Vision can be used in cricket in various manners. As such training of the eyes is important to take advantage of the
opponents. Vision plays an important role in Cricket. There are numerous professional drills that great teams use
at grounds to train professionals on how to use their eyes. I am sharing a few as follows
Peripheral vision Drills:
1.1 Crucifix Ball Drop:
Player A drops either ball – player B must dive/lunge
forward to catch the ball before it bounces twice.12 random
drops..
1.2 Reading While Catching:
This is a drill for three players at a time. Stick an article
to the wall. Player 1 stands in front of the article, about
arm’s length away from the wall. Players 2 & 3 stand +/-
three meters to his left and right. While player 1 reads
the article out loud, player 2 & 3 feeds him with balls
from alternate sides. Player 1 throws back to the player
he received the ball from. Each player should receive 20
balls from each side.
1.3 Field Drills:
A = B Throw two balls simultaneously, for 1 minute to
see how many cycles can be completed without the ball
being dropped. A x B Two balls at once, but now they
must cross in the middle. The hands must not cross. A =
B Now three balls must be used. Juggle the three balls.
There must be two balls in the air at all times.
Eye Movements
2.1 Motilities (small):
Keep your index fingers 30cm apart,
45cm from your eyes. For 30 seconds,
look left, right, left…. One cycle is left,
right and back to left again. Count the
cycles you get in 30 seconds. Your aim should
be 60-70 cycles.
2.2 Motilities (large):
Stand next to the pitch. While keeping your head steady,
look from one wicket to the other and back. Count how
many pitches in 30 seconds.
2.3 Thumb Rotations:
Do this exercise with one eye at a time. Cover your one
eye. Keep your thumb stretched out in front of you. Hold
your chin with one hand and just move your eye.
Horizontal x 30: Move your thumb as far to the right and
then to the left, with your eyes following your thumb.
Vertical x 10: As far up and down as possible. Rotational
x 10: Make circular movements, keeping eye on thumb.
2.4 Book Balanced On Head:
Keep a book balanced on your head while following the
flight of a ball or object that is thrown or hit. With the
book on your head you can also follow a soft ball as it
rolls slowly around the inside of a frisbee. After you
master the softball, replace it with a faster-moving cricket
ball and then an even faster-moving golf ball.
Accommodation
3.1 Brock-String:
Hold string on nose, let a friend
hold other end, or tie to door
knob. Focus on front bead. The
lines should make a x on the
bead. If the x is either in front or
behind the bead, push the x with
your eye muscles to the bead. Start
further away and as you progress,
bring closer. This can also be done
with big string and ball over
length of pitch.
Page: 16 wickets
Try to do as much as possible. Focus changes, as
accurately as possible.
1: Hold finger at arm’s length. Look at finger – should see
it as single. Look at vertical line (e.g. door frame or pole)
behind the finger. Should see two fingers. Look back at
finger, should see two poles. Look from finger to pole
to finger. What you focus on should be single. Repeat 5
times
2: Move the finger closer to the face and repeat the above
procedure 5 times. Continue moving finger closer to face
until the finger can no longer be seen as single.
Depth perception
4.1 3D Pictures
Method 1: Focusing behind the picture. Hold the book
really close to your eyes.
Have your eyes as if you are staring. Lock the focus and
slowly take the picture away.
4.2 Hitting Cones:
Two players stand 20 meters apart with a cone between
them. The focus point must be a spot on the cone. They
both get 10 hits with a tennis ball to hit the target.
Reaction Time
5.1 Turn & Catch:
Stand with your back to a friend. Have him gently
throw a cricket ball and yell “now”. When you hear the
yell, turn around, find the ball and try to catch it. If you
do this repeatedly, you can train your brain to interpret
and react faster.
5.2 Ball Against Wall While Facing Wall:
Player A stands arm’s length away from the wall, facing
the wall. Player B throws the ball randomly against the
wall. Player A must catch the ball before it touches the
ground. Score /20
Eye-hand-body-brain coordination
6.1 Juggling
Juggle 3 or 4 balls at a time. Once this is mastered,
stand on one leg while juggling. Once this is also
mastered, cover one eye and stand on one leg.
6.2 Batting With Stump On Balance Beam:
Player A walks forwards and backwards on balance
beam, while hitting tennis balls with a stump, randomly
being thrown at him. He get 20 attempts. Any loss of
balance or miss-hit is a penalty.
Vision Training!
