Club cricket standards have never been higher.

I was shown that recently when I went to watch the four best amateur teams in the UK compete for the Cockspur Club Twenty20 Cup.

The eventual winners, South Northumberland, showed standards any first class team would be proud of: Level headed batting, bowling in the mid 80 mph (mid 130kph) ranges and disciplined, aggressive fielding.

If you want to really succeed at club level, these are the new standards you need to emulate.

Maybe it was the attraction of a day at an international venue (Sofia Gardens) live on TV that caused everyone to raise their game. Finally club players in the UK have something to aim for.

Perhaps it's the shop window effect for aspiring professional players who may have been lost in the system. There is something of a disconnection between league and first class cricket in the UK. But with the professionals looking on, club players had a chance to break through with a stand out performance.

It may just be that standards across the board are improving with new coaching methods.

Whatever it is, some of the players at the club finals seemed to show a brand new professionalism.

All the finalists had performed brilliantly to reach the last four. Over 350 clubs started off in the competition. No club put in a perfect performance compared to the next level up. However, South Northumberland came pretty close.

They looked like a professional outfit in everything they did.

Now, I have no way of knowing how the team practice and prepared this season, but I'm willing to bet it was as thorough and professional as time allowed.

That all starts with a forceful desire to be the best. Most sides, if you ask them, will tell you they play hard on the pitch. That's not enough to make a difference anymore. The whole club must be prepared to invest time and effort before as well as during matches. 

The time of relying on raw talent alone is over, even at club level.

It's now affordable for clubs to have decent equipment on hand. Coaching aids like bowling machines and PitchVision are putting technology in the hands of clubs. Coaches are being educated to higher levels than ever before.

If your club can put all this together and change attitude, perhaps you can have a chance in the next showpiece competition.