Last week, I wrote an article which led to significant debate on the site. This is brilliant, exactly what we are looking for.

The drill that I wrote about was an option to use when you’re faced with a fast bowler who sweeps the back leg under the line of their body going into Back Foot Contact (BFC). Pitchvision Academy fast bowling coach, Ian Pont gave some views and opinions in the comments section and offered another set of drills that can help bowlers to deal with the same technical challenge.

The first in this series used a piece of string as a guide for foot placement in the approach. This is one of the major causes of the back foot sweeping under the body and causing misalignment at the crease.

However, if the feet are landing nicely in the approach and you still note that BFC (Back Foot Contact) is misaligned then the following drills, placed on top of the string based run up drill, will close the deal.

We now know that the most significant cause of spinal stress fractures in fast bowlers comes from excessive side bend, or "lateral flexion" in scientific speak. This is often caused as a result of the body compensating in the delivery stride for things that have not worked correctly further back.

This could be the angle of approach, the angle of bound or misaligned back foot contact.

However, we sometimes get a situation where all of the above are OK and the bowler is still displaying excessive side bend at point of release.

So what can we do about it?

Here is my solution:

Picture the scene; there I am, delivering my message to a committed and excellent group of cricket coaches in Denmark when the following points go up on my Keynote speech under the banner of "Batting non-negotiables":

1st response when ball hits pad or body is to think "run".

1st response to mid off and mid on is to think "run".

This is the first series of troubleshooting to repair inefficient or physically dangerous fast bowling technique.

The bowling action is complex and prone to breaking down. While we want bowler's to bowl with natural actions, in many cases when we see a flaw we will be quick to try to iron out. This is because injury, and reduction in pace and performance is often associated with the flaw.

One of the most common of these flaws is; as a bowler comes out of her bound and into her back foot contact (BFC). We often see the back leg sweeping underneath the body and then land in a position towards the return crease. As the action is a chain of events only one thing can happen: A misalignment between BFC and front foot contact (FFC).

Have you ever said or thought any of these things as a coach?

"Fielding is a non-negotiable"

"Catches win matches"

"Fielding is the only time that we are working together as a team, so it's vital that we are good at it!'

I agree, but I also ask: How well does your coaching fielders and keepers reflect those statements?

How much are the players developing their basic stop, catch and throw skills so that your team fielding drills increase in quality?

After all, the better these drills are performed the better our chances of wickets in matches.

I spent some time in Switzerland last week with two guys who have mastered coaching people. I call them my 'Yodas' after the wise teacher in Star Wars.

One of their major sayings is:

"coach the intention; rather than the action".

What happens to people when they are coached to concentrate on specific (and often multiple) movements and actions?

Do people become more fluent or more 'clunky' in their movements?

Do you see the body move as one (like in a David Gower back foot drive or a KP clip through midwicket) or do we see the player move in separate parts, screw up their face and speak in words of discomfort?

I know the look of a player who I have given actions too as I have done that most of my career, it's a common look, trust me!

So over the last year or so, as I have connected more with the approaches of my two 'Yodas' and noticed a shift in each players movement patterns. I see less screwed up faces and sense that the players are developing faster than at any other time in my coaching lifetime.

So how does it work?

You might not realise, but your side has a management team.

We don't have the professional luxury of a huge support staff containing physiotherapists, sports psychologists, analysts and assistant coaches like the major international outfits. We do have have a group of people who shape our performance on and off the field.

And it's the coaches job to manage this team, or it will manage itself: badly!

In this series of articles I aim to support you and your captains (potential and existing) through the transition from player into effective team leader.

Leadership is a choice; the importance of self-awareness, their personal style and how that may impact on others is the key to success.

Let's look at those factors in more detail.

I had an article ready to go for you this week, but last night we had an session with the 1st team squad here at Millfield School that I just had to tell you about.

Around 5pm, the coaching team grabbed a coffee in-between squad sessions.

I asked a simple question, "Could either of you two inspire me ahead of the last session of term please?" and my two brilliant assistants came up with a innovative session plan which led to a great session: