There have been many heartening stories of families using a Flicx home cricket pitch in the garden during lockdown to have fun, train and improve their game. Here, John Fuller of Cricket Yorkshire interviews two customers about their experiences with Flicx UK…
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Talking to Avigyan Das about playing cricket in the garden with his son, Aadi, you can hear the smile in his voice.
Avi had been thinking about installing a proper cricket pitch at home since last season and being on lockdown due to coronavirus was the nudge he needed. A concrete base had already been laid…just in case!
An post on LinkedIn for Flicx led to some exploration of options and Avi went for a 4m Skills Throw Down; primarily as a means for Aadi to practice seriously at their Bromley house. Das junior is a rising star at Chislehurst and West Kent CC where his dad also plays.
“The customer service from Flicx was really good as Kate was extremely helpful whenever I asked questions over email.”
A Flicx pitch is an upgrade on a typical garden set-up so it had to be right:
“The price was comparable to other products on the market but with the 4m Skills Throwdown’s colour coding, you know where the ball is pitching and whether it’s short or full. It’s good there’s crease markings to see where to take your guard.”
One aspect that Avi appreciated was the resilience of a Flicx pitch in typical British weather. After an overnight downpour, it wasn’t wet or slippy which is obviously a consideration for both safety and performance.
The need for Aadi to hone his batting and bowling is with one eye on future Bromley & District and Surrey age-group trials and we wish him well. Not that he needs it with a solid defence and those crunching drives!
https://twitter.com/cricketdistrict/status/1259052871284404226?s=20
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Consistent practising at home is a theme that cropped up with a number of Flicx customers. For one Nottinghamshire family, a 4m Skills Throw Down has provided a welcome solution for a county cricketer.
Prior to lockdown, Kate’s son, Michael, was looking forward to matches for Leicestershire Under-12s.
Keeping up meaningful training for the wicketkeeper-batsman is a challenge many juniors players (and their parents) can relate to. A Google search later and the Flicx pitch was on its way within a day or so.
Kate said: “I was looking for something in the garden with a realistic bounce. It looked ideal for us. It’s weather-proof and straightforward. The thought of Michael not playing for weeks on end would have driven him mad!”
With laying a cricket mat down on grass, there’s the advantage that patches of the natural lawn won’t be worn out or get muddy where bowlers and batters stand.
The video of Michael playing at home went viral and attracted over 1 million views on the Cricket District Facebook page
In terms of versatility, the 4m Skills Throw Down ticked a few boxes.
“It is primarily for the reliable bounce but we were doing some batting drills the other day with picking gaps. He was using the colour coding to judge where the ball was pitching.”
Similarly, as well as being reactive, batters can use the zones to set up a particular shot like the sweep; handy too for the family member (who might have no interest in cricket) to have something to aim at.
In any cricket drill, the importance of the feed and the consistency of the bounce are fundamental to the outcome and for Kate, the yellow and blue targets have been useful.
There’s also the bonus of utilising the cricket pitch for different disciplines. In Michael’s case, that translates as working on wicketkeeping alongside the batting.
You can have a batter stand in front of the stumps to replicate a match and then do epic legside takes or lightning stumpings.
“This has been fantastic for him. Michael loves the pitch and uses it every day.”
Take a more detailed look at the Home cricket pitches from Flicx UK or more specifically the 2G Flicx Pitch 4m Skills Throwdown – a great way to transform your garden into a quality cricket pratice area SHOP NOW