Brisbane cricketer, Simon Eggins is back with his view on club cricket from the other side of the world. This time it's all about run outs.

Running between the wickets is undoubtedly a key aspect of the game, yet for most club players it is something that is virtually never practiced. This being true, it's surprisingly easy for even the best of us to forget the basics and to gift the opposition a run out, especially at moments of high pressure. Though not an exhaustive list, here are a few basic errors that can be easily avoided.

1. Forgetting to call. This is an obvious number one. There should be a 'yes', 'no', or 'wait' call on virtually every ball: by the striker if the ball is hit forward of square, or the non-striker if it goes behind. By way of example, if the ball is tapped into the covers and the striker takes a few steps forward without saying a word, it's impossible for his partner to know whether to take off or not. He is forced to wait and see whether the striker is indeed attempting a run, and by that time he's used up valuable seconds that would have been better spent starting to make his way to the other end (if there is indeed going to be a run). What's worse, if the non-striker reads the intention wrong and dashes down the other end while the striker stops in his tracks, then if the bowler is on his game and is back over the stumps a run out is almost a certainty.
2. Ignoring the call. Calling is not much use if the caller's partner doesn't trust the call and wants to take time assessing the situation for himself before taking off. Suppose the striker calls for a quick single. The non-striker's not sure if he wants to go, so while his partner begins bounding towards the bowler's end, he stays put and shifts his glance to the ball, finally deciding that a run is a risky proposition (probably because by the time he's made up his mind the fielder is starting to gather the ball), so with the striker three quarters of the way down the pitch the non-striker heads back to his ground and calls 'no', leaving his team mate with two choices. He can either pray for a miracle and try to get back to his own end, or he can keep going forward and hope to beat the non-striker to the bowler's end crease so that justice is served and the party responsible for the mix up is the one who is ultimately run out. The bottom line is that when your partner calls 'yes', you have two choices. You either take off, or call an immediate 'no' before your partner gets going. You don't have much time to think and if you're indecisive either you or your partner's innings will soon be over.
3. Staring at the ball. This is related to number two: the batsman who stays put and fixes his eyes on the ball after hearing a 'yes' call will often turn around to discover his partner standing right beside him at his end, while the keeper is flicking the bails off at the other. This is for example the primary cause of those run outs that occur on the same ball as a drop catch, where both batsmen are caught ball watching to see whether the catch will be taken and forget to communicate their running intentions to their partner.
4. Not backing up. A batsman who fails to back up at the non-striker's end is costing himself a good few seconds that he may need to make it down the other end (this is even more of a sin now than it was in years gone by given the recent change to the laws which now make it virtually impossible to mankat anyone). Of course if the ball is smashed back at the bowler, the non-striker had better get his bat back over the line fast!
5. Not considering your partner's running abilities. When judging whether there is a run on it's important to consider what you're committing your fellow batsman to. It may be that that you will need to adjust you're thinking if your partner has a slight injury or is generally not as quick off the mark as you are.
6. Automatically running on a misfield. It is quite tempting to try and capitalise on a fielder's mistake, but the temptation should be kept in check – in such a case the batsmen should sit on the initial 'wait' call until it's clear whether the misfield has indeed opened up the chance for a run.
7. Not knowing the fielders. Though batsmen should be trying to take a run on a throw that has to come in from the fence, it's generally not worth the risk against someone who has shown that they have a strong arm. These may be few and far between in low level club cricket, but it's worth a batsman's while to be cautious until he knows who the dangerous fielders are.