This Wide Wilder Sports Cricket Coaching Video is proudly sponsored by the Commonwealth Bank.
Music
Beautiful river is gone, Yes
Welcome to the Wide World of Sports Cricket Coaching video.
What we're trying to do with this video is help young players improve their game and
get more enjoyment out of the game.
And also, we're trying to help coaches with some tips that will help improve the young
players' game.
What we've done is get the Channel 9 Cricket Commentary Team and a few former internationals
out of retirement.
Well, not quite out of retirement.
We haven't got them into their cricket gear.
But we're marrying up their thoughts with the excellent footage that we've gathered
together over more than a decade of covering international matches.
I think you'll find it educational and it'll also show you that cricket can be a very exciting
game.
From Bethlenburg, now to Jeff Thompson.
Test cricket certainly can be exciting.
And as you've just seen, occasionally as a batsman, there are disappointments.
But if you're taught properly from a young age how to bat, then hopefully you can have
more good days than bad days.
You bought the bowler.
He's got it.
Beautifully played, Stephen Wall.
That is a tremendous hitting.
And I think that he recognizes it too.
He's not one to get too emotional.
And have a look at those Aussie teammates of his.
They realize that this has been one of the great hands.
If you're going to be a good batsman, firstly, you must have a correct grip and a comfortable
stance.
The correct grip for a right-hander is the V between the thumb and the index finger should
be pointing straight down the back of the bat.
And that's for the bottom hand.
For the top hand, the V should be pointing at the knuckle on the bottom hand.
The hands should be close together.
So that's pretty well a correct grip for the right-hander.
Stance?
Well, your feet should be about the same distance apart as your shoulders.
That's basically what feels comfortable for you.
Knees just slightly bent.
Always put the bat at the back of the toe, not between the feet.
That is the best position for the correct back lift.
Right.
Now you're ready to face the bowler.
A very tense start.
First morning of a test match.
De Freitas looking for line and length.
It's important to remember that only four things happen when you bat.
You either play forward or back.
You either defend or attack.
So every time the ball is bowled, you've only got to think about doing two things.
The attacking shots in cricket are based on the solid forward defense and back defense
movements.
So that's why it's terribly important to have a good foundation of a solid defense.
When it came to a solid fortress, there was no better man than former Australian captain
Bill Lorry.
Cartwright made up England's trio of new fast bowlers.
Lorry hits him for six as he did Price and Runze.
It's an exciting challenge opening the batting for Australia or for your club.
The part about being an opening batsman is when you go out to the wicket, you are equal
with the bowler.
There hasn't been a run scored or a wicket hasn't fallen.
So really it's a position of confidence.
I always felt that I had an advantage going in first because I was going out there before
the bowl had found line or length and I was extremely confident in my ability maybe to
work the ball and pick up a single or two in the early overs.
But it's common sense really.
You treat the bad balls and try and put them away and you defend against the good balls.
The forward defence is very important, particularly when the bowler is swinging the ball or indeed
if a spinner is turning the ball a lot on the turning wicket.
And the main ingredient of being successful when playing in a forward defensive shot is
to get your foot to the pitch of the ball.
As soon as your mind's eye decides that you are going to play a forward shot, you must
try and get your foot as close to the pitch of the ball as possible and then everything
else will follow in order.
Kyle MacDonald, the great Victorian opening batsman, gave me some advice when I was a
schoolboy coming into the state side.
He said, Bill, batting is a side on game and I believe if you say side on, get your foot
to the pitch of the ball and give it the full face of the bat, you won't go far wrong.
Keep it simple but be confident in every move that you do make.
He plays so straight and so organised.
Classic piece of defence.
The ball darting back at him and he is so straight and so side on there and his feet
move perfectly.
The back foot defence probably is a little bit more simple in the fact that you've got
that split second longer to make up your mind.
But it's very important when you go back, you go back the full length of your popping
crease.
I love watching Greg Chappell bat.
I think he's the best defensive back foot batsman I've ever seen in modern cricket because
he used the full width of the crease, got right back, stayed side on and gave the full
face of the bat to every delivery that he wanted to defend.
But certainly when you're playing against guys such as Kirkley Ambrose or Wes Hall or
Ray Wendell or Dennis Lilly, you need a great back defence.
Having built up a good defence, then you need to learn how to deal with the loose balls.
Remember that cricket matches are either won by a certain number of runs or a certain number
of wickets.
So they're the two most important components in this game of cricket, runs and wickets.
One way of dealing with loose balls is with the drive shots, which as I mentioned are
an extension of the forward and back defence.
That's a great shot.
Right down the ground, that'll be four into the fence it goes.
And so that's the second boundary of the day's play.
A lovely straight drive, not a great start for Phil Newport.
When driving, the front foot shouldn't be pointing straight down the pitch.
It should be at an angle of 45 degrees.
As you move into the shot, the front elbow should be up.
And as you make contact, the bat should follow through in the direction you want the ball
to go.
If you adhere to those principles, you'll become a good driver on either side of the
wicket.
The only thing that needs to change is the position of the front foot.
This should always go towards the pitch of the ball.
It's a lovely shot.
He's hit three really good drives so far in this innings and that was the third one.
They've all gone for boundaries.
It's beautifully struck by Jones, what a glorious on-drive.
And that brings up his 50.
He's in rare touch as Dean Jones and it's good to see.
He's certainly in rare touch.
He'll give us some 50.
If you really become proficient and confident, you may want to attempt the lofted drive.
Viv Richards is the master of this shot and he's not fussy who he plays it against.
Viv's after him.
Have a look at Richards here.
Down the wicket he comes and whack.
Oh dear, oh dear, that could be a six.
That's a great hit.
Straight down the ground, over Wong-On.
What a magnificent fire.
No real drama there for Viv.
Almost just caress that over the fence.
Then there's the square drive, one of Alan Borders' favorites.
Another one for that little coaching tape you can be putting together at home or your
coaching school.
Borders, typical of the great left-handers.
He will hit the ball off the front foot, square of the wicket.
He opened up the face just ambling through.
He realized there was going to be a boundary.
The back foot drives are also an extension of the defensive shot.
Steve Waugh excels at these.
Great shot.
That takes him to one short of the half century.
This has been a good innings from Steve Waugh because he's been beaten a few times.
He got a torrid time from Neil Foster when he was starting out.
We watched that favorite shot of his, that back foot drive.
Every time the bowlers have made a mistake, he's put them away.
There's the 50.
What a great way to bring it up.
Both the front and back foot leg glances are also an extension of the defensive shots.
Coach Bill Lorry was some thoughts on how to play them.
Because of modern field placings, one of the two most important shots I believe in an opening
batsman armory is the leg glance, whether it be on the front or the back foot.
The front foot glance, I think, is a shot that can make a batsman work the ball nicely
against good, tight bowling in the early overs.
It's very important, as you do in the forward defensive shot, that you get the foot to the
pitch of the ball, give the ball the full face of the bat, but at the last minute, you
turn your wrist and glance either fine or square.
The laws today only allow two fieldsmen behind the square leg umpire, so in fact, the leg
glance can be a very profitable shot in the early overs when the field is attacking.
The back foot glance is also a very profitable shot for top order batsmen, but you have to
be careful when you're playing the back foot glance, that A, that you keep the leg covering
the leg stump well intact, and your glance of all square enough to evade the wicker
keeper.
Once or twice we've seen in recent days batsmen like Jeff Marsh of Australia glancing too
fine and being caught behind by the wicker keeper.
It's very, very important that you hold your position covering the leg stump, give it the
full face of the bat, but make sure that you work the ball well square of the wicker keeper.
But the back foot glance is certainly a shot that should bring top order batsmen many runs
against good, fast bowling.
It's a nice shot by Richardson, getting right inside of it and deflecting it from off leg
stump, but McDermott's line, which was disappointing as well in the first innings, when he straight
down the leg side, again proving costly for Australia.
Your ability to deal with fast bowling will be enhanced if you can play the horizontal
bat shots well.
My old skipper, Les Fabel, once said to me, you'll never make international cricket, son,
if you can't hook or cut.
Certainly helps if you can play one of them, and probably even better if you can play them
both well.
Let's start with the cut shots.
The important thing here, first movement, is the back lift.
Good solid back lift, and then the back foot goes across towards off stump, so you're in
the correct position to hit the ball.
Then you come down on the ball and roll the wrists on contact.
That'll bounce straight back off ultra.
My goodness, he's hit that well.
And if you want a left-handed example, look no further than Australia's champion, Alan
Border.
Great shot.
Loose delivery, but still has to be hit before, and it was beautifully played by Border.
Yes, it was a lovely shot.
That takes him to 49.
He's received 110 balls in this innings, but have a look at this.
Short outside off stump, magnificent timing and placement.
The cut shot is played to the ball just outside off stump.
If the ball is short and coming up towards your chest area, then the pull shot is the
correct shot to deal with that one.
The movements are very similar.
First thing, the back lift.
Then the back foot goes back and across to off stump.
Keep your eye on the ball, and once again you hit down on it and roll your wrists to
place the ball away in front of square leg or perhaps just behind square.
That's a wonderfully hit.
It wasn't that short, and Richardson spotted it early and really put back to ball.
That's probably the best pull shot we've seen in this match.
Not only did he pull it square, but he kept it down here, straight to ground, bouncing
just past the umpire.
Never lopped into the outfield.
Richardson plays the shot in the traditional fashion off the back foot, but Viv Richards
often plays the more difficult version off the front foot.
That's beautifully played.
That was off the front foot as Rodney knows.
That's four.
Pulled just forward of the square leg umpire.
Superb strike.
There's not too many players in the world that can play that sort of shot.
It's sensational.
Richardson coming forward and then just transferring his weight onto the back foot and just caressing
that ball in front of square leg.
That's a sensational shot.
You won't see a better shot anywhere than this.
That's just beautiful.
Okay, you've just cut the fast bowler for four, then you've pulled him for four.
Now he's mighty angry.
He charges in, bangs one in a bit shorter still, and it's going to rise up to around
about head high.
Here's where you need a good hook shot.
What's important with a hook shot, don't try and hit the ball too hard.
The movement's very similar to the pull shot.
Back lift, back foot goes back and across to off stump so that your head is inside the
line of the ball.
Remember, the ball hasn't got radar.
It won't miss you.
You've got to miss it.
Right, you're inside the ball.
Now you hit down on it, roll your wrists, and at the same time your feet swivel so that
you finish up facing in the direction where you hit the ball.
That's beautifully hooked.
What a way to stop a fair amount of short pitch bowling.
Keep hooking him like that.
Yes, that's the best way by miles.
That's a magnificent shot.
Two men back down there, and this shot hits straight into the gap very firmly and with
a lot of ease too.
No real problems there.
Here's a tip.
When you're facing a fast bowler who's bowling short and angling the ball across you towards
the slips, don't try and hook it to fine leg.
Smash it away in front of square leg.
Play the pull shot, and if it's wide enough, even smash it straight back at him.
That'll soon stop his short pitch stuff.
Having dealt with the quick bowlers, let's move on to the spinners.
What's required here is quick, decisive footwork.
Alan Border is a perfect example.
That's outstanding footwork from Alan Border.
Can you stick that one in the coaching manual?
Magnificent shot from Alan Border.
One, two, three.
On the half volley and pierces that gap.
That is magnificent.
My method varied slightly from Alan Border's in that I crossed my feet on the second movement.
The best way to learn good footwork is to do it at walking pace.
At any paces, you come out of the crease and deal with these spinners.
Look at the distance that you're out of your crease, a good couple of meters.
That really changes the length of the ball.
Most batsmen tend to move slightly onto the ball of the front foot against the spinners.
From there, they can quickly push back to deal with a short delivery.
The other matches, and that's a beautiful shot from Haynes.
He's backed away, giving himself plenty of room and hit that straight through between
point and cover.
The gap beautifully.
Once again, that's a good example of the improvement in Desmond Haynes' footwork.
Started to come forward as soon as he picked up the fact that it was short.
He was quickly onto the back foot.
And then all he had to do was time it and place it.
And he did both of those things perfectly.
Great shot.
Desmond Haynes has recently improved his play against the spinners.
Bill Lorry has some good advice about practice.
I believe there's only two places you can improve your batting.
One is in the center, and the second is the nets.
Well, I guess in the center, it's up to the bowlers how long you occupy the crease.
But certainly, there's no reason why you shouldn't spend hours in the nets.
And I believe as a schoolboy, one of my great improvements was made when I made the state
squad as about 16-year-old.
I batted on good wickets at the Albert Ground here in Victoria, and I spent hours in the
nets.
I had my teammates throw the ball to me, throw short pitch deliveries or half-rollies, just
to give me the confidence of playing the shots that I wanted to play.
You cannot spend too much time in the nets when the conditions are good, when you're
a batsman.
Work on your deficiencies, improve your strengths, and your game will improve overnight.
But there's no substitute for practice, whether you're a great player or just a beginner.
The short one and another boundary.
He really has laid into that one.
Peter Taylor's fingers may be getting a little tight.
Something's going wrong.
That was a rank-long hop.
Well, he's been challenged, and that was a shot that Doug Walters played so well against
the spinners here on the Sydney Cricket Ground.
If you drop short, bang.
When you're practicing batting in the nets, simulate match conditions.
Have field placings in your mind, and when you play the ball, play the ball into the
gaps.
If you get the opportunity to watch good players do so and listen to what they have to say,
then go into the nets and practice what you've heard and find out what works for you.
Hard work brings happiness when you arrive at the crease in a match.
So keep your eye on the ball, and happy run gathering.
There's no more exciting sight in cricket than a magnificent fast bowler flowing up
to the crease and letting fly with a fireball.
This former world record holder, Dennis Lilly, provided fans with many such sights.
That is the record, the wicket-taking, Test Match record.
What a great performance from a great fast bowler.
I believe that the new ball bowler has a job to do, and that is to get initially a breakthrough
and then try and follow that up with one or two more wickets.
Now if that doesn't happen, he's got to be content with bowling to one side of the wicket,
a bit more line and length rather than attacking, and try and contain the batsmen if they start
to get on top, ready if a wicket falls to then strike again.
The atmosphere electric, and Lilly into bowl, the last ball of the day.
He's bowled him, he's bowled him, the last ball of the day.
Lilly, and he went in the back, finally the inside edge, and bowling out Goodrich.
What a magnificent start for Australia.
The West Indies, four down for ten, and the crowd absolutely ecstatic.
While the Brakeman doing it from the last ball of the day, getting rid of the real West
Indian danger man.
What a magnificent ball.
Well pitched up, nipped in the back, and the crowd is excited.
Now if that doesn't work, of course he's got to be ready to come back again when the second
new ball comes, and get quick wickets, and try and help clean up.
He's gone, yes, nine wickets, what a wonderful performance from Richard Hadley, one of the
all time great performances at the Gabba.
His teammates must congratulate the great fast bowler, and what a privilege it has been
to watch that performance.
Line, length, experience, and beautiful control.
Probably the most frequent question asked of me by young kids is how do you swing the
ball and cut the ball.
Well I suggest when probably you're to the age of about 14 or 15, you will just concentrate
mainly on a grip, and that is a basic grip of the ball is fingers slightly apart on the
seam, and your thumb underneath with the ball not too far into your hand.
Sitting out there quite nicely so that it's under control.
And to bowl an outswinger, I'll put the ball away from you so that you can see how it will
look in your hand.
The shine is on the opposite side you want the ball to go, so that in this case the ball
will swing out that way towards the slips to a right hand batsman.
Oh, he's been bowled, absolutely neck and trough by Terry Aldman, what a magnificent
delivery that was.
We'll leave it here and go up to the commentary box with Bill Lorry and Tony Gregg and we'll
see that replay.
It's a damn beauty from here.
Thank you, Rodney, what a magnificent outswinger.
Once again, Terry Aldman from stump to stump gets the ball to move and takes the off stump.
Beautiful delivery, you can't do much about those.
Now obviously the opposite applies to an in-swinger with the shine now on that side and the ball
will angle slightly in towards the right hand batsman.
Okay, there's a slight difference in actions, but it's too early to go into that now.
Seaming the ball or cutting the ball are two different things.
Seaming the ball generally is a wider grip on the ball and hitting the seam if there's
a little bit of moisture in the wicket and hoping the ball will go one way or the other.
Cutting the ball is a different thing altogether.
The grip for cutting the ball varies.
The one I used was very wide grip further into the hand, purchase on that finger there
along the seam with that one nice and wide and pulling down on the side of the ball,
pulling down quite viciously.
Not wrist spin, but actually pulling down with the fingers.
And another one.
Rackamon this time, Mansur Akhtar goes.
He was never quite covering that.
Rackamon's bowled pretty well from that southern stand end.
He's been getting a little bit of extra life and that may have been why Mansur Akhtar wasn't
completely behind the ball in playing defensively.
I suggest that boys get out on a field, stand, sorry, have a marker, run up to the marker,
close their eyes, think of a steam train building up and then going along to its final destination.
The same in a condensed manner is the run up to bowl.
With their eyes closed, once they've hit the mark, run until it feels right, bowl the ball,
someone marks the spot where you land and then it's normal walking paces to see how
many paces it is and that should be your run up.
Combining that with the delivery is probably the most difficult part in that so many guys
don't manage to get side on once they're running up front on, they can't convert that to side
on.
To my way of thinking the most important leg is in fact the back leg.
You've got to jump around onto that back leg to try and get the leg as parallel to the
crease as possible, therefore bringing your body around and then bringing up the left
arm high, looking inside with everything up nice and high, pulling down with the left
arm and everything else would flow right through down the left hand side of your body and don't
stop it there, let everything follow through for four or five paces away from the wicked
area.
I think when you talk mental it's a matter of really pushing hard when things aren't
going for you, when it's a really hot day, when the body is hurting, which it often is,
if you've got cut toes, bleeding feet, whatever, it's a matter of pushing through that pain
barrier.
Obviously another side of the mental part of it is you as a bowler trying to dominate
the batsman and by that I mean make sure you are mentally on top of him rather than he
be making you feel as though he's got it all over you.
Even if the situation is in fact his way, you've got to approach it and make him think
that you are still hopeful of getting a wicked at any stage.
So it's a positive mental approach.
Probably the most important ball to bowl to the tail to these guys, because they're not
very competent as batsmen generally, is a good Yorker.
So a lot of practice in the nets on bowling Yorkers, especially maybe as towards the end
of a bowling session you start to get a bit tired, so you're simulating conditions as
they will be when you get to the tail when you're bowling in a game.
When you're bowling you visualize your run up, you can feel the run up and you can almost
visualize it even though you're running in and bowling, in your mind you can visualize
a perfect run up and a perfect delivery.
Now that's not always possible but if you're visualizing it then it feels better to you
as you're running in and bowling.
The other important thing is that a lot of guys tend to just bowl the ball and put it
in play.
Now whenever I bowled I felt that I could visualize the ball before I let go, hitting
the pitch and really zooming off the pitch to the keeper who was having difficulty taking
the ball, it was coming through so fast.
Now that's what I visualized so that I could feel the ball going further than the stumps
and the batsmen and I think that's probably a good thing for you to try and learn at a
young age.
Having said all of those points I want to make one final point and that is that fast
bowling is a very, very hard game both mentally and physically.
Put the hard work in in training and you'll find the game, even though it will never be
easy, will be a lot easier than if you don't put the hard work in in the training field.
But above it all enjoy it, it's a great part of cricket but make sure you enjoy it.
Off spin bowling became more fashionable in Australia following the success of Ashley
Mallard in the late 60s and early 70s.
One of Mallard's proteges, Tim May, is now continuing that tradition in the Australian
team.
And he's gone, Karl Hooper goes without scoring, a wicket for Tim May, inside edge and just
knocks legs stump.
Former England captain and all-rounder Tony Gregg included off spin amongst his armoury
and many of his test wickets were taken with his tweakers.
In respect of bowling off spinners one first of all needs to have, and it applies to all
bowling, a bit of a philosophy.
I mean if you're a fast bowler you're bound to be really aggressive and attacking I suppose.
If you're a spinner you need to be aggressive too, certainly have an attacking frame of
mind from the time you start.
Now by that I mean you've got to look at your field.
It's very easy to put all the fielders back and tell them to save one but that's really
not acceptable.
You've got to get batsmen out so you've got to have attacking field spinners.
Now let's just go through a field to a right handed batsman for a off spin bowler.
First of all you must have a slip because if the ball doesn't spin every now and again
you're going to bowl one straight through, you want someone there to take that catch.
Then there's going to have to be a man at backward point because good players tend to
run the ball in that direction as opposed to hit it through the covers.
Leave a gap square, I think that's important because if the ball's spinning back to a right
hander you want to try and force him to play the ball with an open face bat into that gap
and in so doing create a little bit of a gate for you to bowl him out.
And then you have an extra cover quite straight in the middle off so that he hits the ball
straight down the wicket, that's where it will go.
Obviously a mid on who's going to be quite straight depending on whether you're bowling
from over or around the wicket.
A straightish mid wicket is there also to stop that straight drive or slightly wide
drive of mid on.
And then you've always got to have one back behind square on the boundary down a deep
square leg.
He's the man that stops the ball from going to four for four when it's swept and then
there's always a man around about 45 degrees behind square on the leg side.
One more left so we have five on the on side, we'll bring him into forward short leg because
if the ball spins back it may hit the inside edge and just pop up in front of square for
a catch in that area.
Righto we're in a nice attacking frame of mind, we've got our field set and it's a
good attacking field, we're going to bowl these guys out.
We're going to bowl them out with off spinners, the off spinners grip, let's have a look
at that.
There's the ball, you have to splay those two fingers as wide as you can, I'm lucky
I've got big hands but as a youngster you don't so don't overdo it but that's the grip.
Get them splayed and really I think that section there of the finger is the area that should
blister and even bleed if you bowl a lot of overs.
That's the one that's going to do the work on the seam.
So you really are trying to impart some spin onto this ball by using the rough seam.
No good using that section because your finger will slip over the top, you won't grip it
as well.
So there it is, you get in there and the movement really is like that.
That finger is going to make that ball spin like that and it's going to go down and then
turn inwards.
Are we going to see the off spinner?
Boys bowl him, clean bowl, well it is appropriate that Peter Saylor should do it.
It's obviously important not to spin every ball as much as you can.
I think it's important for an off spinner to be able to spin the ball, you've got to
work at making sure you can turn the ball but if you spun every one the batsman tends
to know what's going on.
So what you do is you don't let all your tricks out of the bag straight away, you run up and
bowl, don't try and spin it too much, get your length and line right and then every
now and again you spin one a little bit more and hopefully he won't be expecting it.
Now there are various things you can do.
When you hold the ball like that you can if you want spin the ball down the pitch a little
bit, these are the variations or you can spin it that way.
If you spin it down that way it's not going to turn quite so much and perhaps just hurry
on but it might dip a little bit more because it's like a little topspinner really.
And he's got it.
A good topspinner and that was very well bowled.
And how happy Peter Taylor is here.
Not nearly the same turn on that coming straight on through, bottom edge and this time into
the hands of the keeper.
The art of spinning really apart from turning the ball is to get the batsman into a situation
where he's misread the length and if he does that and you turn it well then you've got
a great chance of either bowling him out or get him to pop a catch up somewhere as a result
of not being able to get to the pitch of the ball.
Both of them.
Out, good catch.
Nice ature, ature legs, taken a beauty.
He didn't really go for it but he was very close.
That is a superb catch.
And the second wicket to Peter Taylor, that was a great catch.
Well what a fairy tale beginning for Peter Taylor.
He gutstured out with a bat.
One wicket, that of Lamb and now the mighty Botham.
So there it is, it's quite simple.
You've got to practice it like everything else.
You've got to bowl long and hard every day of the week if possible and remember there
are again certain things about individuals that they discover themselves.
Don't think you can read it all out of a coaching book.
You go out there and you work out what's best.
Richie Beno was the first test player to achieve the double of 200 wickets and 2000 runs.
As a batsman he was an aggressive stroke player.
As a bowler he was a thoughtful leg spinner.
Oh magnificent catch by Simpson.
What a fine catch.
Left handed there, he's a fine slip fieldsman.
So that's Alan out, caught Simpson bowled Beno for 10, England 189 for 8.
Beno now 6 wickets.
That was one of two marvellous catches Bob Simpson took on the final afternoon at Old
Trafford.
Two of the greatest catches I've ever seen.
One of the things a leg spin bowler needs is to have a marvellous wicket keeper and a
great slip fielder there.
They're two of the most important men you can have because the ball generally is spinning
away from the bat.
The other thing you need is to bear in mind the six important aspects of leg spin bowling.
The first of those is concentration.
A concentration of anything less than 100% to me should be a punishable offence.
The moment you turn to run in your concentration should be solely on the spot on the pitch
where you want the ball to land.
Patience is essential.
Bowling is a very tough job and you'll sometimes need to work on a batsman for several overs
before actually putting a plan into action.
Do you really wish to disregard the fact that if you take one wicket every 10 overs you'll
have the best strike rate of any Australian spin bowler in the history of the game.
And well caught, beautifully caught there at short cover.
Really was a very good effort.
Murray Bennett, spin bowling partner, they have worked well together as bowlers and they've
combined beautifully to get rid of Larry Gomes.
Then there's variation.
Now some people will tell you that the only thing that matters in spin bowling is that
you should have mechanical line and length.
Well if you do that then you become a mechanical bowler.
That's no good.
You've got to have the ability to bowl accurately but that comes from all the work you do at
practice as you're a young man.
But subtlety is the key to good spin bowling.
You need to bowl in subtle fashion and you need to make certain that you're working on
the batsman all the time.
You can't really go out there and try to get a wicket every ball.
It becomes very frustrating and sometimes it can be downright dangerous.
That's out.
A big nick there, well taken by Ian Healy.
Once again the spinners have troubled Gus Logie and Trevor Hones has got a good reward
for some excellent work.
Then there's economy.
I'll ask you a question.
Is there any reason why when you're out there playing cricket you would want to give the
batsman more than two and a half runs per six ball over?
It's the subtle variation that's most important for the over the wrist spinner.
The obvious ones like obvious slower ball and the obvious quicker one.
Not a much use because a good batsman will pick them instantly and be very wary.
Practice, I can assure you that dull boring practice is a waste of time.
You need to be out there developing your skills, working hard in the nets.
I used to stay in just one net and bowl at opening batsman, middle order batsman, tail
enders.
Just make sure that I knew how to bowl at them in the nets so that I'd be able to do
it when I got out in the centre in a pressure situation.
And finally there's attitude, calm, purposeful, aggressive attitude.
You want to stay on top of the batsman all the time.
You need a good memory so if you don't see him for a couple of years and suddenly he
appears out in the centre you know exactly what his weaknesses were and you can look
at them for a couple of overs.
But you need that steely resolve to make sure that he will never get on top of you.
And you'd do that in any other walk of life.
The grips used by legspin bowlers for their various deliveries are very much an individual
thing.
There have been bowlers over the years who have used extraordinary grips, some like Jack
Iverson and Johnny Gleason had most unorthodox grips but they're very successful.
Others are more orthodox.
Now I had one basic grip that I used for just about every delivery and that was where I
kept the top knuckle of the index finger resting on the seam and then I had the top knuckle
of the middle finger and the knuckle back from that also running down the seam.
That gives you extra purchase on the ball.
That means that you're spinning the ball off something rough, you'll turn the ball more,
you'll get more purchase on the whole thing.
Now when the ball comes out as a leg break it will come out like that and assuming you
are the batsman the ball will be turning in that fashion, be spinning and turning from
leg to off.
Robert Holler now leg spinner bowls to Viv Richards.
That's in the air and well taken, beautifully taken by Kepler Vessels.
The ball spun and Viv Richards followed it and a tremendous grab there by Kepler Vessels
at first slip.
What a beautiful delivery, the perfect leg break.
Pitch just around that middle off, it bounced which is very important.
He committed Richards to the shot, he tried to glide it through the gully, there was too
much bounce and too much spin and Kepler Vessels in the game and Bob Holland strikes a vital
blow for Australia, beautiful piece of bowling.
Richards was looking to come forward, he was forced back by the good length it bounced
and Kepler took a sharp catch.
The crowd's gone mad at this significant round.
If you're bowling the top spinner it will come out of the hand like that and the seam
will be going straight down towards the batsman.
A coffee to sweep.
And got it, it's bowling, 15th Australia, they've won with one over remaining so the
run about ends the end of a very memorable test match.
If you're bowling the wrong one then it will come out like that and it will turn from off
to leg, the seam will be pointing down to fine leg.
After all, Kadir has got a real bounce in his step.
Oh and that's a good delivery from Kadir.
The wrong one has come back quite sharply, there may have just been a little bit of inside
edge there from Hughes.
Once again, Kadir has had the better of the Australian captain.
Certainly a wrong one, spinning from off to leg, got in between a little inside edge but
he beat him completely in flight and the Australian skipper not picking that delivery out of the
back of the hand at all.
A fine performance by the leggy, vital time for Pakistan now.
He breaks through with the new ball due to the second new ball and hits off stump.
With the top spinner I used for subtle variation, it looked like a leg break but it came out
between those two fingers, the middle finger and the one next to the little finger and
it was pushed out so that it was turning like that to very, very fine leg.
To fine leg down there as the wrong one would be but just past the wicket keeper and for
the flipper it was the same grip but the ball came out of the bottom of the hand like that,
came out from underneath the hand and it turned in that fashion.
And he's done it.
Now that was pretty well bowled.
It was shorter than Sleep wanted it but it was his flipper and it hurried on to Aragunda
De Silva so much that instead of pulling it square he could only get it to mid on where
Campbell took the catch.
Even though it didn't pitch just where Sleepy wanted it, it was still well bowled.
A warning though to young cricketers, don't try to bowl that ball when you're young and
your bones and your tendons and your ligaments haven't formed.
It's very easy to stretch and that is a difficult ball to bowl.
It puts an enormous strain on your wrist and on your fingers so you just take your time.
Don't try and bowl that until you're older, until your muscles are hardened and your ligaments
and tendons are okay.
It will be very valuable to you later on but you don't need to bowl that until you're
well into your teens.
Field placings are very important not only for the leg spinner but for the captain as
well and I would always prefer a captain who had some idea either about playing leg spin
bowling which a lot of them do because they're good batsmen or having had the chance to do
some of it himself.
It doesn't always work so far as I'm concerned to have a fast bowler setting fields for a
slow bowler.
Now the first field placing is the orthodox one I used to use and it's slightly unusual
when you look at the field placings these days in that it has a slip and a leg slip.
The rest of the field is on the offside apart from the slip man, backward point, cover,
extra cover and mid off who is slightly wide because I'm coming right arm over the wicket.
Then on the onside there's a mid on saving the single, there's a mid wicket, there's
the leg slip pointed out earlier and there's a deep backward square leg and that was the
field I used to use.
I preferred the man at leg slip for the top spinner or the flipper where the batsman was
playing forward and I wouldn't dream other than in extreme circumstances of having a
man at short point and short forward square leg.
The second field placing is different, it's for the player who is a good driver but occasionally
will loft his drives and I've taken away the leg slip and I've put in a man three parts
of the way down the pitch on the offside and three parts of the way down the pitch on the
leg side.
There is an orthodox square leg just behind the umpire and a deep forward square leg,
mid on has gone deeper, he's covered by the man in there on the onside in catching position
and the three men on the offside range from slightly forward point to cover and to mid
off.
Now the third field setting is for a really attacking batsman, sometimes a tail ender,
there's the orthodox slip, four men on the offside, three of them in saving the single
and there's a long on.
There is also a long off and there's a deep forward square, now those men can be shuffled
around depending on where the batsman is hitting the ball but that is the basic field setting
I would keep for someone who is lofting the ball into the outfield, I'd be quite prepared
to give him the chance and the overriding thing about all of those field settings is
that I was trying to buy wickets.
Rodney Marsh was a keeper of great skill and strength, his record of 355 test dismissals
is a testimony to both those assets.
He's nicked it and Rodney Marsh has he got it, yes it's a fumble, he's got it though.
So Rodney Marsh has taken the catch, all be it that the ball bobbed out of his hand and
then back into it, plus he no more having been dropped by Greg Chappell is now caught
by Rodney Marsh.
And beautifully bowled by Jeff Lawson, the extra pace he's generating this morning is
troubling the batsman, Marsh snatched, knocked it up and grabbed it as he rolled over, wide
of the bat, there goes Marsh's right hand, he knocked it up, he gets it on the rebound
and Kazim Omar departs and a great start by Australia and particularly Jeffery Lawson.
That certainly brings back fond memories, keeping for Australia and taking catches for
Australia, very very nice feeling.
It wasn't such a nice feeling when you dropped a catch because your job as a wicket keeper
is to catch everything that comes your way, to take everything that comes your way, stumpings
etc.
And it's very very important that you as the wicket keeper set the standard for the rest
of the fielding team.
If you've got a nice tidy keeper out there that doesn't miss anything and he's always
encouraging his fieldsman to do exactly the same thing, you'll find that in the end you
finish up with a very very good fielding side.
Keeper going after it, Jack Richards small coming in and Richards is the one who gets
it, marvellous catch there by the keeper Richards.
Well as far as technique is concerned two things really count, your hands and your feet,
very very important.
Let's just concentrate on the hands to start with, I always liken keeping wickets or catching
a cricket ball to if you can just imagine a fence, a cyclone fence, wire in it, you get
a cricket ball and you go bang and the wire actually cushions the blow and the ball drops
out.
You throw a ball against a brick wall and it will bounce back.
And basically what I'm trying to say is your hands have to be soft, they have to give with
the ball, in actual fact when the ball first comes to you you might touch it out there
and finish up catching it there, it might be a distance of say 30 centimetres or so
by the time you first make contact to the time when it actually is lodged in there and
that's what you must have soft hands.
Now two other things that are very important, your fingers have either got to be pointing
down or they've got to be pointing up, some instances they can be pointing to the side
that is a very special one which you won't even get involved in but in the main fingers
down or fingers up and the main reason for that is if you want to keep wickets you want
to have ten good fingers and if you start catching the ball like that or like that you
finish up with not too many good ones left.
That's got him, he's gone.
Great success, the first test wicket by Alan Nicholson, ball moving away from Taylor and
what you're trying to do basically all the time is to take the ball and I'm talking about
fast bowling now, off fast bowling, take the ball on the down because it's going a little
bit slower when it starts to drop and you're taking it at waist level, around about waist
level on the down.
Hogters are here.
And that's out, that is out and Rodney Hogg worked hard for that one, Rodney Marce wasn't
going to take the risk of letting that go to Thriller, it's true to Wayne Phillips and
that was a beautiful catch by the Australian keeper and an excellent piece of bowling by
Rodney Hogg.
Superbly bowled, so here once again committing himself to the front foot, it wasn't a half
bowler, that was a very ordinary shot but well bowled Rodney Hogg.
Now talking about footwork, I've never ever seen a pair of hands walking around by themselves,
they just don't do it, they go where your body goes.
So your feet take your hands and the best method I found was actually crossing my feet
over on the balls of my feet which then gave me that opportunity to perhaps take a wider
stride which got me even more width and that I promise you is very important standing back
to fast bowlers.
And a shout there from Ian Healy and Robbie Ratnicka walks.
And basically what we're trying to do is to take the ball on the inside of our body all
the time.
So if a right handed bowler is bowling to a right handed batsman you're taking it in
there on your left hip which means if the batsman gets an edge then you're standing
up and catching it, very very simply.
And if he gets a wider edge you're still reaching for it but you've covered all that ground
and that's very important when you're standing back to be able to cover a great amount of
width.
They talk about the width that a keeper covers standing back, very very important.
Yes he breaks through, finally he's bowled against a nick and a fine catch by Jack Russell
diving across to his left.
It was magnificent innings, Neil Foster just getting that ball to go away and Jack Russell
a lovely little catch diving over to his left nice and low.
Similarly down the leg side you're trying to take the ball on the inside of your body
which means just about your right hip and that's important.
And he's been given out by umpire holder.
Jeff Lawson coming back into the attack has picked up the England captain.
And here it is it's a fairly innocuous delivery down the leg side just to flush at the ball
one of his David Gower flips at the ball and there's no doubt there from the fielders or
the umpire that he just helped it to the keeper.
Standing up to the stumps the same things apply but obviously in a very more confined
space but the same technique applies.
That's out a big nick there well taken by Ian Healy.
He's hit it in the air on numerous occasions this time a nick there straight into the gloves
of the keeper Healy.
People often say it must be difficult to stand out there all day with gloves and pads on
in the boiling hot sun and concentrate for 360 minutes in a day.
Well I never really found it all that difficult because apart from the fact that you had a
lot of fun out there you were with your mates it was very simple to concentrate if you broke
your concentration after every ball basically.
When the bowler turned you switched on when the ball was dead in your gloves or it had
been hit to the fence or whatever you switched off for a couple of seconds waited till the
bowler turned again and then you switched on.
And that's the way when you're keeping and in fact when you're fielding it should be
the same thing to break your concentration as often as possible but don't forget you've
got to switch back on.
The other thing about concentrating it's far easier to concentrate when things are happening
out there when you're getting wickets.
When you aren't getting wickets well it gets a little bit tougher and you've got to use
your brains a little bit there and just learn how to work things out for yourself and how
to concentrate.
But when you as the wicket keeper take a fantastic catch for example if you're going one more
way and there's an inside edge and you dive over and catch it left handed or two handed
or whatever and the mob come around you when I say the mob your teammates it's a fantastic
feeling and it lifts them and that's part of your job.
If you can pull off a screamer it lifts the whole team and you can bet your life two or
three wickets will fall straight after that if you're lucky.
Beautifully taken what a magnificent catch.
It's all been happening and Healy inspires the Australians once again.
That was a magnificent catch.
Inside edges are always tough for the keeper.
Well that was a magnificent catch by Gus Logie.
He's taken one of two straight forward ones but that really was a beautiful catch.
It must have been a very thin inside edge hit the pad went forward and Logie who's really
very quick had to dive way to his left to pick that one up a lovely catch.
Taking a catch in a test match doesn't just happen not for any of us all of us in fact
go back a long way certainly in my case to our school days where we started our practice.
Now lots of youngsters these days go to the nets have a bat and a bowl and they forget
about fielding practice.
Well when I was a youngster we weren't allowed to do that we had to field to have some practice
in the field every time we had a bat and a bowl.
This is how we used to do it we used to in fact straight away go and have some long catches
and then we used to come in and have some close catches using a cradle more often than
not but everyone together and there was always competition associated with our practice if
you drop one you went to the end of the queue.
In the case of the long catches if you drop one you got another one and another one and
another one until you caught it.
It's vitally important to make sure that the practice is done.
You needed to create a situation where you were confident because it's amazing if you
catch a few then the next one seems so easy.
Conversely if you drop one you wonder whether you're ever going to catch the next one especially
if you're playing in a test match.
And taken brilliantly taken by Alan Borda so what a catch to join Colin Cowdery.
And making nervous and caps there by Borda very similar to one that he took in classic
catches in fact that was against New Zealand I reckon when they were here in 85 86.
You've also got to know when to concentrate.
A lot of people talk about concentrating or think that concentrating means standing there
not talking to anyone all day long.
The important thing rather like batting is to be concentrating at the right time and
that really is just before the bowler lets the ball go until it in fact is either in
your hands or the action is over.
So you can have a chat you can tell a joke you can do what you like between balls but
you must be concentrating when the ball is let go.
Now my philosophy in terms of catching was very simple.
I used to spread my legs into a comfortable position so that I felt that I could move
quite quickly either way.
I actually don't mind too much if players fall down you hear these days some commentators
criticizing players that fall down a lot.
All that really matters to me is that the ball gets caught.
How you do it I don't really mind.
So you've got to remember that we can't tell you through coaching tapes or books how to
do it.
You've sometimes got to find your own way and feel comfortable with it and if it works
for you you stick with it.
I'm awesome to bowl and keep your eyes on Greg Chappell.
Question is what do you watch as the bowler runs in I used to always watch the ball feel
it at second slip mostly but I watched the ball because I like to know what height it
was coming past it.
The difficult thing is to know whether to go down or whether to get ready to come up
and of course the one that comes into the middle here where you're not quite sure whether
to catch it this way or that way is a very difficult one and very often in situations
like that you're better off trying to get slightly out of the way of the ball so that
you can take it like that without being impeded by your chest or your tummy and in this case
you can move sideways.
So there we are nice and comfortable concentrate watch the ball going past the bat and if it
nicks it's nicked in your direction nice and still and steady with your head and then you
start moving once it hits in your direction.
It's an in the air what a catch magnificent catch there by Alan Borda.
Well he's been standing in that position waiting for an opportunity to make a contribution
and what a catch it was Gilbert got the edge Borda went full length to his left and he
caught it in the end of his fingers.
It's a magnificent catch by Alan Borda took the Australian captain to get it he'd just
taken and he'll get away from that third slip position so he had to go after it.
Reed not moving the feet but Alan Borda airborne he had to go one hand to try and get that
little bit extra distance that isn't elated as he holds on to it.
Another aspect that's vitally important is positioning now as youngsters we used to touch
each other's fingertips and that was about the right distance to be apart but there's
also another aspect that's important and that's the staggered aspect you really don't want
to get into each other's way no point in diving to your left and banging heads with your mate
who's at first slip.
Better off he's a little bit further back normally about a yard behind the wheel keeper
the second slip is probably in line with the wheel keeper and of course the third slip
is even further forward and the reason for that is if the ball is edge the thicker the
edge of course the less it's going to carry so that is vitally important that staggered
format even if you've got four or five slips they need to be closer as they get wider.
Very very important to get your positioning wide and don't be conservative don't go and
tuck yourself behind the wheel keeper if you're a first slip be attacking move to the right
a little bit and make each other dive full length and also don't forget that if you're
just in front of him and it's not going to carry to him you can in fact dive in front
and catch the ball which he would have had to catch on the half volley.
Positioning is also important when you're feeling a slip for the spinners for the leg
spinners you should be at about a 45 degree angle to the batsman that's to take the thicker
edges that seem to come from the leggies.
Bob Holland leading young Craig McDermott Michael holding got him he's gone yes first
ball bit of reflection off Nixon went to the slip vessels he did the rest and Holland strikes
again.
Very good piece of bowling just short of a length straight away this fellow right onto
a length holding not covering the spin and holding picks up a duck.
Okay that's about where you need to be to take the catches off the leggies but the off
spinners are a different kettle of fish they seem to get thinner edges so therefore you
need to be finer to take the catches there.
That's gone straight to Greg Chappell and he's out caught at slip so had a very casual
shot there by Magid going for the big drive straight away and the ball just lobbing up
to Greg Chappell who very casually caught it and threw it away.
Certainly a very casual piece of cricket here.
The ball drifts away on him a little and Greg Chappell takes a very simple catch.
Taking a catch in the slips is a thrill and if you do it properly you'll experience the
thrill without any pain.
Don't be frightened of the hard ball if you catch it properly it won't hurt.
In recent times there's been a dramatic increase in limited overs internationals this has meant
more opportunities for good fielders.
One of the best examples in the Australian side in the early 80s was Trevor Chappell.
My aim in the field was always to work out how close I wanted to be to each batsman and
that varied obviously depending whether the guy was somebody who liked to stand there
and hit the ball hard or whether he was more likely to push the ball around and look for
short singles.
So that was the first thing I would do work out exactly how close I wanted to get to him
trying to give him the option of running if he wanted to and yet giving me the chance
to run him out if at all possible.
The first thing that usually happens on the field is your captain will set the field.
Once that has been done think that you don't have to look at the captain again it is very
important that you keep your eye on the captain at all times.
With varying wickets I would adjust the angle that I approached the batsman on.
Normally it would be fairly straight at the batsman but on a flat wicket where the batsman
is on the front foot looking to drive and push the ball in front of the wicket I would
change that angle to some three or four yards down the wicket from the batsman to enable
me to cut off the firm shots more easily and open up the bowlers end stumps for a shot
at them in the event of a possible run out.
What is important though is that at the point where the batsman is playing the shot your
weight should be up on your toes, your weight forward in a crouch position and your hands
in front of you ready to accept the ball if it comes in your direction.
Should the ball not come in your direction your job hasn't finished.
There are things to be doing like backing up a throw, calling the person who is chasing
the ball which end to throw or in fact telling him whether he can throw it easily or whether
there is a chance of a run out.
So it is a matter of thinking ahead all the time to the next possible play.
As youngsters we are all taught that this is the correct position with which to feel
the ball.
For a right hand thrower this is the way to do it, not off your right hand knee, off your
left knee.
So that once you have got the ball you are ready to throw it.
Once you have become competent at feeling the ball in this manner I wanted to go on
and explain how is a more attacking way to feel the ball.
It is virtually the same position except that instead of having one knee on the ground you
have got both feet up and the ball coming to you in the same position in line with your
eyes and your eyes right over the ball as you are picking it up.
Richards could be interesting and he has hit them.
He has just got the edge of the off stump and just tipped one bail off.
I thought for a moment he had missed but his record is pretty good and once again Vivian
Richards has struck in the field.
A magnificent piece of fielding and Alan Borda just a little frustrated.
Really he was tempted into that single.
You see there is just a moment of hesitation and then he decided to go and Richards picking
up summing it up having a good look and just hitting the base and deflecting past Clive
Lloyd.
Ok the ball has come to me from this direction.
What do I do with it now?
As I come up you want the throw to come as much as possible over the top back to the
keeper but in this position you also have the option of throwing to the bowlers end.
It is very important to have the arm come over the top as much as possible both for
accuracy and to do the minimum of damage to the elbow and shoulder.
With the ball coming throwing around your elbow you can do a lot of damage to the elbow.
Clive Lloyd.
Oh yes.
Well he might be 40 years of age but it doesn't stop him pulling off one of the better runouts
we like to see this summer.
It took him a moment or two to get started.
When he did he was really motoring and Borda knew he was in trouble there.
That was confirmed for him just a second or so later.
You might think that it is bowlers who take wickets but without the help of a good fielding
team their job is that much more difficult.
A field man should be assessing each batsman looking for opportunities that may arise to
set him up for a run out, watch how he runs between the wickets, how he turns when he
is running between the wickets, whether he is getting tired after a long innings.
Keep these things in mind and plan your fielding around them.
Superb catch claimed and he is gone.
Well that is the second one we have seen from Bill Ahti this afternoon.
Sprawling himself on the turf and coming up with it low down.
As for slips catching, for infield catching balance is important but most importantly
is the position of your fingers.
It catches directly at you pointing down towards the ground and your hands cupped even interlocking
the little fingers to give a bit more support.
To the side again the fingers are pointing away from the ball.
I mentioned earlier about balance.
This is achieved by both the position of your feet and a slight bending of your knees.
You want your feet about shoulder width apart, your weight evenly on both feet, not too far
apart so that you can't move any further and not too close together so that you may over
balance.
Just nice and comfortable shoulder width apart so that you can move either to your right
or your left or up either side.
While the good infielders get all the kudos don't forget that there is also a job to be
done in the outfield.
That's it, it's high, it's miles in the air, Hughes is coming around and so it's oh it's
oh what a catch, what a catch, that's the great, the greatest catch.
Oh unbelievable Stephen Wall running backwards almost colliding with Hughes down there and
to the side screen what a catch.
Probably the best outfield catch you've ever seen running with the ball.
He caught it easily and he kept his eye on the ball.
When you're placed in the outfield by the captain you're not out there for a rest.
There are a lot of other factors that come into your thinking at that stage such as the
direction of the wind so that when you throw the ball you can allow for it, the position
of the sun in case there's a catch in your direction, you can position yourself so that
it's not in your face and also again when you're throwing the ball back in so that you're
not throwing the ball in the sun to whoever you're throwing it to.
Then having assessed that it's very important that you watch the bowler in his delivery
and try and watch the ball from his hand to pick up the length that he has bowled and
perhaps the direction to give you that head start if the ball is coming your way.
He did that well but Logie is down there, takes a wonderful catch.
He rarely doesn't miss much in the outfield or even close to the wicket.
He is such a brilliant fielder, anticipation and then leapt at the last moment to hold
it down.
When in the outfield there's another two alternatives that you may have to the catching position
for the balls hit very high in the air.
When you're on the move it's best to take the ball with your hands cupped, again the
fingers are pointing away from the direction of the ball but producing a cup for the ball
to lob into and keeping the ball in vision.
If you're able to get under the ball and sit and wait for it to come to you and it's very
high you may also be able to use this other alternative position.
Again keeping the hands in such a position that they don't block out the path of the
ball.
But I stress that this is really only if you're able to get underneath the ball and sit and
wait for it to come to you.
It's gone again, well he's gone this time because he hasn't cleared mid on, he's getting
under it at mass, he's there and he's caught it.
Good catch, fine catch.
And for the final word on fielding, Bill Lorry.
But fielding is one thing only really I believe and that's concentration.
You can never waver your concentration.
Every ball you're involved whether you're at fine leg or at first, slip or at cover.
And concentration is the key to fielding apart from improving your skills, you're throwing
your skills, you're catching your skills but really that moment you don't concentrate
that's when you muff a catch or miss a run out.
But you mustn't neglect your fielding.
I look forward to fielding as much as I did as batting, particularly when you're a non-bowler.
If you're a batsman that doesn't bowl you must be proficient in the skill of fielding.
You cannot afford to miss the ball on the ground, you certainly cannot afford to drop
catches regularly and it's like batting or bowling, practice is the key.
Get in the nets and practice your fielding, your catching, your throwing, your running
and then you'll not only enjoy fielding more but you become a very important part of the
side when you are bowling.
Richie Benno was a successful and dynamic captain.
He played his part in reviving not only Australia's fortunes but those of the game of cricket
in the early 60s.
Team bold, Australia have won and they've kept the ashes.
They've won by 54 runs, congratulations to Australia, to Richie Benno and his men.
A really surprising victory after the turn of fortunes today.
I don't think anyone would have backed them when England were 150 for one.
Well hats off to them, they've kept the ashes but England can still square the series if
they win at the oval.
And there's Richie Benno looking as happy as any man has a right to be.
Old Trafford 1961, that was the most important and delightful moment of my captaincy career,
mainly because it embodied all the philosophy I believe in as regards test match captaincy.
One of the things about it was we had to make a decision on that last afternoon because
we knew we couldn't draw the match, we could only win it or lose it.
And bear in mind you're not just playing for yourself and for the other players in the
team, there are millions back home in Australia listening on the radio or reading about it
in newspapers.
The feeling was superb, two great catches, marvellous out of this world catches by Bobby
Simpson.
The captain remained in charge as he must be all afternoon and the main thing was we
carried the attack to the opposition.
Yes he's caught by Simpson at slip, Murray caught Simpson, Bill Benno, Benno's now taken
5 for 53, 5 for 53 and England rarely in a bad mess now, 171 for 6.
Captaincy is 90% luck and 10% skill, don't even think of trying it without that 10%,
it'll be a disaster I can assure you.
Just a little shorter border or did it carry?
It carried alright and that's another one down, the catching has been very very ordinary
in this test match, stay two overs ahead of the game that is vitally important, see an
opening and go for the jugular.
Now what Alan Bord is doing here is bringing Greg Campbell up from fine leg to a short
mid on and he's trying to save the single to keep LeBroy on strike to Greg Campbell.
It's 7 for 334.
The one who miles it over for the next 10 minutes will watch the next series from the
comfort of his living room.
Let's have a look at the field here for Marshall, Richard's of course in a position to really
place attacking fields, he's got three slips in position and a gully, so three attacking
men alongside the wheel keeper there and out in the cover area just the two saving a single.
Successful Australian captaincy has always been based on attack, attacking batsmen, bowlers
who are seeking wickets and not just trying to contain the opposition batsmen, aggressive
fielding and sensible aggressive field placings.
Getting a fieldsman around Kirtley Ambrose, first day of a test match, slip, a gully,
man coming into a short cover, silly point, short leg, border applying the pressure.
Make sure your players concentrate on the skills of the game, don't allow them to be
side tracked into the areas of psychology and theory, just concentrate on the skills,
keep it simple and enjoy the game.
Oh what a catch.
Watching him get off the ground here, it's really smashed hard at him and in his fingertips,
Alan Border enjoyed that too, that really was a tremendous catch.
Always carry the attack to the opposition, never ever let them get on top of you.
No Australian captain should ever have to apologise for his team's attacking and determined
outlook on the game, so long as the dictates of fair play are always observed.
And a shout there from Gus Logie, what a brilliant catch that is.
Steve Wall now looks around to see that umpire King has given him out and he's clearing something
or other.
I don't think he's clearing the fact that he hit it, I think he's asking the square
leg umpire, did he catch it?
Now hang on, Len King has changed his mind, but I think we saw there that final motion
from Gus Logie which showed the reason why umpire King changed his mind.
Gus Logie at first thinks that he's caught it, throws it away, but then he looks down
at his hands and he thinks about it and he says no I didn't catch it.
Always look for a win, when you lose always learn from the defeat, the captain and only
the captain should be in complete charge of the cricketers who play under him.
Well some wise words on captaincy there from Richie Benno, we hope that you've enjoyed
this wide world of sports cricketing tape and more importantly that you've learned something
from it, but remember whether you want to be an Australian captain or play at international
level or just enjoy your cricket out in the park, remember that cricket should always
be fun.
That's a good delivery there from Lawson and a great catch by Rodney Marsh.
And that's out, caught by Greenwich.
Magnificent shot by Greenwich.
A field for Cathy Donne.
Oh what a catch.
Got in beautifully by Rodney Yorker.
That's it, it's all it's high, it's miles in the air, here's it's coming around and
so it's all it's all right.
It's gone, it's caught him, what a ripper.
Strike to Viv Richards.
Got him, that's how you do it.
Oh what a catch.
Well what about that.
Rodney's gone right through his defense.
Oh what a catch.
Got him.
That's it, that's it.