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 House of Cards is an epic TV show following the dark exploits and political manoeuvring of US congressman Frank Underwood. It's a compelling story of power. You should watch it.
But the lessons from the show are not just for aspiring politicians. There are things batters can learn from the way Underwood understands and manipulates people to his own ends.
Because people are still people. Be they opening bowlers, or Presidential candidates.
Here is the wisdom of Underwood that you can use, or as he may say in that understated southern drawl, abuse:
"That's how you devour a whale. One bite at a time."
Early in the story, Underwood is overlooked for promotion by a new President. He quickly decides to extract political revenge and goes about gradually building a position of power. The quote above sums up his attitude to slowly moving to an unassailable position.
And as a batter, that's exactly how you eat the whale of a daddy hundred; scoring a single into the leg side, hitting the odd boundary and biding your time until the whole creature is devoured.
"Competence is such an exotic bird in these woods that I appreciate it whenever I see it."
Underwood was talking about a political analyst when he said this, but it applies to amateur cricket too. When we see a competent player we assume some kind of natural talent is at work because it is such a rare treat.
Actually, it's the result of a lot of practice. And if you want others to appreciate your competence, there is no shortcut through natural talent. You need to put in the hours in nets and in games until you are a master of the basics.
"I feel like I met the real you for the first time right now."
As part of his grand plan, Underwood took a young congressman - Peter Russo - under his wing and helped him put his failing life back on track. The key moment in this relationship is when Frank tells Peter he can see the real him after all the troubles.
for his part, Peter is galvanised. Frank has reflected his thought that he knows himself again too. That means he can become a success in his career.
The parallel with batting is simple. If you know yourself, and you understand your own game you can play to your strengths and score more runs. This is not just wishy-washy psychobabble. If you think personality has no influence on performance you have never thought that Dhoni and Cook bat differently.
"Insecurity bores me."
Speaking of personality, batting is about confidence more than any other sporting skill you can imagine. If you are not deeply confident that you can thrive in an environment where one mistake against 11 others sees the end of your participation, then you will fail.
So insecurity should utterly bore you too. You should spend every minute of training in an effort to build the most robust confidence you can build until you are soaring above others in the way you feel about your game.
"Of all the things I place in high regard, rules are not one of them."
Rules are essential in both politics and cricket. But that doesn't mean you mindlessly follow them. Therein lies thoughtlessness and lack of creativity.
As cricketers, we need to be constantly questioning and mindful because it's in the grey areas that you can make the most progress.
Does that mean breaking the rules to get what you want?
Of course not, rules exist for a reason. The spirit of cricket makes the game unique and we all play for fun as well as to win.
But playing within, and pushing right up against the boundaries of those rules is how you can get the edge. Just do it mindfully.
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Menno Gazendam is author of Spin Bowling Project. 
It's rare to see a coach these days without a fielding bat and a baseball catching mitt in the kitbag. But the mitt is a tool that can be used by all players.
