Teaching Manual: Japan Cricket Association
Teaching Manual: Japan Cricket Association
Teaching Manual: Japan Cricket Association
Manual
Welcome to the cricket Family!
Thank you for choosing to allow the fantastic sport of cricket
into your school. As CEO of the Japan Cricket Association I
would like to welcome you to the cricketing family.
Today there are more than 3,000 senior players involved directly in cricket throughout
Japan, while at junior level we are taking the sport to an estimated 14,000 children
each year. With this growth happening we believe it is vital to have a firm structure
in place to secure the long-term future of the sport. This involves not just educating
children, but showing teachers and volunteers exactly what cricket can do for them
and creating as many opportunities as possible to learn more about the sport and
even take on active roles.
.
Within these pages you will see the newly designed junior program that we believe
will lay firm foundations for cricket to prosper in Japan in the manner that we
believe it can. You will also see the outline of a pathway that can take a child from
the classroom of your very own school, all the way to wearing Japan’s National
Colours and competing in global tournaments around the world.
To work alongside this manual we have also created visual aids such as pictures
and videos which can be found on our newly designed website, and our dedicated
development staff are available to answer any questions you may have and help in
any way possible.
We are very excited about the future of cricket in Japan and thank you once again
for helping with this adventure.
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Contents
2 Welcome to the cricket family!
4 Cricket Blast Structure
6 Session 1 Intro to cricket
7 Snowball Tag 10 Continuous Cricket
9 Catching Challenge
14 Session 2 Bowling
15 Introduction to Bowling 17 Bonus Activities
16 Target Bowling
18 Session 3 Batting
19 Around the World 21 Bonus Activities
20 Pairs Cricket
22 Session 4 Wrapping-up
23 Catching Relay 25 Bowling Relay
29 Scorer’s work
30 Scorecard
3
Cricket Blast Structure
The Cricket Blast program introduces Japanese children to cricket in a fun and safe
environment. The program is closely aligned with local curriculums to focus on
improving movement skills and helping children to reach their potential.
Cricket Blast is designed for girls and boys, 8 – 12 years old, with focus on fun and
maximum participation. Children can enjoy the process of learning and developing
important physical skills such as throwing, catching, hitting and bowling, while
improving balance, agility and speed.
Official Cricket Blast coaches provide an open, fun and safe learning environment,
employing cricket activities and interactive, engaging games that teach essential
social skills such as communication, teamwork and leadership. This positive
experience for children, teachers, parents and volunteers creates a passion for
cricket and we hope will lead to a lifelong involvement with the game.
The pathway begins in schools, where we have designed four specific sessions that
can be run by our professional coaches, or the local teachers, and will introduce
children to the fundamentals of cricket. The final two sessions are game play
situations to test what has been learned.
The next step is the Cricket Blast School Cup where we will invite all the schools
in the region to put what they have learned in their PE classes into action on a
cricket field. This will be an exciting day which aims to allow children to express
themselves through sport and where everyone will be encouraged to have fun. We
also plan to engage the local community and create a festival atmosphere.
The final stage in our junior program is the Cricket Blast Series itself. We firmly
believe that continuity of participation is the key to developing skills and enjoyment
in cricket. As such the Cricket Blast Series will be held on six consecutive weeks
twice a year. Each week will run for around two hours and at the end of the six weeks
we hope to have seen considerable improvement in the skills of the participants
while also encouraging an active, outdoors lifestyle.
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The road from the school ground to the Japanese National Team
5
Session 1:
Intro to Cricket
Our first session is an opportunity to work on some of the skills that are needed for
cricket with short, fun games. This will help develop basic movement skills such as
running, throwing, catching and hitting.
Activity Time
Introduction 5 minutes
6
Snowball Tag 5min
SESSION 1
Basic Rules
• Mark out a square approximately 20m x 20m.
• Place balls in a bucket in 1 corner of the square.
• Players must stay within the square.
• One player begins with a ball and is the tagger (ask for a volunteer).
• The tagger attempts to catch other players by tagging them with the
ball between the shoulders and the hips (no throwing!).
• Once tagged players collect 1 ball and become taggers themselves
until everyone has a ball.
Coaching points
• Decide on the ending time.
• Try moving only by jumping with both legs.
• The balls can’t be thrown.
Set-up
20m ~
20m ~ 20m ~
20m ~
Activity Time
Intro 5 minutes
Snowball Tag 5 minutes
Ball Handling Routine 5 minutes
Catching Challenge 5 minutes
Continuos Cricket
Wrap-up
20 minutes
5 minutes 7
Lesson Time 45 minutes
Ball Handling Routine 5min
SESSION 1
All children with a ball & trying to follow exactly what the leader does with
their ball. Keep it fast & fun.
Suggested Routine
• Pass the ball around head/waist/knees/ankles. (Several times in
each direction)
• Pass in a figure of 8 around knees.
• “Switch” – ball between knees with 1 hand in front & the other behind.
Drop the ball & switch hands to catch (with or without bounce).
• ‘Yo-Yo’ – hold ball in one hand out in front. Drop ball & catch before
it hits the ground with hand on top of ball. Try non-preferred hand.
Alternate hands to drop & catch.
• ‘Circle & catch’ - hold ball in one hand out in front. Drop ball & circle
hand around the ball before catching it again. Try non-preferred hand
• Throw ball under one leg & catch with other hand. Repeat with
opposite hand & leg
• Bounce & catch with one hand. Try non-preferred hand. Alternate
hands to bounce & catch
• Dribble like a basketball. Try non-preferred hand
• Hit the ball on an open hand to self. Try non-preferred hand
Finally:
• Have the children throw the ball in the air and clap three times
before catching.
• Then clap 5 times, then 10 times.
• Finally ask them to clap as many times as possible and see who gets
the highest number (ask them to demonstrate in front of the class!).
Activity Time
Intro 5 minutes
Snowball Tag 5 minutes
Ball Handling Routine 5 minutes
Catching Challenge 5 minutes
8
Continuos Cricket 20 minutes
Wrap-up 5 minutes
Lesson Time 45 minutes
Catching Challenge 5min
SESSION 1
Game Rules
• Children make pairs with one ball between them and another in a
pocket/on the ground.
• The two face each other and take two steps back each (this can
increase depending on age/ability).
• Throwing with an underarm motion, each child catches the ball 20
times with both hands.
Activity Time
Intro 5 minutes
Snowball Tag 5 minutes
Ball Handling Routine 5 minutes
Catching Challenge 5 minutes
9
Continuos Cricket 20 minutes
Wrap-up 5 minutes
Lesson Time 45 minutes
Continuous Cricket 20min
SESSION 1
Game Rules
• Divide the group into two teams (ideally no more than 10).
• The ball is bowled to the batter who hits the ball into the field of play
and must then run around the marker which is 90 degrees from the
stumps.
• The fielders must return the ball to the bowler who can bowl the ball at
any time – but cannot move from where he/she is standing.
• The batter must run if he hits the ball.
• Batters can be out two ways – caught or if the bowler hits the stumps
by bowling it.
• Each batter will face three deliveries, unless they are out. However,
they cannot be out first ball.
• Team mates should count the total each player scores and add them up
as they go.
Set-up
10m ~
10m ~
10m ~
Activity Time
Intro 5 minutes
Snowball Tag 5 minutes
Ball Handling Routine 5 minutes
Catching Challenge 5 minutes
10
Continuous Cricket 20 minutes
Wrap-up 5 minutes
Lesson Time 45 minutes
Bonus Activities
SESSION 1
Rapid Fire
Rapid Fire is a good first time introduction to hitting a ball that is low down,
rather than at waist height like in Baseball. This is especially good for
players who are not quite ready to hit a moving ball and can easily replace
Continuous Cricket as an end of session activity.
Game focus
• Fielding: stopping the ball and catching
• Batting: grip and swing
Number of players
• Limit the team size to a maximum of 10*
Area size
• A 20m distance between batters and fielders
Game Rules
• Divide into Batting Team and Fielding Team.
• The object of the game is for the batting team to hit the balls from the tees in
the direction of the fielding team. Fielders cannot move until the last ball is hit.
• The fielders should be approximately 20m from the batters. (This will
vary with age/ability)
• Batter has 3 balls to hit.
• After the last ball is hit the batter runs between the wickets scoring
single runs while the teammates count.
• To stop the batter from running the fielders have to retrieve the balls
and put them back on the tees in the designated area and returned to
behind the line 20m away.
• When all players from one team have batted, the teams reverse roles.
The team with the highest total wins.
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SKILL AND ACTIVITY MODIFICATIONS
*If time is short or you have a big group you can put out six tees and have players
batting in pairs. This also teaches running between the wickets as a pair.
SESSION 1
Set-up
20m ~
10m ~
In & Out
Target: 3rd~6th years of elementary school
Rules:
• Draw a line and have all students line up along it, with the toes
touching the line.
• When the instructor says, “Dete (out)!”, jump to the other side of the
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line. When instructor says, “Haitte (in)!”, jump back behind the line.
• A child is out of the game if they move when hearing “Dete (out)!” while outside
the line or if they move when hearing “Haitte (in)!” while inside the line.
SESSION 1
• In order to increase the difficulty level and also to become familiar with
English, it’s good to change “Dete (out)!” to “Out” and “Haitte (in)!” to
“In” and combine them.
• The child who stays in the game until the end wins.
• In order to increase the difficulty level and also to become familiar with
English, it’s good to change “Dete (out)!” to “Out” and “Haitte (in)!” to
“In” and combine them.
• The child who stays in the game until the end wins.
Fielding Soccer
Set up an area like a mini-soccer field. Have a goal made of two single
stumps and a small semi-circle around it at either end where nobody is
allowed to go.
Game Rules
• Groups are divided into equal team, with no more than 10 players per team.
• Playing field 20 – 30m max long.
• Aim to score a goal by throwing the ball from outside goal zone through the goal.
• Players may underarm the ball to team mates. If the ball is dropped
then possession is given to the other team.
• Players cannot run with the ball but can run to receive it.
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Session 2
Bowling
Session 2 is about learning and practicing the movements of the cricket bowler.
Unlike pitching in baseball, bowling has a distinctive feature where you throw balls
with a straight arm.
Although this movement may not be familiar, it is very important in cricket and
helps children develop power, speed, sense of balance, and motor skills.
Professional cricket players produce speeds faster than 150km/h with this
throwing method.
Activity Time
Intro 5 minutes
Introduction to Bowling 15 minutes
Target Batting 20 minutes
Wrap-up 2 minutes
Lesson time 45 minutes
14
Introduction to Bowling 15min
SESSION 2
Explanation
Make pairs.
Check one another’s form by bowling to each other.
Basic Movements
Like baseball, use a thumb, index finger, and middle finger to hold the ball.
Stand side-on with the shoulder of your non-throwing arm facing the
direction you are bowling.
Hold a ball with both hands under the chin, open both elbows. The image is
to make a star with elbows, legs, and your head.
While keeping this small star, rock yourself sideways.
Spread both arms wide and make a big star. In order to increase force,
return the horizontally spread arms to the vertical position and rotate
broadly toward the target. The throwing arm draws a big circle when
stretched straight toward the target. It’s almost the same as the movement
in a cartwheel.
Activity Time
Intro 5 minutes
Introduction to Bowling 15 minutes
Target Bowling 20 minutes
Wrap-up 2 minutes
Lesson Time 45 minutes
15
Target Bowling 20min
SESSION 2
Game Rules
• Make a 20x20m square, and place a wicket in the center as a target.
• Mark each corner of the square with cones or white lines.
• Children make a line at each corner and begin bowling, targeting the
wicket at the center of the square.
• Hitting the wicket gives 100 points. Knocking it down gives 1,000 points.
• After bowling, go to the end of the line.
Coaching Points
• Children in each corner form a team, and compete against other teams.
• Practice bowling as much as possible. (Throwing with a straight arm)
• Try increasing the difficulty by removing a stump every time a wicket is hit.
Challenges
• Give 100 points individually depending on the number of wicket hits.
• Give 1,000 points individually depending on the number of wickets
knocked down.
• Remove a stump when a wicket is hit. The group that removes all 3
stumps win.
Set up 20m ~
20m ~ 20m ~
20m ~
Activity Time
Intro 5 minutes
Introduction to Bowling 15 minutes
16 Target Bowling
Wrap-up
20 minutes
2 minutes
Lesson Time 45 minutes
Bonus Activities
SESSION 2
Target Hit
Location: a somewhat spacious area like a school play ground
Number of people: more than 8 people
Equipment: balls, wicket or cone
Target: 3rd~6th grades of elementary school
Rules
1. Draw circles (one for each team) of about 30m in diameter using a
line-drawing marker. Put wickets or cones at the center.
2. Make pairs within each team. The pairs stand on opposite sides of the
circle, with one member of the pair holding a ball.
3. Throw the ball against the target and the team that knocks down the
most targets within a time limit wins.
Treasure Hunter
Location: a school play ground or gymnasium
Number of people: more than 6 people
Equipment: a ball for each team and more than 10 cones for
each team
Target: 1st ~ 6th grades of elementary school
Rules
Each team stands on a line and each throws a ball
aimed at cones 10 meters away. The team that hits a
cone with a ball inside wins. After throwing, the child
picks up their ball, hands it to the next team member
and goes to the back of their line. Cones are removed
when they are hit.
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Session3
Batting
Session 3 is batting practice. In cricket you can hit the ball in any direction. In order to
score more, sometimes batters hit a ball either to the side or behind. When a batted
ball reaches the boundary along the ground, it gives 4 points. When it reaches the
boundary without bouncing, it awards 6 points (a homerun for cricket).
• Wicket
• Batting Tees × 3
• Ball × 3
• Cone × 6 or
white lines (for fielding)
Activity Time
Intro 5 minutes
Around the World 10 minutes
Pairs Cricket 25 minutes
Wrap-up 5 minutes
Lesson Time 45 minutes
18
Around the World 10min
SESSION 3
Game Rules
• 5 people in each team. Compete with 2 teams or as individuals.
• Three target zones are marked with cones.
• The ball is placed on a tee and the player tries to the hit it into a target zone.
• Once a ball enters the zone, the same zone can’t be targeted again.
• The defence side tries to prevent balls from entering the zones. A
maximum of 2 people to defend each zone is allowed.
• When all batters have finished hitting, switch offense and defence.
Scoring
• 5 points are given for hitting the ball to each zone.
• If the ball beats the fielder and passes through the zone then points are
awarded as shown in the diagram.
• If the fielder catches the ball then the fielding team gets 10 points.
Coaching Points
• Look at the ball when batting and hit it with power.
• Target difficult to defend areas like zone corners.
Set-up Points
20m ~
Target Zone
50 points
Target Zone
Target Zone
100 points
100 points
20m ~ 20m ~
15m distance
20m ~
Activity Time
Intro 5 minutes
Around the World 10 minutes
Pair Cricket 25 minutes
Wrap-up 5 minutes
Lesson time 45 minutes 19
Pairs Cricket 20min
SESSION 3
Game Rules
• Players compete in pairs against the other pairs (1 pair bats, 1 pair is
bowler & keeper, other pairs field). Maximum of 8 players is best.
• Batters can be out bowled, caught or run out
• If batters get out they simply swap ends and continue to bat
• After two overs the batting pair retire and the next pair have their turn to bat
• Each player bowls one over of 6 balls while their partner wicket-keeps
• After they have completed their over they swap positions
• If a ball is bowled ‘wide’ the batter can place the ball on the Tee for a ‘Free Hit’
• If a pair is not batting or bowling, they are fielding, so that everyone is
involved. Have two fielders on the right on the batter, and two on the left.
• You do not have to run when you hit the ball.
• If the ball is missed, batters may still run
• A bowling pair will score 5 points for hitting the stumps.
• A fielding pair will score 5 points for taking a catch or hitting the
stumps to run a player out.
Set-up
Activity Time
Intro 5 minutes
Around the World 10 minutes
20 Pair Cricket
Wrap-up
25 minutes
5 minutes
Lesson time 45 minutes
Bonus Activities
SESSION 3
Target Batting (this is the same as Round the World but without fielders)
Number of people: About 4 people per group
Equipment: Bat × 1 Cones × 5
Target: All elementary school students
Rules
1. Place 3 cones on the batter’s side and put a ball on each cone. Make a gate
3 meters wide at a place about 15 meters away from the batter’s side.
2. Children hit the balls on the cones targeting the gate. When it enters
the gate, they earn points. The child with the most points win.
3. The children waiting for their turn participate in both judging and
picking up the balls on the other side of the gate. For a safe game,
batters should aim to hit the balls along the ground.
Homerun Game
Location: School Field
Number of people: Groups of around four
Equipment: Bat, ball, white line
Target: 3rd ~ 6th years of elementary school
Rules:
1. There is a batter. 10 meters away from the batter is a pitcher. Draw a
white line 30 meters away from the batter. The defense is on the other
side of the white line.
2. The pitcher throws with an underarm motion with one bounce, and the
batter hits the ball so that it goes over the white line with no bounce.
If the ball goes over the white line, it earns 1 point. The child with the
most points wins.
3. When the batted ball is caught by the defense without bouncing, it does
not earn a point.
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Session 4
Wrapping-up
Activity Time
Intro 5 minutes
Relays 15 minutes
Continuous Cricket 20 minutes
Wrap-up 5 minutes
Lesson Time 45 minutes
22
Catching Relay 5min
SESSION 4
Game rules
• The first runner of each of the 4 teams runs toward the cone on the
other side.
• Take the ball from the cone,t hrow it in the air, clap 3 times and catch it.
• Put the ball back on the cone and run back to touch the next runner.
• When touched, the next runner starts.
Coaching Points
• Do this as fast and as accurately as possible.
• Determine the number of claps depending on the grades.
• Children in the higher grades pass with an underhand throw to the next
runner on their way back to the line (3 meters).
Set-up
Activity Time
Intro 5 minutes
Relays 15 minutes
Continuous Cricket 20 minutes
Wrap-up 5 minutes
Lesson Time 45 minutes
23
Batting relay 5min
SESSION 4
Game Rules
• Run with a bat, touch the wicket in the center with the bat and turn.
• Run to the far cone and touch it with the bat before returning to the
first cone and giving the bat to the next runner.
Coaching Points
• Hold the bat with both hands when running.
• Hand the bat to the next runner in a way that makes it easy for them to
receive.
Set-up
Activity Time
Intro 5 minutes
Relays 15 minutes
Continuous Cricket 20 minutes
24
Wrap-up 5 minutes
Lesson Time 45 minutes
Bowling Relay 5min
SESSION 4
Game Rules
• The first runner runs to the far cone and picks up a ball.
• Bowl toward the wicket.
• When hitting the wicket, the bowler collects it and passes it to the next runner.
• When the wicket is not hit, the next runner picks it up and, when the
runner returns, begins.
• From the second runner onwards, the runners run toward the far cone
holding the ball.
• Announce the team that hit the wicket the most as well as the team
that was the fastest.
Challenge
• Make the number of stumps as target to 1 or 2.
Set-up
Activity Time
Intro 5 minutes
Relays 15 minutes
Continuous Cricket 20 minutes
25
Wrap-up 5 minutes
Lesson Time 45 minutes
Session 5
Cricket Blast
Activity Time
Intro 5 minutes
Cricket Blast 35 minutes
Wrap-up 5 minutes
Lesson time 45 minutes
Set-up
26
Session Plan
SESSION 5
Running Order
• Each team has six players.
• Within each team players will be in pairs.
• One pair will be bowler and ‘keeper, one pair fielding on the leg
side, one on the off side.
• If necessary teams can stretch to eight players, but the game will
take longer
Bowling
• An over will consist of four deliveries.
• Each bowler will bowl one over.
• The bowler must try to bounce the ball once before reaching the
batter, and aim at the stumps.
• The bowler must keep their arm straight, and not throw the ball
like a baseball pitcher.
Batting
• Players will bat in pairs for two overs.
• A player is ‘out’ if they are bowled (ball hits the stumps), caught or run out.
• If a player does not score for three successive deliveries they will be
given a ‘free hit’.
• A player scores ‘runs’ by hitting the ball and running between the stumps.
• If the ball reaches the boundary then the batter will be awarded
four ‘runs’
• If the ball clears the boundary without bouncing then the batter will be
awarded six ‘runs’.
• When freehitting, the batter can’t hit backwards.
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Free hit rule
• A wide is any delivery that passes outside of the batting tees.
• If a bowler delivers a ‘wide’ then the batter will have a ‘free hit’.
SESSION 5
• If a ball is going wide and the batter hits it then there is no free hit.
• If a bowler delivers a ball above waist height without bouncing then the
batter will have a ‘free hit’ unless the batter hits the ball anyway.
• A batter can be out caught or run out from a ‘free hit’ – but they will
still be awarded the two bonus runs.
• If a ball bounces three times or more/starts rolling, then the batter can
also have a ‘free hit’.
• When a free hit is taken the fielders must stay in the same position and
a safe distance from the bat.
• If a player has a ‘free hit’ because they have not scored from three
deliveries then they do not get the two bonus runs.
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The explanation below is for a full game of Cricket Blast where an over is made up of six deliveries and each
player will bowl two overs and each pair will bat for four overs. This format should take 90 minutes to complete.
Scorer’s work
Before the match
1. First, both captains decide which team bats first by a game of rock, paper, scissors.
2. Insert the team names for the “Batting Team” and “Bowling Team” at the bottom with the date.
3. hIn the vertical “Batsman” column, insert the names of the batters. Batsman 1 and Batsman
2, 3 and 4, and 5 and 6 are each a pair.
4. In the horizontal “Bowler” column, insert the name of the pitchers. Bowler Over1 and
Over2 is a pair. When one of the pair is the bowler, the other is the wicketkeeper. In the
same way, Over3 and Over4 are a pair.
• “A free hit” by a bowler’s wild pitch adds 2 points. Insert ○. Insert added points + 2 points in
○. For example, ② means no run + 2 points, and ⑥ 4 runs + 2 points.
• For the balls that result in no runs being scores, insert a ・ (dot) in the box.
• When made out (= wicket), insert X. When becoming out after 1 run, insert 1 and X.
• When the same batsman earns no points 3 consecutive times (3 dots), the third time is a
free hit. However, no ○ will be added. Please insert the number of runs earned, instead of ・.
6. When an over is finished, alternate the positions of 2 batsmen.
7. When a batsman pair finishes 4 overs, insert each total number of outs (x) in the “Wkts” on
the right, and total number of runs in the “Runs”. Next, write down a pair’s total points in the
“Pair Total” column.
8. When 3 groups of batsman pairs are finished, insert the team total points in the bottom right column.
9. X (out=wicket) gives bonus runs (Wktsx5) to the opposing team. When 12 overs are done, insert
the number of X multiplied by 5 in the “Total Wktsx5” column. Also, complete the “”Bonus
Runs” in the opposing team’s scorecard.
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Taro Tomoki Junpei Toshio
Batsman 1
Michi 2 1 1 6 x 2 2 2 1 16
Batsman 2 1 41
Kyo 2 1 4 2 64 21 2 0 25
Nima Aki Taro Tomoki
Batsman 3 1
Mariko x 28 1 1 4 23 1 22
Batsman 4 1 48 2 89
Hiro 2 6 1 44 1 2 1 4 1 0 26