Twickenham Cricket Club - Colts League & Cup Competitive Matches - Selection Criteria

When selecting players for competitive matches our foremost concern is the player’s safety. For players to play in matches with confidence they do need to be able to execute the skills of bowling, batting and fielding to a standard that will keep them, and others, safe on the field of play.

At training sessions the coaches will aim to develop each players bowling, batting and fielding through drills and games. Coaches will demonstrate/ introduce skills, drills and games which are designed to hopefully improve all players throughout the season.

At training coaches will monitor each player’s progress and assess if their bowling, batting and fielding ability meets a standard at which a player could participate in a competitive match safely.

The standard we look for is governed by a set of specific criteria for each of the areas of bowling, batting and fielding:

Bowling

Each player should be able to consistently bowl at least 4-5 ‘legal’ deliveries out of 6.

Legal deliveries are those:

• Bowled with a straight arm (not thrown).
• Not a wide ball (A wide ball in this instance is ball bowled that travels outside of the return crease when the ball reaches the batsman)
• Not no-ball (A no-balls are classed as 1) a bowler oversteps the popping crease 2) a ball bowled, without bouncing, that travels above the height of the batsman’s waist in his normal stance 3) a ball that bounces more than twice by the time the ball reaches the stumps).

Bowlers must also be able to confidently field any balls thrown from the outfield to the stumps at the bowlers end.

Batting

Players must be able to hold the bat and use a batting stance which allows them to consistently strike the ball and should show confidence in facing bowling of a hard cricket ball.

Each player must be able to confidently play defensive and attacking shots. Technically this would include a Forward Defensive shot and a Pull shot.

A player will be able to run safely between the wickets using clear and correct calls, carrying the bat in the correct hand and sliding the bat into the popping crease as required.

Fielding

Players must demonstrate the ability to catch and or stop a hard cricket ball safely and with confidence. Fielders are not permitted to field closer than 8-11yards (depending on the age group) from the striking batsman in competitive matches and it’s this distance that Players are expected to consistently be able to stop a rolling cricket ball using a ‘long barrier’ technique.

Players should show awareness in the field, including; a knowledge of fielding positions, an understanding of moving fielding positions between overs and basic fielding tactics.

By using these criteria we wish to be as objective as we possibly can in selecting players for colts competitive league and cup matches.

The more practice the more confident a player will become and some of the skills outlined above can be performed at home or in the park, especially the fielding skills. We are more than happy to offer guidance in terms of drills and technical points so parents/carers can help their sons and daughters improve and enjoy their cricket.

A useful place to find more information on the laws of cricket including ‘no-balls’ can be found here