I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings but most cricket teams fail to reach their expectations. Yours included.

It’s not because you want to fail, or that the side is untalented. It’s certainly not bad luck. These are handy excuses. Ways we use to justify our failure after the event.

But every now and again a team will put these excuses aside and learn what is really needed to perform.

These sides buck the failure trend and forget how to fail.

You see, there are many different ways to succeed as a cricket team, and many ways to prepare but one thing always remains the same: The best teams know what works for them.

A professional team with time and resources to train or play every day will have a very different preparation than a club side of amateurs training once and playing a weekend game. But the common factor is each team knows what they need to do to get the best results.

Meanwhile the average teams, like yours, do what has always been done regardless of the results.

Mindless nets anyone?

The secret of good preparation

The difficult part is working out what works.

There is no ‘cookie-cutter’ approach to practice because different players have different skills, personalities and commitments.

The dedicated family man in his early 30’s who plays Saturday afternoons and has done for 20 years will need a very different routine from the cricket-loving, ambitious teenager who plays every game he can and goes in the nets until it’s dark.

That’s why the good sides always have someone who makes sure everyone is as well prepared as they can be based on their specific needs.

It’s just the less serious the side, the more hidden this person is.

Working out personalities and getting the most from introverts and ego-maniacs alike.  Knowing how to drill the highly committed player.  Finding ways to sneak extra performance from the casually disinterested but talented one.

In some teams this person is the coach.

In others the responsibility falls to the captain.

In others still a senior player takes up the role.

It can be formalised as it is in school teams with a specific coach, or it can be informal with nobody specifically named.

But always in the background that person is there. Working hard to squeeze out every drop of talent and luck in the team.

We often talk about roles on PitchVision Academy. For me, this role is as crucial to the success of your team as a demon opening bowler or a big scoring batsman because he brings up everyone in the side to a level where success is possible.

Without this person you are doomed to failure.

Who is your coach?

If you are planning on succeeding as a cricket team, who is the person you rely on to get the most from you?

Are they a formal coach or is it up to the captain informally?