Fielding (Cricket)

Fielding can be introduced in Foundation and Year 1, focusing on stopping a rolling ball and underarm throwing. Children needs lots of opportunities to practice their catching skills. We don’t normally see fully developed catching skills until the ages of 6-9 years. Throwing accuracy and selecting the appropriate type of throw for the game situation will continue to develop in the upper years.
Teaching cues
- Ready position – knees bent, hands in front of the body, pointing to the ground
- Eyes on the ball
Teaching strategies
- Focus on the ready position - teach knees bent, hands low, eyes on the ball.
- Practice stopping rolling balls with two hands and body behind - known as ground fielding.
Catching
- Eyes on the ball
- Soft fingers
- Butterfly hands: thumbs together and fingers pointing up for balls being caught above the waist
- Wriggly worms: fingers pointing down for balls being caught below the waist
- Move hands to the ball
- Use soft balls to build catching confidence.
Throwing
- Start with underarm throws, then progress to overarm throws.
Fun Games
- Play games like Catch Me If You Can to develop basic fielding skills, Rapid Fire Throwing to build throwing confidence, or Race the Ball to practice throwing and catching under pressure.
Ask questions:
- How do you get ready to catch the ball (above waist/below waist) in cricket?
- What should your hands look like when you try to catch the ball?
- How do you stay low when fielding a ground ball?
- How can you make sure you catch a ball that’s coming fast?
- What should you do if the ball bounces before you catch it?
- How can you throw the ball quickly after you catch it?
- How do you position your body to collect a ball that is rolling on the ground?
- How do you stay balanced while fielding the ball?
- How can you make sure you're ready for a high catch?
- Emphasise quick reactions and balanced movement in the ready stance.
- Introduce Ground Fielding Drills: Practice one-handed pickups for faster throws and accurate scoops under pressure.
- Challenge children to catch balls thrown at a greater speed or distance.
- Focus on selecting the appropriate type of throw (underarm or overarm) for game situations and hitting targets consistently.
- Play games like Cricket Baseball to allow children to practice their fielding skills in fun games.
- Practice catching on the move and diving when needed.
- Game Awareness: Teach positioning, backing up throws and anticipating where the ball will go.
- Progress to playing games like Continuous Cricket or Diamond Cricket to practice fielding skills while under pressure in game situations.
Skill criteria
- Ready Position: Stand with knees bent, feet shoulder-width apart and hands low, ready to react.
- Tracking the Ball: Eyes on the ball, whether it’s rolling, bouncing or in the air.
- Ground Fielding: Using two hands to scoop or stop a rolling ball, getting your body behind it.
- Catching: Using soft hands, fingers pointing up for high balls and down for low balls, absorbing the impact.
- Throwing: Selecting the appropriate throw for the game situation:
- Underarm throw for short, quick distances.
- Overarm throw for long, powerful throws to a teammate or the stumps.
- Team Support: Always back up teammates to prevent overthrows or missed stops.
- Decision-Making: Reacting quickly to decide the best action—whether to catch, stop, or throw—and executing it accurately.
Common errors
- Ready position - not staying ready to move quickly to the ball.
- Dropping catches - hands in the wrong position or not watching the ball closely.
- Missing rolling balls - forgetting to get your body behind the ball.
- Throwing - not aiming properly or choosing the wrong type of throw for the situation.
- Not backing up - forgetting to help teammates by stopping overthrows.