayed low, so if you have the Flipper as one of your variations it might be the variation you can turn to or use, as I did in this game as your stock delivery? As mentioned there is a perception on first look at this bloke that there is a weakness on the leg-side, so unusually I'm going to advocate bowling around the wicket targeting his stumps, keeping in mind that the ball isn't going to bounce a great deal because of the nature of the wicket. If you've got the Flipper make sure you fire in a few from the leg-side too because he struggled as mentioned before getting the bat onto these. Bowl them on a good to full length mixed in with your Leg-breaks. 

The bowler that had the best figures who bowled at Reed was Debond who may have been bowling Leg-Breaks - from where I was fielding at Fine Leg I could see that he was varying his speed and flight at least and this seemed to do the trick. It wasn't for the full tosses his figures would have been pretty good.

There's also an obvious case for bowling good line and length Leg-Breaks on and around the off-stump with a slip and potentially a gully because of his straight bat defense and proclivity to play through the V as indicated. An over-spun ball with one that has more side-spin could do the trick or any straighter delivery (Flipper or Orthodox back-spinner) combined with your Leg-Break.

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Joel Barker RH No.2 batsman Joel scored 52 before being bowled by T.Edmunds. As you can see by his wagon wheel he's got plenty of shots and that his main area for scoring was off-side via either a lofted -on-drive or one along the ground. Strong striker of the ball and times it quite well. Anything short and he's on to and puts it away. Admittedly our bowling attack lacked the kind of pace you see at 2nd XI and 1st XI standards and it might be the case that this bloke at 17 may be on his way up to the 2nd XI and might be a different prospect with a faster bowler like my son Joe Thompson?

Joel Barker No.2 RHB- Great Waltham cc 3rd XI

That said though, if we look at his wagon-wheel we can see that, like Reed above there's little evidence that he's good at anything on the legs unless it's short - as with Reed he pulls it for 4 through square. With regards my bowling which he faced a fair bit, he struggled and admitted so once he'd score a single off me saying... "At last I've got a run off you, I can't get you off the square"! I doubt like anyone he's had a bowler bowl Flippers at him let alone consecutive Flippers over after over! A far more aggressive and positive player in comparison with Reed and possibly not so susceptible to the classic Wrist-Spinner approach seen elsewhere on the blog. If we look at the Wagon wheel there was one cover drive for 4 and 1 off-drive for 4. Most of the shots were through the region B.

Joel Barker LH Bat - Great Waltham cc 3rd XI

With the lack of shots through the cover-drive region, this has made me consider that perhaps he's avoiding that region for a specific reason? I have to admit it's not an observation I made during the game and only now looking at the diagram I made during the game and converting it to this, that this is now apparent. This coupled with lack of shots through A (Behind square) gives us options. 


With this first look at Joel, it looks as though we should deploy the Shane Warne approach to starting our spell (See here). Start over the wicket and target the stumps looking to turn the ball. Get a sense of whether it does turn or not. *Note, in this game I was bowled off a turning off-break from Joel bowling RH Orthodox finger spin, so the wicket does turn at their 3rd XI ground. If it turns try different positions on the crease with your stock delivery threatening the stumps - have a slip in and leave the gap, in this case initially a big gap,

Joel Barker, Great Waltham cc 3rd XI

Cut off his scoring shot 4's with the your fielders at 8,9 and 10, this should bring his run rate down and keep him down to singles, it may even induce a catch? Bowling over the stumps turning the ball away from the outside edge of the bat, he may still look to hit the ball either straight or through the on-side. If that's the case, the chances are he's going to edge one through to the keeper, slips or Gully or mis-hit a shot to be caught at cover or backward point. 6 is there for the late-cut or anything that evades the fielders on the off-side as he might go at it hard. 

In the first over definitely consider coming around the stumps and bowling full on the leg-side turning the ball into the stumps especially if you're getting it to turn off the wicket. As with Reed, Barker does look lacking with shots through here and many of my leg-side balls totally evaded him yet they were only just down the leg-side for most of the time. Even the wider ones that most batsmen would sweep he kept well away from. So it's worth a punt mixing your Leg-Breaks with straighter deliveries (In my case Flippers). 

16th July 2022 Update Joel Barker

Played against him at Holy Cross on a hot day just a few days before the UK record for the hottest day ever. 

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P.Rolfe LHB No.6 The last bloke we have a look at here is P.Rolfe who was a totally different prospect. The word was that some years previously he'd been a 1st XI batsman and this season was his return to cricket. He scored 16 off of 9 deliveries only dealing in 4's two of which were powerful reverse sweeps down to 3rd man. This was primarily against one of our better bowlers - Alastair Hayton who in the previous week took 3 wickets for 1 off of 4 overs 

almost. As I recall he didn't hang about either to have a look, 3rd ball and he was pulling out the reverse sweep! 

Not much to go on though if we look at this wagon wheel. I guess we have to consider that he was a 1st XI player and that he's going to come at us hard. He stayed in his ground and almost without exception every ball was bound for the next county or the North sea, no boundary was safe!

P.Rolfe LHB No.6 Great Waltham cc 3rd XI

P.Rolfe Wagon Wheel LHB Great Waltham cc

Bowling plan for P.Rolfe - Great Waltham cc

Not having seen much of P.Rolfe as he came in at the end of the game, there's not a lot to work with. The impression we have is that he's going to come hard at you if you're a slow bowler which may play into our hands? Be prepared though to change tack and adapt to the situation as it may turn out that he plays differently in accordance to the game situation.

The basic idea here is to attack the stumps. Come round the wicket bowling leg-breaks and your straight variations if you have them. Have a look at whether you're getting the ball to turn and if it is vary your deliveries and the width that you bowl. One tactic is to bowl relatively wide and full outside of his off-stump especially if he's swinging at it, looking to get a toe end mis-hit. If this looks viable you might want to get a fielder into Gully? 

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Please note - You set these fields at your own risk. The owner of the blog is in no way responsible for you getting carted around the park for 4's and 6's. Seek professional advice and guidance if in doubt.

Check out my other posts here...

Cricket scoring – Dot balls & runs

Cricket scoring – Wides and No-Balls (No runs made)

Cricket scoring – Byes and Leg-Byes

Cricket scoring – Wides with runs made

Cricket scoring – No-Balls with runs made ‘Off the bat’.

Cricket scoring – No-Ball Byes and Leg-Byes

Billericay cc batting wagon wheels

William Dale

Billericay 4th XI (June 2018).

I didn't get a picture of this bloke, but he's one of their young players - probably about 14 years old (June 2018) and he's the opener. In our game he scored 51. All the data here is for a seam attack. I wasn't deployed in the game as a bowler until the very last over and the captain commented at the end of the game...

 "Why on earth wasn't you used"? 

 For such a young player he was very good and he adapted to the game situation as it went along. He started off with a bloke that was a few years older than he was, but despite that, it looked as though Dale was calling the shots and dictating how they approached the game.

Initially he took a positive/aggressive approach to playing - looking to split the field and score 4's through the gaps. One of the shots that he looked to play consistently was the cover-drive, but I was fielding there and that's one of my favorite positions and I blocked (possibly) every single shot he played through that region virtually negating every shot, at best he might have scored a few quick run singles. He then adapted his game and played cut and pull-shots with which he had more success, but seeing the change in approach our captain placed the fielders accordingly (Brian Waterman). Dale then spoke to the other bloke and they changed tactics again, now looking for singles and this worked in their favour. 

For such a young player he was exceptionally confident and well organised.

This is the in-game pitch map.

His strongest shot and the one that he played with the most finesse was his cover-drive, but it was played so well the ball was hit through virtually the exact same zone each time. All you need to do to negate it is to field in that area, but several yards deeper to give the impression that there's a run to be had each time. This also gives the impression of if you're so far out and the ball is hit cleanly it may evade you because it may be slightly wide. By being initially so far out you invite the chance of the run and the shot, but as the bowler runs in, you move in significantly (I actually trot in). This increases the chance of you being able to stop any ball either side of you as you narrow the angles and it means you end up in a position to stop the single. 

My suggestion as a Wrist-Spinner would be to try this field here below...

No.1 play to the kids ego. He has a good cover-drive and in our game he started with it, it appears to be his go to shot. Bowl the ball over the wicket using the line indicated (B). Initially bowl with less revs to give the impression the ball is playable try and impart less spin (Small leg break) and look to entice that cover-drive. It might be the case that this is enough and you'll get the edge easily, but if he fancies his chances against wrist-spin and he's got it in his mind that he's got to get on top of you psychologically he might have a go. If he does don't worry, you want him driving that ball through the gap indicated by A. What you want is to make him feel that this is his scoring zone, then once he's hit a few, even to the point he may have hit a boundary or two - you then change up... 
Hopefully he's on the front foot - coming out of his ground or at full stretch driving the ball. All you then have to do is bowl the same delivery (Line and flight) but add the revs, the ball will come down and he'll think its the same length and spin attributes, but it'll dip more and then turn more. The outcome will be he'll edge it to  be caught by 2,4,5,6 or even 8 or he'll run past it for a stumping. Should be easy.









A more defensive approach________________________________

If you're brought on later and there's more of an emphasis to keep the runs down, this field might be more appropriate. 

Again, you're looking to encourage that cover-drive, but you deploy the same approach that I adopted. No.11 is positioned deeper than normal, but as soon as you're into your approach to the crease he sets off too. He'd have seen you further out and in his mind there's a single there or he'll be able to get the ball either side of you, but you jog in and close down the opportunity for the single and decrease the width aspect. He might then look to drive harder and then the same approach with regards putting more revs on the ball once he thinks he's got the  better of you.

A word of warning.
He'll be physically bigger and stronger and potentially better? Remember too he's good - he seemed to be running the show while he was out there - telling older players what to do and taking the majority of the strike and then making the decisions to change the approach. Keep in mind his scoring areas and keep these covered.

For additional data - see here from play cricket 

Please note - You set these fields at your own risk. The owner of the blog is in no way responsible for you getting carted around the park for 4's and 6's. Seek professional advice and guidance if in doubt.

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