This may be long and sound like there is no point, but trust me and keep reading.

I love cricket but I really sucked at playing it.

I did get back into cricket about 6 years ago (when I was 37, I'm now 43) and I played some games at the lowest end of the spectrum and was probably one of the worst players there. Basically I couldn't bat and couldn't bowl. My fielding wasn't wonderful either but it was the best of of my very limited skill set.

Of the three skills that I had, fielding was the one which I could improve on quickest. Being a better batter would've required long periods in the net in front of a bowling machine and have someone there advising me and, at 37, the amount of input that I would get would be limited. As for bowling, I needed to learn fairly basic skills like being able to actually pitch the ball in line with the stumps and at a length so it it doesn't get to the batter as a full toss. I also needed pace. As a result my bowling was basically slow full tosses that would be called wide if they weren't being hit for six.

So as a result of my limited skills, I tended not to bowl and usually came in to bat at 10 or 11. My age also restricted my fielding positions somewhat, so I was never in the slips and was rarely in the outfield. They pretty much put me in a place where I could be trusted to at least attempt to stop a ball heading in my direction.

As I played I noticed that fielding was actually a very important facet of the game. At the lowest level of cricket, wicket-keepers and slips fieldsmen would often drop catches or let balls through. Fumbles were common. Balls hit high would more often than not be dropped by outfielders than caught - and when they were caught it was like "wow that guy caught that really well".

Of all the skills required in cricket, I would argue that, at the lowest level, the one that can be improved upon most by the team is its fielding.

Regardless of the strength of your team's batting and bowling, at the lowest level of cricket I honestly believe that fielding can often be the difference between winning and losing a match.

So if I were you, or at least if I had your position, I would focus on fielding drills. Make it repetitive. Each fielder should be making dozens of catches in a training session. Catching dozens of skied balls or nicks in slips during training for each person will get them used to catching. Get them used to picking up balls hit along the ground near them so they know how to stop it and return it to the wicket-keeper. This repetition will become important when, during a match, a fielder takes a catch or stops a ball.

If you can trust your players to field well for its level in cricket you're probably guaranteed, at the very worst, a middle position in the league your team plays in. A team of untalented hasbeen batters and bowlers they might be, but if you take the time to increase their fielding skillset you will become a force to be reckoned with.