Tape ball, hundred-ball and mixed cricket: How Felsted's Jason Gallian is planning for cricket's return

It will be a very different sporting landscape when cricket is allowed to be played in schools once more. Gallian outlines his plans to keep cricket on the curriculum

In some ways, schools cricket has felt the greatest impact of lockdown.

Fixture lists have already had to be abandoned and while an August start date is music to the ears of most club cricketers, schools at that point will be deep into the summer holidays and pupils would rather occupy the UCAS website than the crease.

The crucial period is in September when schools return for a new academic year. This is a sentiment shared by Jason Gallian, who is head of cricket at Felsted School in Essex.

“When we do come back we need to excite the students to get back into the game,” Gallian told The Cricketer.

“We have all the other sports such as rugby and football wanting to engage as well, and while we’re not sure what those sports will look like, we have a really exciting opportunity to be different in the way we play cricket.”

^{The Front, Felsted's main cricket pitch}

School sports opportunities are vast but also very structured. Particular games have their term to dominate the sporting calendar. But come September, there may be three or four sports vying for prominence, and within that, particular pupils may be required to represent the school at more than one sport.

“Traditional sports in their usual terms may be thrown out the window,” Gallian continued. “Perhaps we give pupils a choice, who wants to play cricket and who rugby? Maybe we can have designated days for both.”

Many readers will remember Gallian as a prolific run-scorer for Lancashire, Nottinghamshire and Essex but the 48-year-old is now teaching the next generation how it’s done, and he certainly has innovations for how the game can be played when schools return.

“When the time comes and we get back to school, we don’t know how sport will look. We may play against other schools but we may not. In that case we need to change the game to engage students to play. This could be mixing the boys and girls teams, playing 100 ball matches or even tape-ball matches.”

Gallian is not short of ideas on how cricket can emerge from this pandemic strongly. But his priorities are clear.

“Felsted isn’t a cricket club, it’s a school. And by that I mean that the pupils have other equally important commitments. You have to try and balance their cricket workload and be realistic in your expectations.

“A pupil may have had a long day academically and they sometimes come to training to get away from their studies. But the boys and girls in the top teams are training up to five times a week as well as matches. They’ve got to be organised and to get their school work done. If they have exams they need to get themselves into a good study routine then be ready to play a cricket match all day on a Saturday.”

Gallian explains that cricket can also help educate away from the field of play.

“The players get time management skills, and learn to work smart and efficiently. Hopefully they will reap the rewards of being organised as well as having that opportunity to release from their academics by playing cricket.”

^{Gallian suggests mixed cricket as a possible format should cricket be played internally in September}

It seems as though lockdown is putting time management skills to the ultimate test. No longer is a teacher or coach there to ensure time is spent usefully. In some ways cricket may need to accept a secondary role in schools. Pupils’ futures are frustratingly insecure, with university places, graduate jobs and apprenticeships on ice, so perhaps trying to get a student to perfect their forward defense with a rolling pin isn’t the most productive use of time.

But, as Gallian supports, cricket is a release. It was a needed form of escapism during normal school schedules and it certainly is now. Even for five or 10 minutes a day, a simple cricket exercise can improve the mental wellbeing of a teenager immeasurably.

He recently led a masterclass on how anyone can set up these homemade drills. All that is needed is a tennis ball and a bat. Hitting a ball on a piece of string or aiming at some cones is all basic but hugely beneficial. Ask any top-level coach how to make the most of lockdown, they will all suggest simple drills to improve basic skills.

After England’s historic World Cup victory and Ben Stokes’ Ashes heroics, a new generation was inspired to pick up a bat. This was meant to be the summer that cricket built on the momentum of 2019 but the virus has taken that opportunity away. Gallian’s enthusiasm to ensure some cricket is played in schools this year is exactly what the sport needs to come back with a bang in 2021.

The Cricketer would like to thank Durant Cricket for their ongoing support of our schools cricket coverage. For more on Durant Cricket, including booking a site visit, please click here