- Check the space and the kit.
- Get your child's attention first.
- Show it from two sides.
- Say one thing only.
- End on one that works.
Put the phone down where you can see it. Tap Next with your thumb, or use the arrow keys.
Is the space marked?
- The stumps (bucket, bottle or a set of stumps)
- The batting crease 1 m in front
- The bowling mark
- Two cones as a "gate" a bat's width in front of the stumps
A bat, a soft ball, an underarm feed from 6 m, a helmet if the ball is hard.
Three minutes to get warm.
Easy jogging on the spot, then arms and legs. How to warm up well is explained at workonfitness.com.
- From the stance, step the front foot just inside the line of the ball, head over it.
- Drive: a full swing, front elbow up, top hand in control, bat close to the front pad; hit along the ground.
- Defence: the same step, but the bat comes down straight beside the pad with soft hands; the ball drops in front.
Show it once from the front and once from the side, slowly. Then let your child try.
- Off a tee first, then a dropped ball, then a lobbed ball.
- Step to just inside the line of the ball, head over it.
- 10 drives: full swing, front elbow up; to a fielder on the off side, then move the tee and drive on the leg side.
- 10 defence shots: full face of the bat, bat and pad together, soft hands.
How much: 10 drives and 10 defence shots, 3 rounds
Hit it along the ground
Batting zones
The rules
Drives along the ground into a near zone score 1 run, into a far zone 4.
- Mark a near zone 5 to 10 m out and a far zone beyond 15 m
- The feeder feeds 10 balls underarm to the front foot
- The batter drives each one along the ground
Fair play: A grown-up batter plays defence shots only for the first 5 balls.
- Points
- 1 run for a drive into the near zone; 4 runs into the far zone, along the ground.
- Fouls
- a ball hit in the air scores nothing; a ball caught by a fielder costs the batter 4 runs; a ball that goes through a gap between bat and pad costs 2 runs
- Win
- The most runs after 10 balls each.
- 8
- 16
- 24
6 of 10 drives along the ground into the open zone.
End on one that works. If it was hard today, finish with the easier version.
Well played.
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