ECB Coaches Association links Inside Edge 6 May 2018 | Page 18

JIMMY ANDERSON
C OAC H I N G S E A M
England team members take
a drink during training on the
eve of the third Ashes cricket
Test match.
“In the past I would
always be looking
for perfection. It took
me a while to realise
there is no point in
striving for perfection.”
H AV I N G S P O K E N TO S E V E R A L O F YO U R
E N G L A N D T E A M M A T E S R E C E N T LY,
I T ’ S P R E T T Y O B V I O U S S O M E P L AY E R S
O P E R A T E I N A F A R L E S S A N A LY T I C A L
W AY, B U T E N J O Y G R E A T S U C C E S S
DOING
THINGS
D I F F E R E N T LY
TO
YO U . D O E S T H AT WO R K O K I N T H E
D R E S S I N G ROO M F O R T H E C OAC H I N G
S TA F F ? YO U H AV E WO R K E D W I T H A F E W
D I F F E R E N T S E A M B OW L I N G C OAC H E S
OV E R T H E L AST F E W Y E A RS. U N T I L
R E C E N T LY I T W A S O T T I S G I B S O N ,
B UT N OW H E H AS M OV E D O N TO T H E
S O UT H A F R I C A J O B . W H E N YO U S TA R T
WO R K I N G W IT H A N E W S P E C I A L I ST
B OW L I N G C OAC H HOW DO E S T H E
R E L AT I O N S H I P D E V E L O P ?
That’s right. Take Ben Stokes. He goes completely on
gut instinct and natural flare. He trusts his instincts and
just does what he feels is right at the time on the pitch.
That works for him. Everyone is different. The skill of
the coach is to get to know the players personalities,
and understand how they take these decisions during a
game. Then they need to tailor their practices and their
communications to suit the player’s style of operating.
I need to be analytical. It is what works for me.

As I have got older I have found practicing less,
but at a higher intensity, has helped me a lot. Two
days out from the start of a Test match I will already
have in my head who I will be coming up against. I
try and recreate that in the nets. I might be bowling
at Alistair Cook, but generally the opposition will have
a left hander in their line up, so I will be thinking about
the line and length I will be bowling to them. I make
it as close to match intensity as I can possibly get. A
30-minute burst is plenty. In the past I would always
be looking for perfection. It took me a while to realise
there is no point in striving for perfection. I have done
a 90-minute session before and that actually tires you
out, is detrimental, and you end up bowling worse
following that sort of session. Short, sharp practices at
match intensity are far better for me. Generally it is important the player knows what they
want to work on. It needs to be player led. For instance,
I will go to a practice session and tell a coach I need
to improve my line to left handers. The coach will then
watch out for this, perhaps setting up a drill to address
that. During games the coach will get more involved on
a tactical level. At the level I am playing at the players
know their actions, but it will be more the odd thing the
coach can look out for and help with.

I watch a lot of cricket, and analyse what other
players do. I need to work out what is doable, and
what is beneficial for me. For example, a back of the
hand slower ball will not work for me, so I will have
to try a knuckle ball, or something else. I try and see
what different players do, how they hold the ball and
how it comes out. Then I will go to a practice session,
work on that, see how it feels, and then after a couple
of sessions I can decide whether it is worth persisting
with and continuing to perfect.
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