Cricket

Whether you want to play for fun or competitively, there are many physical, mental and social benefits to playing cricket. Playing sport has been proven to be a positive influence on our emotional and mental state; if you feel lonely or out of touch with yourself, playing cricket, or any other sport, can help immeasurably. Physical activities release hormones such as endorphins (the ‘happy hormone’), dopamine (linked to achievement) and oxytocin – ‘the hugging hormone!’ Playing improves your overall lifestyle and helps you become healthier, resulting in a better, happier you. At Solihull we believe that cricket has many benefits to our pupils:

Team Building: Cricket is a team sport. Eleven players must work together for several hours on the field, utilising strategies to defeat the other team. Children playing cricket learn co-operation and other social skills, while building a sense of pride and accomplishment.

Friendship: Playing team sports gives an individual a sense of belonging. It creates friendships that can last a lifetime and memories to cherish forever. The camaraderie and fun that teams experience in the changing room, on the team coach and on the pitch will be remembered for far longer than the individual performance and even the team wins.

Teamwork: Batsman and bowlers may seem like the central point of a cricket team’s success. However, all eleven players play a huge role in the game and working together is key to succeeding as a unit. For example, players are taught to ‘back up’ their teammates when someone attempts to throw the ball at the stumps, or when one player chases the ball towards the boundary, another will sprint with them to provide additional support. Many passages of play in cricket require multiple teammates to work together. 

Tactics: Every competitive sport requires knowledge of tactics. In cricket, this can apply to a match situation or practice sessions in the nets. Almost every tactical situation in cricket starts with the bowler vs batsman.

Social Skills: Communication on the cricket pitch takes place between fielders, bowlers, captains and batsman, even with the umpires too. Interacting and communicating not just with team members but also with your competitors helps you learn social skills; it gives you the strength to cope with different life situations and challenges more effectively. 

Solihull School has an extensive cricket programme for both boys and girls and has recently been recognised as one of The Cricketer magazine’s ‘Top 100 Cricketing Schools’. Our cricket programme is led by former England cricketer Darren Maddy (maddyd@solsch.org.uk), with help from Complete Cricket coaches and school staff.