I am writing from Oslo in Norway having spent three days sightseeing with Ann and our friends Ian and Carol Berry. Tomorrow we move on by train to Copenhagen.
If I was asked what the high point of the Oslo stay was it would be not having to watch the Olympic games in England!!!
There is no doubt the Great Britain sportsmen and women have done very well indeed given the expectation of the media there.
There has been all kinds of Aussie bashing going on and I am not sure why really. Perhaps it is because in recent Olympics Great Britain has underachieved and in some way Australia has over achieved.
If so that is over now because the huge sums of Lottery money being pumped into the preparation of athletes in Great Britain has closed the gap.
What saddens me is the fact that by 2012 the gap between Great Britain and Australia will have widened because of the 600 million pound being given to athletes to train and not need to work at a job.
I will say however that no amount of money can make the difference between winning and losing an Ashes series. So to my English friends I simply say keep your feet on the ground. Enjoy the Olympic result but do not confuse what money can buy with talent and desire!!
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Friday, August 15, 2008
Club Initiative
On the 14th of August I spent a couple of hours in the nets at Amersham Cricket Club with a group of enthusiastic young kids. I can't say I saw a future England spinner amongst the boys but I am sure Amersham will have plenty of players to call upon in the future.
Club President (or is it Chairman?) Phil Ketteringham organised my visit which concluded with our customary dinner at Amersham's (maybe England's) best Indian restaurant, beautifully named Spices and Herbs. I recommend a visit if you are in the area. The food is great and the service even better!!
Go getter Phil and his commitee has embarked an enterprising fund raiser for the club. They have invited the Tanzanian cricket team to play a match against the local team.
I am not sure how good either side is but I do know initiative should be rewarded so anybody reading this blog looking for a great day out on August 25th (Bank Holiday Monday) should head to Amersham. Phil plans for all styles of entertainment to ensure a good family day out.
The setting at Amersham Cricket Club is lovely...ideal for such a day. Check out their web site for more details.
Good luck. May the weather God's smile upon you.
Club President (or is it Chairman?) Phil Ketteringham organised my visit which concluded with our customary dinner at Amersham's (maybe England's) best Indian restaurant, beautifully named Spices and Herbs. I recommend a visit if you are in the area. The food is great and the service even better!!
Go getter Phil and his commitee has embarked an enterprising fund raiser for the club. They have invited the Tanzanian cricket team to play a match against the local team.
I am not sure how good either side is but I do know initiative should be rewarded so anybody reading this blog looking for a great day out on August 25th (Bank Holiday Monday) should head to Amersham. Phil plans for all styles of entertainment to ensure a good family day out.
The setting at Amersham Cricket Club is lovely...ideal for such a day. Check out their web site for more details.
Good luck. May the weather God's smile upon you.
Jordan Capel
A few weeks ago I talked about young Jordan Capel and the drama surrounding his impending heart operation. Well it as finally taken place and I am delighted to say the operation went well and as I write he is due to come out of intensive care.
I received a text from his father David with the good news. The other news in the text tells us all why cricket is such a great game. David told me that one of the first people to visit Jordan was none other than Monty Panasar. Monty of course plays for Jordan's beloved Northampton when not on International duty and his visit would no doubt have brought a smile to Jordan's face.
He is a couragous young man and all of the members of the leg spinner's union wish him well in the difficult months ahead
I received a text from his father David with the good news. The other news in the text tells us all why cricket is such a great game. David told me that one of the first people to visit Jordan was none other than Monty Panasar. Monty of course plays for Jordan's beloved Northampton when not on International duty and his visit would no doubt have brought a smile to Jordan's face.
He is a couragous young man and all of the members of the leg spinner's union wish him well in the difficult months ahead
Monday, August 4, 2008
ECB/Brian Johnston Clinics
With only 24 hours rest between my Delhi assignment and the Loughborough Wrist spin Programme I can tell you the mild weather made life pretty easy. The first two days of the four day spin programme were devoted to finger spinners, batsmen and wicketkeepers. The finger spin was run by Jack Birkenshaw and he was supported by Peter Such and me. A net session each day was followed by a "scenario" session against the batsmen for around 50-60 overs.
Paul Johnson and David Houghton looked after the batsmen whilst Bruce French attended to the keepers needs.
Jack and Peter stayed on and supported me with the wrist spin which was great. Also there for the four days was Paul Lawrence from Somerset. Paul has come a long way as a coach since the days at Taunton when he would stand at the back of the net too shy to speak.
He now shows the ability to spot areas of concern and offer advice on how to improve those areas.
During the finger spinners camp, two leg spinners were in attendance. One was Jordon Capel the son of former England player David Capel. I especially mention Jordon because the reason he attended on the Monday and Tuesday was because he was to have a serious heart operation on the Thursday. A big thing for anyone let alone a 15 year old boy. When you think about the number of boys who make weak excuses to not attend some training sessions it say's something for Jordon's desire. When I tell you the operation was cancelled at the last minute due to lack of beds in Intensive Care I hope it gives you an idea of what he has been through. It starts again this coming week. Good luck cobber.
Back to the camp. It went well and I believe I saw the most talented 13 year old of all.
He has been bowling for less than a year and he has learned it all via You tube and Shane Warne's King of Spin DVD.
More on him later.
We will announce the two leggies to travel to Adelaide in October in the next two weeks.
Paul Johnson and David Houghton looked after the batsmen whilst Bruce French attended to the keepers needs.
Jack and Peter stayed on and supported me with the wrist spin which was great. Also there for the four days was Paul Lawrence from Somerset. Paul has come a long way as a coach since the days at Taunton when he would stand at the back of the net too shy to speak.
He now shows the ability to spot areas of concern and offer advice on how to improve those areas.
During the finger spinners camp, two leg spinners were in attendance. One was Jordon Capel the son of former England player David Capel. I especially mention Jordon because the reason he attended on the Monday and Tuesday was because he was to have a serious heart operation on the Thursday. A big thing for anyone let alone a 15 year old boy. When you think about the number of boys who make weak excuses to not attend some training sessions it say's something for Jordon's desire. When I tell you the operation was cancelled at the last minute due to lack of beds in Intensive Care I hope it gives you an idea of what he has been through. It starts again this coming week. Good luck cobber.
Back to the camp. It went well and I believe I saw the most talented 13 year old of all.
He has been bowling for less than a year and he has learned it all via You tube and Shane Warne's King of Spin DVD.
More on him later.
We will announce the two leggies to travel to Adelaide in October in the next two weeks.
Delhi Camp
Five very exhausting days in Delhi were rewarded by a lot of improvement by most of the boys. The squad was varied with 8-9 left arm orthodox spinners, 5-6 right arm off spinners and 10-12 right arm leg spinners. The numbers varied from day to day with a maximum of 24 on any one day. The difficult part of the equation was trying to balance the numbers in only two nets!
The boys were terrific as they spent a lot of time away from the nets bowling on the grass whilst awaiting a turf pitch opportunity.
I was assisted by Arun Khurana, Gokul Inder Dev, and Mahesh Sharma.
Arun was a great help in making sure communication was not a problem as well as working mostly with the left armers. It will not surprise you to know that every, yes every one of the left armers bowled between the umpire, approaching the crease at a serious angle. Spin was at a minimum. It set me a challenge as being a "new age" coach I believe good alignment is the secret to obtaining maximum spin. The boys and Arun needed to be convinced and it is my feeling that by the end of the week all found some belief as well as more spin. No doubt a problem will arise when they arrive back with their regular coaches. I am trusting Arun to be strong with his support of the alignment issue.
Gokul, a former leg spinner and aged in his upper 60's has a passion for the art of wrist spin. He worked with the leggies and set himself to coach alignment, strong front arm, plus shoulder and hip rotation. Pivot was a big issue too. Keeping it simple, I feel he found success with the boys as well as the confidence to work on the simple basics.
The Delhi heat/humidity really got to me each day but I am glad I went.
I hope the boys and coaches are also pleased I went to Delhi.
The boys were terrific as they spent a lot of time away from the nets bowling on the grass whilst awaiting a turf pitch opportunity.
I was assisted by Arun Khurana, Gokul Inder Dev, and Mahesh Sharma.
Arun was a great help in making sure communication was not a problem as well as working mostly with the left armers. It will not surprise you to know that every, yes every one of the left armers bowled between the umpire, approaching the crease at a serious angle. Spin was at a minimum. It set me a challenge as being a "new age" coach I believe good alignment is the secret to obtaining maximum spin. The boys and Arun needed to be convinced and it is my feeling that by the end of the week all found some belief as well as more spin. No doubt a problem will arise when they arrive back with their regular coaches. I am trusting Arun to be strong with his support of the alignment issue.
Gokul, a former leg spinner and aged in his upper 60's has a passion for the art of wrist spin. He worked with the leggies and set himself to coach alignment, strong front arm, plus shoulder and hip rotation. Pivot was a big issue too. Keeping it simple, I feel he found success with the boys as well as the confidence to work on the simple basics.
The Delhi heat/humidity really got to me each day but I am glad I went.
I hope the boys and coaches are also pleased I went to Delhi.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Chennai clinics
I must say I had 5 enjoyable days at the Mac Spin Foundation in Chennai.
Having been there previously I knew what to expect which made things easier to co-ordinate.Between 20 and 26 boys plus one girl attended on various days during the week with the minimum number of 20 on any given day.
As before I had trouble with names so resorted to nick names to help us communicate. All responded well and they all knew to whom I referred when my voice boomed out across the four clay/turf nets.
Big Fella, Thommo, Vemkat, China, Lefty and Princess were some of the "handles" given to the spinners.
In one group discussion I trotted out this Bishen Bedi quote "Spin is in the air and break is off the pitch". The quote was followed by asking the left arm orthodox spinner "who is Bishen Bedi?" It astonished me that he did not know! I then put the same question to the group and one or two sheepish looks accompanied a slight raising of the hand. Strewth, I thought, it upsets me when young Australian or English spinners don't remember 'Bish'.
Despite that disappointment it was pleasing the way they bowled for four hours each day in very hot and humid conditions.
Princess spun her leg breaks, particularly early in the week. On one occasion I called all spinners into a net so she could demonstrate a leg break. It was magnificent. In fact it was so Warne like with its curve and spin I started calling he "Shanette" for a day or two.
A little 8 year old joined us for a couple of days which also coincided with computer analysis. I called for "Thommo" to come out the front as we showed his clip and as I did the 8 year old announced that Jeff Thomson was a fast bowler. So was our Thommo! The other spinners burst into laughter. Taking a punt I asked our 8 year old, who by the way is based in Singapore, to come to the front. "Who is Bishen Bedi?" I asked. "Bishen Bedi is the greatest left arm spinner to play for India" he replied without a moments hesitation. On a roll I then asked "who is Prasanna?" Again with out a second's hesitation he replied "Eripali Prasanna is the greatest off spin bowler to play for India."
It was an uplifting time for us all.
I was assisted with the clinic's by Peter Fernandez, Chief Coach of the Mac Spin Foundation and his friend Vincent.
Peter has a passion for spin, in particular wrist spin and he willingly coached the basics as introduced by me. Alignment as always was a key factor and we improved that with the spinners over the five days.
However the biggest area of concern for us was the Shane Warne elbow! This is the front (leading) arm which has the hand back near the bowling shoulder with the elbow facing the batsman,as they move into their delivery stride. It worked for Shane but the kids are not strong enough to get it to reach out toward the target. Would you believe that of 22 spinners on one day, 16 had Warnie's front arm?
Of all the strong basics Shane exhibits they chose the one hardest to copy.
I am now in New Delhi on the last of 5 days here.
When I arrive in England I will file a report on that clinic.
Having been there previously I knew what to expect which made things easier to co-ordinate.Between 20 and 26 boys plus one girl attended on various days during the week with the minimum number of 20 on any given day.
As before I had trouble with names so resorted to nick names to help us communicate. All responded well and they all knew to whom I referred when my voice boomed out across the four clay/turf nets.
Big Fella, Thommo, Vemkat, China, Lefty and Princess were some of the "handles" given to the spinners.
In one group discussion I trotted out this Bishen Bedi quote "Spin is in the air and break is off the pitch". The quote was followed by asking the left arm orthodox spinner "who is Bishen Bedi?" It astonished me that he did not know! I then put the same question to the group and one or two sheepish looks accompanied a slight raising of the hand. Strewth, I thought, it upsets me when young Australian or English spinners don't remember 'Bish'.
Despite that disappointment it was pleasing the way they bowled for four hours each day in very hot and humid conditions.
Princess spun her leg breaks, particularly early in the week. On one occasion I called all spinners into a net so she could demonstrate a leg break. It was magnificent. In fact it was so Warne like with its curve and spin I started calling he "Shanette" for a day or two.
A little 8 year old joined us for a couple of days which also coincided with computer analysis. I called for "Thommo" to come out the front as we showed his clip and as I did the 8 year old announced that Jeff Thomson was a fast bowler. So was our Thommo! The other spinners burst into laughter. Taking a punt I asked our 8 year old, who by the way is based in Singapore, to come to the front. "Who is Bishen Bedi?" I asked. "Bishen Bedi is the greatest left arm spinner to play for India" he replied without a moments hesitation. On a roll I then asked "who is Prasanna?" Again with out a second's hesitation he replied "Eripali Prasanna is the greatest off spin bowler to play for India."
It was an uplifting time for us all.
I was assisted with the clinic's by Peter Fernandez, Chief Coach of the Mac Spin Foundation and his friend Vincent.
Peter has a passion for spin, in particular wrist spin and he willingly coached the basics as introduced by me. Alignment as always was a key factor and we improved that with the spinners over the five days.
However the biggest area of concern for us was the Shane Warne elbow! This is the front (leading) arm which has the hand back near the bowling shoulder with the elbow facing the batsman,as they move into their delivery stride. It worked for Shane but the kids are not strong enough to get it to reach out toward the target. Would you believe that of 22 spinners on one day, 16 had Warnie's front arm?
Of all the strong basics Shane exhibits they chose the one hardest to copy.
I am now in New Delhi on the last of 5 days here.
When I arrive in England I will file a report on that clinic.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
It all started when....
Today is July 13th and it is not a Friday. Although one could be excused for thinking it is.
Let me take you through my day so far. I set the alarm for 4.15am to be up in time to shower, dress and catch a 4.45am cab to the airport in time to board my 6am flight to Chennai via Sydney and Mumbai.
TeBe our cocker spaniel woke me around 12.30am seeking treats and a visit to the toilet. That was it for me because from that moment on I stayed awake for fear I would sleep through the alarm.
Having packed the night before it was a breeze once I showered. I had purchased a new zip up top to wear on the plane and again in England, later in my trip.
That was my second mishap. (TeBe waking me the first). The zip was broken and non functional. Trust us boys not to look at these things when we make a purchase.
The taxi arrived early, which was a positive. Then I managed an up grade using points. Another positive!
Arrived into Sydney on time and caught the bus to the International terminal. There was only 40 minutes between the arrival of the domestic flight and boarding time for Mumbai but we looked good.
Not such a bad day afterall, I thought. Then it all changed.
I had forgotten the different liquids rules between Domestic and International. Stupid me had two magnificent bottles of red wine as a gift for my friend Victor in Chennai. They were confiscated and will next surface at the Airport Security booze up!
As you might imagine I was pretty disappointed with them even though they were enforcing the rules. Less than a minute later a lady tapped me on the shoulder with a passport and boarding pass in her hand. They were mine! Losing the two bottles of red had obviously created a state of shock because the documents were previously in my hand!!
Duty free beckoned to replace the wine and I snapped up a special deal on two bottles of Chivas Regal before seeking out the departure gate. As I was doing that an announcement came over the air telling us of a gate change for the Mumbai flight. A few seconds later it was announced that there would be a two hour delay due to "engineering".
Damn! I will miss my connection between Mumbai and Chennai, I mumbled to myself. Within half an hour a further two hours was added to our delay due to "engineering".
Now I definitely won't make the connection.
We want our plane safe so we cop these delays when we are hit with them. I took the time to write this blog during the delay and until the next announcement, (cynical) there is still two hours of waiting.
The amazing thing is that there are ten aircraft delayed for "engineering" as I write. It doesn't give the hopes much of a lift when the very next announcement is calling for the passengers on the flight to Singapore delayed from YESTERDAY to board!!
Hope I make it to Chennai in time to start my weeks coaching on Tuesday!
Let me take you through my day so far. I set the alarm for 4.15am to be up in time to shower, dress and catch a 4.45am cab to the airport in time to board my 6am flight to Chennai via Sydney and Mumbai.
TeBe our cocker spaniel woke me around 12.30am seeking treats and a visit to the toilet. That was it for me because from that moment on I stayed awake for fear I would sleep through the alarm.
Having packed the night before it was a breeze once I showered. I had purchased a new zip up top to wear on the plane and again in England, later in my trip.
That was my second mishap. (TeBe waking me the first). The zip was broken and non functional. Trust us boys not to look at these things when we make a purchase.
The taxi arrived early, which was a positive. Then I managed an up grade using points. Another positive!
Arrived into Sydney on time and caught the bus to the International terminal. There was only 40 minutes between the arrival of the domestic flight and boarding time for Mumbai but we looked good.
Not such a bad day afterall, I thought. Then it all changed.
I had forgotten the different liquids rules between Domestic and International. Stupid me had two magnificent bottles of red wine as a gift for my friend Victor in Chennai. They were confiscated and will next surface at the Airport Security booze up!
As you might imagine I was pretty disappointed with them even though they were enforcing the rules. Less than a minute later a lady tapped me on the shoulder with a passport and boarding pass in her hand. They were mine! Losing the two bottles of red had obviously created a state of shock because the documents were previously in my hand!!
Duty free beckoned to replace the wine and I snapped up a special deal on two bottles of Chivas Regal before seeking out the departure gate. As I was doing that an announcement came over the air telling us of a gate change for the Mumbai flight. A few seconds later it was announced that there would be a two hour delay due to "engineering".
Damn! I will miss my connection between Mumbai and Chennai, I mumbled to myself. Within half an hour a further two hours was added to our delay due to "engineering".
Now I definitely won't make the connection.
We want our plane safe so we cop these delays when we are hit with them. I took the time to write this blog during the delay and until the next announcement, (cynical) there is still two hours of waiting.
The amazing thing is that there are ten aircraft delayed for "engineering" as I write. It doesn't give the hopes much of a lift when the very next announcement is calling for the passengers on the flight to Singapore delayed from YESTERDAY to board!!
Hope I make it to Chennai in time to start my weeks coaching on Tuesday!
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