📍 THE WEEK’S RADAR

• India’s Headingley Warning: Bumrah’s brilliance masked selection imbalances — over-reliance on two seamers, underused Thakur, and a brittle tail demand rethinking team balance and resource use.

• Consistency in Contact: Julian Wood shares a drill to help batters improve contact and technique — ideal for those struggling with clean ball striking.

• The Three Ps of Coaching: Participation, Progression, and Performance — all three shape players’ journeys and must be baked into your session design and coach behaviour.

• Survival Showdown Drill: Use pressure-based net play with points scoring to develop communication, decision-making, and technical control under fire.

• Pope’s Pressure Hundred: A flawed but focused innings shows why temperament trumps perfection — train players to judge, adapt, and manage the chaos.

FROM THE ANALYSIS BOX

India’s Headingley Reality Check: Brilliance Alone Isn’t a Strategy 🧠🏏

India’s defeat at Headingley, despite Jasprit Bumrah’s five-wicket masterclass, exposed a deeper issue: structural imbalance in both the bowling workload and lower-order resilience.

⚖ Over-reliance on Bumrah and Siraj

Between them, they bowled 52 of 100.4 overs — a red flag in a five-match series. Thakur, selected partly for his batting at No.8, delivered just 6 overs and leaked runs at over six an over. The result? A lopsided bowling attack and rising injury risks.

🔁 Selection vs. Usage Disconnect

India’s XI made sense on paper — four seamers, Jadeja offering control, Thakur offering lower-order resistance. But Thakur wasn’t used in his ideal window (with the new ball or during swing-friendly phases).

🥄 Tail Troubles Continue

India lost 7 wickets for 41; England’s tail added 189. Since 2018, India’s Nos. 8–11 average just 11.96 in SENA countries — only Sri Lanka and Bangladesh fare worse. Thakur stays in contention not for bowling value, but to patch this longstanding vulnerability.

🔋 Workload Mismanagement?

Gill and Gambhir must now ask: is picking five bowlers worth it if one is barely bowled? If Bumrah is rested, can Siraj handle lead duties without breaking down? And how many overs can Jadeja cover before effectiveness dips?

THE SCIENCE OF SKILL

Struggling With Consistency When Hitting The Ball?

Check out this drill set by ex-England Cricketer Julian Wood - guaranteed to help improve batting technique and contact outcome. 🚀

If you are struggling with consistency when it comes to hitting the ball, then this one is for you...

BETWEEN THE EARS

COACH’S CORNER

Survival Showdown Drill

• Setup: (40-min net session) Batting pairs start with 20 life points. Both batters at crease, switching every 6 balls.

• Key Rules: Must communicate after EACH ball; if one gets out, both lose 5 points but continue batting.

• Scoring: LOSE points: beaten (-2), missed (-3), edges (-4), dismissal (-5) GAIN points: defence (+2), check drive/attacking shots (+3), straight drive past bowler (+4), perfect leave (+2)

• Coach role: Builds pressure with on-field banter and coordinated bowling plans.

• Victory: Keep 20 points to be "Champions". Lose all? Push-ups await!

IN OTHER NEWS

Ollie Pope Shuts Out The Bethell Noise

Ollie Pope’s ninth Test century came not with dominance, but with discipline — a flawed but valuable innings that underscored temperament. Under some recent scrutiny, Pope absorbed the best in the world (Bumrah) and found scoring options without forcing them.

He wasn’t flawless — dropped once, edged another — but that’s exactly what made it meaningful. Pope managed tempo expertly and played with clarity (especially behind square). His judgment and decision-making, long questioned, were sound when it mattered most. More than a hundred, this was a statement. Amid selection noise and the Bethell-Crawley debate, Pope turned pressure into performance. His place is safe — for now — and the spotlight moves elsewhere.

Coaching takeaway: Not every innings needs to be elegant — but it must be aware. Train players to manage chaos, not avoid it. Batting isn’t about having all the answers — it’s about knowing which questions to leave alone.

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