Analysing and observing myself and comparing my skills in cricket to what I have written about the perfect player.
David Holmes 11JB
GCSE PE
COURSEWORK
GCSE PE Coursework
Section 1:
The sport I have chosen to do my coursework on will be Cricket.
The Perfect Player:
Cricket is an all round game with three main aspects of it. These are bowling, batting and fielding. Players can either be strong in one area, whereas strong in all areas of the game. The typical example of a perfect player in cricket would be the all-rounder. This is a player who is a talented bowler and talented batter. A successful all-rounder will be a very important player to any team. An example of an all-rounder is Andrew Flintoff or Jacques Kallis. Both these players are all round talented players and perform at a world-class level.
Batting:
To win a game of cricket runs must be scored, this is the job of the batsmen. In a test match runs are often scored at a slow rate of around 3 runs an over. But in a one day game the run rate is usually around the 5 runs an over. Batting takes a lot of skill because every ball faced will be different in speed, line, length and bounce depending on the condition of the pitch. When batting many things must be mastered to score runs against any type of bowler. The grip of the bat is important to keep the bat steady in order to strike the ball. The stance of a batsman is one of the most important parts of batting. When coming in to bat the batter will take a guard, which is usually middle stump. This can change depending on conditions and the bowler. Foot movement is particularly important when facing a quicker bowler. The speed to react is a lot shorter when facing a pace bowler. Players will move their back foot across towards the off stump to get them in-line with the delivery. More advanced batters will make two movements of the feet before playing a shot. This is usually back and across.
There are many shots to play when batting, these are broken down to front foot and back foot shots. Front foot shots are when the ball is pitched up well and the foot is moved towards the spot where the ball bounces then the shot is played. Some front foot shots are: forward defence, cover drive and the sweep. Back foot shots are played when the ball is pitched short and bounce from the waist and often over the head. The batsman steps make to make room then will strike the ball depending if it is on leg stump or off stump. Back foot shots are: square cut, pull shot. These are often attacking shots. However, back foot shots can create easy singles. This can be done by using the pace of the ball and placing it down to the third man region for a comfortable run. Running between the wickets can be essential especially in one day games. When the shot is played behind the striking batsmen the non-striker will make the call. Otherwise the call will be the strikers call. To be successful at running between the wickets both batsmen must be able to judge if a run is there and how many. Pace is obviously important with it. A good runner will call sensible singles and turn 2 runs in 3 runs by always taking the first run at a quick pace then judging weather a third run is possible. Batsmen face varieties of bowling. Spin, pace, and swing. Pace bowling is difficult to face as your time to react is a lot slower. Spin slows the speed of the play down. Swing makes the ball move in the air due to one side of the ball being polished allowing it to move through the air faster, while the other side is rough so it creates more friction in the air.