Andrew Beaven

Andrew Beaven

@theteesra.com

Cricket - coach a bit, play a bit, watch a bit. Mostly talking about cricket coaching, sports culture. Blogging at theteesra.com Opinions way above my pay grade!

206 followers67 following1.3K posts

Andrew Beaven
@theteesra.com

“You’ve got to coach the individual in front of you” — Paul Shaw via the ECB #icoachcricket podcast. But is anyone #coaching the coaches? #CoachingCricket #CricketCoaching

theteesra.comPaul Shaw: “you’ve got to coach the individual in front of you” —the icoachcricket podcastI met Paul once, at a coaching workshop, and this appears to be a characteristically thoughtful, warm contribution, and a coaching philosophy that it should be easy to buy in to. Two thoughts really stood out, for me, however. “…the insatiable drive, hunger and thirst to get better is so important and I think it's the fundamental thing that if coaches have got that then they can progress, they can grow, they can work at many different levels in the game…”
Andrew Beaven
@theteesra.com

First chilly morning of the autumn, first thing. ("First thing" for me, anyway - only very rarely out of the house before 9am, over the summer!) First day back at #WrittleCricketCentre & on the bowling machine for a while. And I have the Sidearm with me. Look out, batters! #coaching #CricketCoaching

Andrew Beaven
@theteesra.com

As the ECB pursues its aim to make #cricket “the country's most inclusive team sport” in England & Wales, Rudransh Khurana on News18 reports on the struggle for many youngsters in India even to afford to play the game. Rich Man's Religion: How Cricket's Cost Makes It Out-Of-Reach To Half Of India.

news18.comnews18.com
Andrew Beaven
@theteesra.com

Fantastic, fascinating, from @waltwriting.bsky.social on the joys of #CricketCoaching #CoachingCricket with the over10s. Oh, and playing #SeniorsCricket with the over60s. (More, please.) sportslaureate.co.uk/2026/09/08/s...

sportslaureate.co.ukSeason’s greetings. (& farewell).Goodbye, it is, to most of that – most of that cricket, in any event. Age, infirmity and *life choices* have pointed me towards part-time work, but “my god” (as Sean Kelly might s…
Andrew Beaven
@theteesra.com

First day of "term". Back to Saturday morning #coaching, starting with a new intake of 5 & 6 year olds. Bright blue sky as I wait for the train. Even a little chill in the air...be Christmas, soon. #CricketCoaching #CoachingCricket #EarlyStarts

Andrew Beaven
@theteesra.com

@hannahpeel.bsky.social Just catching up with August editions of Night Tracks. You played a wonderful version of Black is the Color of my True Love’s Hair on the 17th August show, but it was not the John Jacob Niles version listed in the playlist. Who was it, please?

Andrew Beaven
@theteesra.com

Today would have been my first game of the summer. Last week, games were cancelled due to the (admittedly, very sensible) heat regulations in #SeniorsCricket. The week before that, cancelled or curtailed due to rain. I haven’t actually missed much cricket! 🌧️☀️⛈️

Andrew Beaven
@theteesra.com

“…we love saying players need to communicate. They do. But communication is not just noise.” Loren Anderson gets right to the heart of the constraints-led approach to #coaching. It’s less about the action — “make some noise”, more about interaction — getting the message across.

open.substack.comWhat are the Fundamentals?Coaches worry that constraints-led practice skips the fundamentals. But maybe the real issue is that we’ve been defining fundamentals wrong.

Andrew Beaven reposted

Andrew Beaven
@andrewbeaven.bsky.social

“…some of the most valuable human work lies not in making things new, but in the patient, humble, disciplined practice of helping what matters to endure.” Now there’s a line to live by!

theconversation.comShould you embrace your inner stonemason? Why our constant desire for change needs a rethinkIn a society obsessed with reform, change and progress, we often overlook the essential work of maintenance.
The Conversation UK@uk.theconversation.com

In a society obsessed with reform, change and progress, we often overlook the essential work of maintenance.

tcnv.linkShould you embrace your inner stonemason? Why our constant desire for change needs a rethinkIn a society obsessed with reform, change and progress, we often overlook the essential work of maintenance.
Andrew Beaven
@theteesra.com

Highly recommended #podcast on #CricketCoaching (and #SportsCoaching in general). This episode explodes evidence-based coaching, outliers, viewing #coaching as #humanistic activity. Why do we coach the way we do? 🤔 Fascinating. Thought provoking stuff.👏

Rob Reed 📅 🏏@onemoresummer.bsky.social

Recommended new cricket coaching/development pod from Square One: Barney Ronay, Rob Ferley, Dr James Wallis open.spotify.com/episode/3QBg...

open.spotify.comThe Salamander Effect
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Andrew Beaven
@theteesra.com

4/4 I wasn’t overheating, sat on the terraces, with thermal baselayer, polo short, body warmer & hoodie. I’d not go as far as a Harmer-esque snood, but I’d want more layers to play over60s #SeniorsCricket in May. Cold old muscles don’t work as well as warm. And Essex did tail off, markedly.

Andrew Beaven
@theteesra.com

2/4 I watched Essex Women bowl away a game yesterday with 21 wides. Only one bowler obviously wore a top-layer (and that looked like a second long-sleeved shirt). And the bowling started to look decidedly ragged after 2 hours on a chilly afternoon. (The fielding stayed sharp.)

Andrew Beaven
@theteesra.com

3/4 I know the Women are professional athletes, and are much fitter than I ever was, let alone now. I know modern kit is so much better than the cotton & wool I started playing in, and effective base-layers don’t need to be bulky.

Andrew Beaven
@theteesra.com

Still not convinced by "modern" fielding techniques. Fielder has just raced athletically around the boundary, then stooped & dived to field the ball...and missed it. After making so much ground, I'd have backed a boot to save it, 9 out of 10. Is it because they no-one actually wears _boots_?

Andrew Beaven
@theteesra.com

Really? Playing actual cricket is better than glorified open nets? Who’d have thought it? #coaching #CricketCoaching

The Cricketer@thecricketer.com

"There is a lot more adrenaline when you're playing an international match than an intrasquad game." Nat Sciver-Brunt ready to ramp up intensity ahead of T20 World Cup | @nickfriend.bsky.social

thecricketer.comNat Sciver-Brunt hopeful for more domestic action before T20 World Cup | The CricketerEngland captain Nat Sciver-Brunt is hopeful of playing more county cricket before the start of the T20 World Cup, having faced just a single ball and bowled six overs so far this season
Andrew Beaven
@theteesra.com

Bethell is at least consistent. He said similar after playing very little red ball cricket in 2025…and did get that #Ashes ton. Still seems counter-intuitive. Can you really get better just watching others play? (I know he’ll be practicing.)

Cricinfo@cricinfo.com

Should Jacob Bethell be playing the County Championship instead of sitting on RCB’s bench at the IPL? 🤔

Andrew Beaven
@theteesra.com

The Government has a duty to protect people from legal bullying. The first step? A clear commitment to stamping out SLAPPs in the King’s Speech. Silence helps abusers. Action protects us all. #StopSLAPPs

megaphone.org.ukStop the rich and powerful ruining the lives of those who speak upStrategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) are abusive legal threats and lawsuits  filed to silence critical speech. They are used by oligarchs, public officials, sexual abusers, warlords and opaque business leaders, to target journalists, whistleblowers, campaigners, academics, social media users and community groups. Anyone who speaks out is at risk.  Defending threats and court actions in the UK can be enormously expensive, and SLAPP claimants often try to delay every step...
Andrew Beaven
@theteesra.com

Session plan(s): Video-Part-Whole An extended games-based #coaching plan for developing batting & bowling skills, incorporating concepts of learning design and the constraints-led approach to skill acquisition. Or…watching some video and then playing bat-and-ball games! #CricketCoaching

theteesra.comSession plan(s): Video-Part-WholeI am a great believer in games- and scenario-based learning. Games engage games players when drills don’t. Well designed games retain important elements of the real activity to help players develop “skills in context”, not just drilled technique. Using the terminology of the constraints-led approach (CLA), games need to be representative of the playing environment, and retain important specifying information…
Andrew Beaven
@theteesra.com

Fascinating analysis of the scholarship pathway to the professional game of #cricket

Rob Reed 📅 🏏@onemoresummer.bsky.social

Are scholarships cricket's biggest red herring? 🏏🧑‍🎓💷 Just how many state school kids who benefit from 'free' independent schooling become professionals? onemoresummer.co.uk/post/are-sch...

Andrew Beaven
@theteesra.com

Does anyone speak up for the coaches? Does the ECB have a strategy to develop new coaches in England & Wales, #grassroots to the professional game? #coaching #CricketCoaching #CoachDevelopment #CoachEducation

theteesra.comDoes anyone speak up for the coaches?I don't think it would be unfair to suggest that ECB Coach Development (the group within the England & Wales Cricket Board with responsibility for developing coaches, at all levels of the game, from grassroots to the professional game) has lacked a little direction recently. An interim Head for two years, then a vacant post for another year, and most recently an appointment who, 12 months in, has yet to be introduced to the coaches he is tasked with developing.
Andrew Beaven
@theteesra.com

Emma Raducanu is looking for a new coach…again And maybe she is right not to want a full-time coach, next time? #coaching #SportsCoaching #TennisCoaching

theteesra.comEmma Raducanu is looking for a new coach…againBBC Sport running another story about Emma Raducanu, the British tennis player US Open Champion in 2021, once again looking for a new coach. Raducanu to 'tap into a few people' over coaching — BBC Sport, March 5, 2026 Raducanu parted company with coach Francisco Roig after January's Australian Open — the Spaniard was the seventh full-time coach Raducanu had worked with since her US Open win.
Andrew Beaven
@theteesra.com

“Modern players are over coached”, says @MattPrior13 …or should that be “over-supported”? Sir Ian Botham created a stir with his thoughts on the IPL, as delivered in his MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture. But it was another comment, from Matt Prior in the post-lecture Q&A, that really caught…

theteesra.com“Modern players are over coached”, says @MattPrior13 …or should that be “over-supported”?Sir Ian Botham created a stir with his thoughts on the IPL, as delivered in his MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture. But it was another comment, from Matt Prior in the post-lecture Q&A, that really caught my attention. Speaking on the County Game, Prior observed "I find that a lot of young players coming through are over coached". He went on: "...almost need the coach next to them...they are not able to make decisions for themselves."
Andrew Beaven
@theteesra.com

Having a hit with HiTZ Batting practice against a bowling machine...with a twist. #CoachingCricket

theteesra.comHaving a hit with HiTZA couple of weeks ago the Guardian ran an article on their website about HiTZ cricket. HiTZ is the “performance” implementation of Batfast’s bowling simulation technology, as used in the “Sixes” entertainment venues (now, sadly, in administration). In the article, the emphasis was firmly on “getting back into the game” and “building confidence” rather than suggesting it could be a really serious training tool.