You will recall that a couple of weeks ago we set up a competition to help me design a new Indoor Cricket School and after careful consideration we are able to share the best and wackiest ideas!

Size does matter

The most popular consideration that was offered related to the dimensions of the playing area.

Ian posted “The size of the facility so that it is large enough for fast bowlers to have a full run up to give both bowlers and batters the chance for realistic practice and be wide enough to host indoor cricket matches which would give the boys and girls the opportunity for competitive cricket over the winter months”.

This is a great point as I have coached in too many indoor centres which lacked run up length. Of course, bowlers don’t always practice off their long run nor practice only against batters. We have so many other ways to develop fast bowlers nowadays yet it’s important to have opportunity for bowlers to charge in off their match length approach if you can.

Our indoor centre design has incorporated a 20 metre run up length which should be enough to contain most fast bowlers and provide match realistic practice for the batters too.

Indoor cricket is such a good development tool for cricketers in the Northern Hemisphere especially. The confined space speeds up the game and is particularly good for the development of fielders footwork, throwing over shorter distances and anticipatory skills. It’s also great fun and is fully inclusive as everyone gets the opportunity to bat and bowl in the format that we will play in the new indoor centre at Millfield.

Different backdrops

We had three people who gave me the idea of having both white and black sightscreens so our cricketers can have red, white and pink ball practices.

Lots of County age group cricket is played with a white ball nowadays and two National Schools competitions are played with a pink ball so it’s really important to expose young cricketers to practice opportunities throughout the year.

Pitch variance

A number of contributors talked about having different pitch characteristics in different net areas.

The challenge with indoor practice is that it gives you a highly consistent surface to bat and bowl on which doesn’t create significant opportunity for adaptation. We can often hit balls on the up in the indoor environment that would fly to slip on grass surfaces and spinners often are left to feel like bowling machines feeding up easy balls to strike on surfaces which do not promote lateral movement. To counter this, a number of leading artificial pitch designers have developed artificial grass and or underplays with different grip characteristics.

We are presently looking at the best options to provide different pitch challenges to go across our five lanes. Exciting stuff.

Bring the outdoors, indoors

Ned bought this great idea to the table. The game of cricket is played in natural light for 99% of all games played across the cricketing world yet many of us practice for six months per year under fluorescent lighting conditions.

Whilst this may seem a little over the top to some, the more we can train players to adjust to natural light the more relevant the practice becomes to actual match play. Logically, the fielders, bowlers and batters will then be able to constantly alter the iris, the coloured ring of tissue behind the cornea that regulates the amount of light entering the eye by adjusting the size of the pupil to facilitate optimal visual acuity. Fluorescent lighting does not directly replicate ever changing outdoor visual conditions.

We are designing centre with multiple natural light entry points which aims to allow us to run lots of sessions without needing to turn the lights on. Naturally, as the evenings draw in over the winter, a pre-programmed light sensor will turn the fluorescent lights on when the internal light level begins to dip towards unsafe perimeters. This is also an environmental consideration as it will reduce the electricity bill.

The bursar will be happy.

Tropic thunder

Dave and Ian wrote to me offering the idea of being able to heat the training space in order to replicate overseas climates.

This is more of a necessity in a National Cricket Centre than it is in a school or club environment as national players will be travelling to different parts of the globe on multiple occasions each year. Climate heating is pricey to purchase and even more expensive to run so whilst it would be lovely to have, I’m afraid our budget won’t stretch that far.

Indoor grass pitches

This idea came from Richard. This is something that only a few environments around the world have successfully achieved. I know that Richard Holdsworth, Cricket Ireland’s Performance Director is exploring indoor grass wickets in order to increase the opportunities for developing Irish Cricketers to practice on good quality grass pitches throughout the year. If Richard and Cricket Ireland achieve this then it could be a game changer for the Northern Hemisphere Cricket playing nations.

3D vision

Appropriate camera angles are crucial to the modern day cricketer. Leon suggested cameras in each net being situated behind, in front and to the side of each popping crease.

This would allow batters and bowlers to synchronise the footage so that they have a fuller view of the shot or delivery that they have just performed.

I am aiming to add in an “over the top” view also as we can see how the hips and shoulders create torque when we throw, bowl and strike the ball. Keepers can also see how their body twists and turns when taking a bouncing ball from a bowler from the same overhead view. We had one overhead camera in the old Cricket Bubble and it was a eye opening view.

Flipout

Mark threw in the idea of having a indoor diving pit to better prepare fielders to be confident at launching themselves off their feet for catching and diving stop practice.

This idea comes from him taking his nephews to a local “Flipout” trampoline and gymnastics centre where youngsters jump off obstacles into foam landing areas.

This idea resonates with me also. Normal indoor diving practice involves matting which sits above the floor and impedes the incoming “ground” ball. So I am exploring the option of having some 4G Rugby Artificial Grass built into the floor at the rear of the centre which lies flat and allows the fielder to dive and slide on it without the risk of injury or burning skin on knees and elbows.

Sir Don and his water tank

Lastly, the zaniest idea... or is it?

You will recall my article on Donald Bradman from a couple of weeks ago. Varun suggested that we build a replica of Young Bradman’s backyard game within the centre to develop reflexes, anticipation and hand eye coordination using a golf ball and a stump.

Whilst this idea may have been sent in as a bit of a tongue and cheek offering, there are worse things that I have seen incorporated into indoor centres. From a safety perspective, we would require a tighter netting type to contain the golf balls and find a corner for the brick and correlated rebound wall but as I said the other week; what is good enough for Sir Donald Bradman is good enough for me!

And the winner is...

The winners of the PitchVision Courses are Ian for his advice on playing area dimensions which we have very much taken on board in the design phase of the Indoor Cricket Centre and Varun for the Bradman-esque practice area initiative which has got me thinking.

Thank you to everyone for their contributions and I shall keep you posted on the progress of the indoor centre build as we move from the design to construction phase.