Tips to Go from a Cricket Chump to Champ

Milly think of anything better on a hot summer’s day then heading to your local park and enjoying a great game of cricket.
Mind you, it can get really annoying if every ball you bowl ends up being hit for six – especially when the fielding team is screaming at you after having to collect the ball from the bottom of a hill for the umpteenth time – or you give your opponent another lifeline by spilling that vital catch again.
Never fear though, as we have all the tips you need to become the best cricket player in your neighbourhood in a flash.


Get the right gear


You wouldn't head out onto a football pitch without wearing some comfy football boots or play a round of tennis with anything else but a tennis racket. So why should the rules be any different for cricket?
We are not just talking about equipping yourself with a sturdy cricket bat and pulling on your classy cricket whites either – although these are essentials.
Be ready for whatever a bowler throws at you with confidence by wearing your cricket pads, such as the excellent selection available at Millet Sports, and hit a six every time by achieving more grip with some specialist gloves.


The joys of simulation


Wait just a minute, this isn't a plea for you to pick up a game console controller and play a virtual game of cricket in your home.
Simulating real life situations is a great way to improve your cricket skills in an instant. The team catching and run out game, for example, sees a wicket keeper and four fielders throwing and catching a ball to one another quicker than it takes for a batter to run between the stumps four times.
Meanwhile, the horse’s tail game sees a designated batter hitting a variety of catches to random fielders – obviously the person with the bat should be skilled to make things interesting. The fielder selected is then tasked to catch the ball and return it to the wicket keeper as quick as possible.
Cricket For Parents have set out easy-to-read guides for both of these brilliant simulations, as well as many other situations that you should be sure to try out on the training field.


Delving into the specialist skills


Feel as though you know all the basics of playing cricket but are still not dazzling your friends? Give these specialist bowling skills that the BBC Academy have detailed a go to blow the competition away.
There are a collection of techniques to master in this guide that you are sure to have witnessed being performed to perfection by cricket legends over the years.
Shane Warne still holds the record for being the second highest Test wicket taker in the world, with his leg spin particularly bamboozling even the best batsman in the sport on frequent occasions.
Then there is the off spin method, which may be the most popular way to spin a ball but there are still ways to make it look amazing – check out techniques applied by Muttiah Muralitharan or Harbhajan Singh to see what we mean.

Give our tips a go and try to remain humble when your peers begin comparing you to the next Ian Botham or Sachin Tendulkar.
[This post was brought to you by Millet sports]