Toby Bailey, National Performance Coach and National Selector for Cricket Scotland, took to Twitter to share a unique training video between players of Scotland A team, Edinburgh Napier University and Scotland U19. In the video, the cricketers can be seen rallying in a modified version of badminton. Instead of a badminton racquet and shuttlecock, the players are seen rallying with a cricket bat and tennis ball, with two low benches playing the role of a net. Posting the video on Twitter, Bailey also captioned it as, "Rally of the week from @CricketScotland A-Team and @EdinburghNapier Performance Academy players @LiamNay85875803 @Jamie_Cairns151 @FinMcCreath #footmovement #batfacecontrol #batminton #access".
Here is the video:
In the comments section, Bailey also branded the training game as "Batminton". He also explained the rules of the game, saying that it's played on a badminton court and is played in a tennis-game format.
"The rules of #Batminton as stated by @CricketScotland @EdinburghNapier Performance Academy & A Team players! The game is played on a badminton court with cricket bats . The match is best of 5 games in a tennis game format for more pressure points. #batminton", he wrote.
"#batminton the point starts with a bounce and hit into the opponent's service box. The server only gets one serve - no 2nd serve - more emphasis on bat face control not whacking it to get a point! From then on the ball has to bounce once each side of the net. #batminton".
"#batminton the game usually takes 10-15 mins depending on how good the players are. Great warm up and brilliant for foot movement, bat face control and accessing the ball to play against spin. #batminton", he needed.
The video was well-received by fans with many praising the ingenuity of its concept.