Today guest writer Tom Jones tells us about his lockdown cricketing. There are really good ideas here. I love the drills where he works against the short ball (see video below). Stay tuned to Moeen Ali!

It’s mid-March 2020 and the UK government has announced a ban on social gatherings of all kinds for the foreseeable future. Lockdown began on March 22 with the message “Stay home, protect our NHS, save lives”.

Cricket – professional and recreational – is cancelled. Suddenly, there was a great void in our summer.

At the time, as Chairman of Junior Cricket at Warrington Sports Club, I was busy with pre-season training for the Bridgewater HS boys and preparations for the upcoming outdoor season. Everything came to an abrupt end. No more practices; no games; no season starts. there is nothing.

Out of necessity, I came up with the idea of ​​#stayathomecricket – a collection of games and activities we can all do at home. I posted this on my Facebook page. If the kids can’t go out and play cricket, I’ll take it to their house on video.

The first few days featured the inevitable toilet rolling challenge (applicable to cricket), followed by a series of simple games we played in our back garden (not the biggest).

Then I set up a YouTube channel to host all the videos. 28 videos were planned (one per day for four weeks). So, to my sons’ initial embarrassment, the Cricket Coach 365 channel was born.

The next step is to create a series of activity cards to accompany the video. The “Special Edition Stay Home and Play Cricket” campaign cards were created in a few days: 28 cards matched to 28 videos. One can buy these products online here.

Offers the complete package: online videos to watch the game in action, and activity cards with recommended instructions on how to set up the game. We’ve even made some videos showing how to customize the game if you’re really low on space or don’t have any gear.

The main purpose of all of this is to bring some fun into people’s homes during the lockdown. It keeps people connected to games and helps kids stay active.

Now that March is well into June, the lockdown has eased, but there is still no sign of recreational cricket. Meanwhile, domestic professional competition has been postponed until at least Aug. 1.

So there is still room for #StayAtHomeCricket. In fact, it can help those missing their clubs or representing youth cricket to stay sane during these difficult times.

I want as many young people as possible to get involved. I hope they encourage their friends to participate in some peer-to-peer online challenges as well. This will help everyone’s mental health and allow for some level of social interaction before things return to normal.

So subscribe to the Cricket Coach 365 You Tube channel. Join us and have fun. Thanks.