Elite Cricket Academy

30/10/2017

4 wkts by Shriram in the last league match makes it 13 from 4 matches. That at an economy rate of 3.37 makes it a commendable effort for a young kid. Fast bowling these days is so much skill based unlike our days. Change of pace with a variety of slower balls is a must to survive the onslaught. Shriram has developed these skills on his own apart from the impeccable line and length that he can bowl. Bowling first or second he gives me the control that is needed to attack the opponent. Noteworthy is that all this he has managed without school cricket which is the case with Arya also. Arya has 9 wkts from 3 matches. Healthy race is on between these two. Everything is in place for Shriram and he just needs to add little bit of pace to go to the next level.

16/10/2017

5 for from Arya in the last Gandhi CC league match. Excellent & persistent spell of fast bowling from a young kid. 5 for for a bowler is like a 100 for the batsman. Very Special landmark. Had a chat with him the previous day and told him that he had not picked up too many wickets in the 2 matches that he had played. Also told him that Shriram for Social has picked up 9 wkts in 3 matches by bowling in right areas. Don't know if that worked but there was a lot of purpose in the way he kept coming at the batsmen. 3 wkts in the first spell and 2 more in the 2nd. That is how a 5 for is achieved.

07/10/2017

Something about the players who toured Mayiladuthurai.
Let me start with the openers.
Anirudh - can be a powerful player in front of the wkt. Can use the sweep shot to good effect. U rarely see young players using it effectively. Very much a modern day shot. Has to improve his backfoot shots square of the wkt. Very focussed these days. Has to improve his temperament.
Rohan - Talented player. Can be a powerful player of the backfoot. Has to improve his defence and driving. Can be consistent if he understands the game little better.
Ramnath - batsman with a sound technique. His defence cannot be breached easily. Not a powerful player but can find the boundaries when he wants to. He can pile up runs if he really puts his mind into it.
Vidwath - Has some technical problems in his batting. Reason for his inconsistent batting. Has the potential to become a very decent fast bowler. Has to improve his fielding.
Kavin - Has developed a batting and bowling style which is not attractive to the eye. But he can make it very effective with his ability to raise his game and compete.
Charan - Doesn't really have the frame for fast bowling. Fast bowling can be a demanding exercise. But he makes up for it with his natural ability to compete. He can raise his level in important games with some probing spells. Has to improve his fielding.
Krishna - He is a competitive cricketer. His problems are his inability to impart more spin on the ball. Will achieve better results if he can spin the ball.
Madhavan - He is the kind of player any coach will want in their sides. 100% man. He is a complete package.
Haresh - Bowled well in patches. Not always there when the going gets tough.
Gangadharan - There is some calmness about his batting. Has developed a good temperament to bat long.
The under 12 bunch has some talented players. Jayant Vibudesh Pragadeesh Adhvai are talented players who will come to the fore in the coming years. Players like Sourav Vimal Kaleem Kamalraj are much improved players who did very well on this tour.

06/10/2017

06/10/2017

Great cricket trip to Mayiladuthurai. Two under 14 teams split equally and one under 17 side participated in the tournament conducted by Alagu Jothi Academy.

29/03/2017

16/01/2017

Our cricket trip to Alagu Jothi Academy in Myladuthurai. We played 3 practice matches in 3 days. It was in the under - 14 and Under - 16 category. We played in two different grounds inside the AJA campus. Super grounds they were. The quality of cricket in many ways is also determined by the quality of the ground. We hardly get to play in such quality grounds in Chennai.
We reached on the midnight of 13th Jan and were back in Chennai on 15th night.
The kids got to play some quality cricket. Rohan with a century in the first match, Gangadaran in the second match and Krishna in the third match won the man of the match awards in the under - 14 category. Vidwath was the man of the series for consistent and powerful batting.
Iraichelvan and surendar with 6 wkts won the man of the match awards in the 1st and third match respectively. Jayaseelan won the man of the series with quality off spin bowling.
Trip to remember in many ways, specially for the hospitality of the management of Alagu Jothi Academy.

01/01/2017

Saffin Tarun George and Arya on their way to Goa to play Under 14 Inter state matches within south zone representing Tamilnadu. First big step for Arya and Tarun with Saffin having seen it already.
Arya would have done well if he can manage 10 wkts from these 5 matches. His success will depend on how the coaches and the captain use him. There is a danger of fast bowlers being under bowled.
Expecting bigger things from Saffin. He is just a supreme talent. He has everything in his kitty - power, punch, good defence, shots of the front and back foot. When he bats well he looks way ahead of everybody. Talent counts to nothing if it's not transformed into big runs. Saffin has to get atleast two hundreds to keep up with the promise.
Tarun - Just loves batting. If he gets a start his risk free batting style and his passion for batting should see him thru. There will be a lot of nerves and will be interesting to see how he handles them. Getting runs straightaway is the only way to calm down the nerves. Going by the practice match, it looks like Tarun will struggle to get into the playing XI straightaway. Runs in the practice match should help.

Wishing them well is the only thing I can do from here.

04/10/2016

Just to update on the Under - 14 City Vs Combined Districts. City won the match based on first innings lead. Saffin scored 57 with 9 boundaries. Tarun got out for 1. Arya took 1 wkt of 9 overs. Saffin bowled 20 overs for 33 runs while picking up 2 wkts.
Saffin has sealed his place in the state side. Arya has bright chances. Tarun should get another chance in the return match on 6th & 7th to impress.

30/09/2016

Arya Saffin and Tarun are in the city team which will play against Combined districts tomorrow at Villupuram. Arya and Saffin find themselves in the city team for the second year running while Tarun gets his first chance. Saffin went on to play for the state last year. These representative matches are different from their school and academy matches in the sense that they have to come out of their comfort zones. Format is different, so too are the coaches and team mates. Pressure is more as failure means that they will lose an opportunity to represent the state which is a huge honour. My best wishes goes to them as they get ready to battle it out tomorrow.

15/09/2016

Roshan Arya Rohan and Saffin - Next Generation Cricketers

09/09/2016

Free hits of all kinds of noballs needs a serious review. When the international umpires themselves are not sure of the front foot no ball and waist high full toss no balls (it is often referred to the third umpire for review) what will happen to the umpires officiating without the assistance of camera coverage. The umpires can err on both sides - missing out on a no ball, thereby robbing the batting team of a free hit or call a no ball which wasn't one, thereby penalising the bowling team with a free hit. These free hits can alter the course of a match as far as the momentum of the game is concerned. ICC before framing the rules should take into account the practical difficulties in following these rules without camera coverage.