COACHING : Manage a Team

How to Manage a Team

Over many years of coaching junior cricketers I have formulated a way in which all players play an important part in the team as well as giving the talented players enough opportunities to perform.

I recommend coaches devise a way in which all players have a roll in the team, similar to the example below. This is important to consider when selecting the team. Divide the team into batsmen, bowlers and allrounders. If you can have a squad of 14 players this is the perfect size. To help with squad selection see chapter 10 Talent Identification.

Batsman: These players bat in the top five. Their job is primarily to get runs. They are not allrounders but maybe occasional bowlers. These players should have good technique and concentration.

Allrounders: These players bat from 6 – 8 in the order. These are the players who can bat and bowl as well as the wicketkeeper. So you should have two bowling allrounders and a wicketkeeper.

Bowlers: Batsman 9-11, select players who bowl in the top five but are the weakest batsmen. If doesn’t really matter what type of bowlers they are but their job is to be a main bowler.

How the team operates: Three specialist bowlers and two bowling allrounders gives you the five bowlers required for a one-day match. Use these 5 as your main bowlers using the more occasional bowlers when conditions suit. The opening batsman’s job is to see off the opening bowlers and give the team a good platform to build a good team total. Number three is generally your best batsman. Number 4 & 5 should be a stroke-playing batsman. Your allrounders including the wicket keeping should be able to build an innings and also accelerate the scoring during the final overs.

Succession: A Team will always have players in and out with injury other commitments or the start of a new season. So it is logical that there be a progression or succession policy. This means that when one player is unavailable, someone else should be given his role. An example is that a regular opening batsman is out injured. So you promote your number 3 to opener, number 4 to number 3 and so on. Then you review the other players in the squad work out what roles they can perform. In this case the coach needs to find a batsman or an allrounder. Once you have selected this player then reorganize the batting order accordingly. It is important for a player’s confidence that they are asked to do things slowly rather than being put straight into a pressure situation in which they have little experience. This also applies to the end of one season to the beginning of the next.

Performance versus Equal Opportunity: This is a very difficult question for every coach. You need to involve every player of your team, but also you want to give opportunities to your best players to achieve. This is a large reason why I believe in the above way of managing a team. Even if a player is the world’s best allrounder, it won’t hurt him to bat at number five or six. He still has plenty of time to score runs and may still even opening the bowling. When selecting the players for their roles, take into account what are the player’s strengths and weaknesses. Even if you can see no strength, pick a role and get that player to practice his role. If player has goals you might be surprised at how well they perform their role.