The art of spin bowling takes years to master. That's a lot of overs in the nets and in the middle.

One of the fastest shortcuts to taking more wickets as a spinner is often overlooked: Practice with your wicketkeeper.

Keeper can be just as flummoxed by a decent spinner as a club batsman can. The more you practice with your keeper, the better they will get at learning your own particular variations, limitations and way of bowling.

That means the keeper will be more likely to get those stumpings and catches you have worked so hard to tease from the batsmen.

Here are some recommendations to improve your practice between keeper and spinner:

• In the club nets, have a spin net with the keeper in there.
• Find some time during practice to go to one side together. Spend half the time doing keeping drills, the other half doing spin bowling drills.
• Talk to each other off the field, get to know each others personality and strategies. This way you will get to know what the other is thinking and start to second guess each other in the middle.
• Don't be afraid to constructively criticise each other in practice. You many not have an intricate knowledge of the others art, but you can offer suggestions from your own point of view.
• Practice together at every available chance you get. Then do some more.

A spinner and wicketkeeper working in harmony is a critical part of their success. Don't miss the chance to improve your working relationship.