Cricket: Warm up drills

Ignore the key fielding principles at your own peril - use this early-season session with your squad today to keep your fielding game sharp!

10-18 players required. (Note diagram for accurate lay-out of drill.) Five stumps required for drill. Three stumps are set up on a diagonal line, 10m apart from each other. The other two stumps are 20m away from these, again on a diagonal but this time they are 20m apart.

The Coach stands at the top on the middle stump.

The drill begins when coach rolls the ball out as shown. Player 1 must sprint around the first stump, change direction and then underarm pick the ball up, aiming to hit the third stump.

Player 2 must anticipate the ball coming towards them, and moves forward off the cone to back the ball up. Player 2 then throws overarm at the base of the next stump.

Player 3 anticipates this happening, and backs the throw up, before throwing the ball over the top of the final stump.

The next player now returns the ball to the coach, and then continues to run around the first stump.

Drill continues, and players follow the ball, moving clockwise to the next station.

Player 1 rolls the ball out, 2 intercepts and flicks at stump 2. 8 stops the ball and rolls it out towards 3, 5 then intercepts. After each throw, players run up the side and join the back of the queue.
Note: The person who starts the practice with the first throw stays where they are until the next turn, then they throw and run up the side.

The fielder behind the stumps rolls the ball out, player 2 picks up the ball and throws over the top of the stumps to the fielder behind the stumps.

The process is repeated until player 5 goes who then continues their run to replace the player behind the stumps.

When the batsman (1) calls Yes the coach rolls the ball towards the fielder stood by the stumps.

Fielder (1) runs across, picks up the ball and then tries to run out the batsmen.

Repeat with the next fielder and batsman.

Each batting team has a certain number of wickets (eg. 3 wickets). The teams change over once the batting side have lost all their wickets.