Rounders analysis

Rounders is a striking and fielding game, consisting of two teams, nine players on each. The game is based on innings. The winner is decided on the most rounders scored. To score a rounder the player must hit the ball, run around the track, and touch the fourth post. A half rounder can also be scored if after missing the ball the fourth post is still touched. A half rounder can also be scored if after hitting the ball the batter reaches second post. In order to play rounders you need the following components of fitness; Co-ordination when fielding, such as throwing and catching.

You also need speed, whilst running around the track, speed is also needed in fielding when retrieving the ball. Agility is also needed in rounders, when having to run around the track you must be able to stop at a post quickly. It is needed in fielding as well, after catching the ball, you must turn quickly and throw it on or touch the post. In order to bowl correctly the player must do various things concerning grip, stance, and action. They should deliver the ball with a smooth continuous action, with both feet within the bowling square, before the ball is released.

It should be thrown within the reach of and hitting side of the batter, below the top of the batters head or above his knee, so that it is not bowled directly at the batter. The ball should be bowled so that it does not bounce before reaching the batting square, the ball must be gripped so that it is cradled in the fingers and held by the thumb, the ball should not touch the palm. The bowler should stand facing the batter, the throwing arm should be taken to the rear of the body, and the leg on the same side should be brought forward.

The underarm bowling action should be completed with a wrist ‘snap’ to add speed. Having watched somebody bowl I have found out that they do certain things well but in other areas performance was weak. The bowlers grip was fairly good throughout the exercise, two fingers were on top of the ball, and the thumb was positioned correctly underneath, so that the ball was cradled in the fingers. The stance of the bowler was good as he was always facing the batter and stepped forward with the correct leg most of the time.

His weakness concerning stance was his weight distribution onto his front foot, the action would have been improved if a little more weight was applied to the front foot when starting the action. The action the bowler used was weak in some areas, such as the wrist ‘snap’; he used more of a smooth action when releasing the ball rather than a quick snap. However, his smooth follow-through was excellent and performed at all times. His bowling was quite inaccurate due to the fact that he often let the ball go too late.

This resulted in the ball going too high, making it a ‘no ball’. His knowledge of the rules was fine from what I could see, as he always knew when there was a ‘no ball’ and stayed within the bowlers box. To bat correctly the player must hold the bat tightly and comfortably in a ‘shake hands’ grip. You must keep the batting arm relaxed and hold the end of the bat up higher than the wrist. The batter must stand sideways on to the bowler and must not step outside of the batting box. The bat should be held back ready to strike the ball.

The player should also stand with feet comfortably apart with the weight balanced on the back foot. When performing the action of batting the player should watch the bowler’s hand throughout the swing and until released. The player must then swing the bat with a fast circular action and should keep his arm parallel to the ground. He should ensure that he steps forward onto his front foot as the bat is swung through to hit the ball. The batter should also hit the ball as near to the centre of the bat as possible. Having observed somebody bat I have identified their strengths and weaknesses.

Considering grip and stance the batter performed extremely well; he was always sideways on to the bowler and also turned his body as he hit the ball. His weight was on his back foot most of the time. The batter seemed to have a good grip on the bat, but could sometimes be to relaxed. However the bat was always held in the correct position, this showed good preparation as it was held back in a ready position. The batters action was also fairly competent as most of the time he watched the ball onto the bat and stepped on to his front foot as he hit the ball, showing good technique when transferring weight.

The batter showed weakness when it came to the area of the bat the ball was hit with. He mostly hit with the tip of the bat instead off the middle, I think this resulted in a less accurate or powerful hit. Having identified the weaknesses of the bowler I have come up with some practices to start improvement. One of the weaknesses the bowler showed was releasing the ball too late. To rectify this problem I will set up a practice involving hoops. One person will hold the hoop between head and knee height, the bowler will then aim to throw the ball through the hoop.

As the bowler repeats this practice he will begin to realise when to release the ball, resulting in an accurate height for the batter. When the practice is complete the hoop will then be taken away and the bowler should have a good idea of when and where to release the ball. The bowler also seemed to have a small weakness in the transfer of weight, to improve in this area I will set up a practice. I will teach the bowler the right technique by again using hoops but also using a points system. The practice will entail a hoop being set out where the bowler’s foot is supposed to go when performing the action.

Every time the bowler places his leg in the hoop correctly points will be awarded if the bowler forgets to place his foot in the hoop before releasing the ball then points will be deducted. When the practice is finished, if the bowler has acquired enough points then he will be rewarded with a prize. The practice will then be repeated without the hoop using the same points scheme. I have identified the weaknesses of the batter and have thought of some practices to overcome these. The batter had some problems involving grip of the bat, to solve this I will firstly teach the correct technique to hold the bat.

This being tight but comfortable in a ‘shake hands’ grip. To ensure that the batter has the right idea I will get the class to all shake hands with each other, the ‘best’ handshake will be identified and the batter will be able to transfer this knowledge to the game. The batter also had a weakness in the area of the bat the ball was hit with, it was often hit with the tip instead of the middle. I think hand-eye co-ordination plays an important role in where a bouts on the bat you hit the ball. In order to improve the batters co-ordination I will set up a throwing and catching exercise.

I will pair up the class and they will have two balls per pair, they will throw the ball to their partner whilst also trying to catch the one thrown to them. They will repeat this exercise many times and should improve greatly. The batter and the bowler’s performance could have been affected on the day by various things. One thing that would have affected performance could have been the weather. For example, if it was raining vision would have been impaired and grip on the ground would be reduced due to the slippery surface. The batter or bowler could have had some type of injury, which would have hindered performance.

Mental well-being could have also played a part in how well somebody performed, if somebody was particularly depressed on the day it could have had an affect on the effort put into the activity. The kit that the person was wearing could also hinder performance as it may not have been suitable for the activity and may have stopped ease of movement. The person’s energy levels would have had an affect on the performance of the batter or bowler; if energy levels were low then the person would have put minimal effort into the activity.