It’s a mantra as old as overarm bowling: Put the ball on a good length for long enough and you will get your rewards. But in a world of slower balls, bouncers and inswinging yorkers, it’s an ideal we have forgotten.

Take Stuart Broad as an example. The England bowler spent a long time trying to work out what kind of role he had. Was he the enforcer; there to bowl bouncers and scare batsmen? Was he a line and length man; using swing and seam movement? How did this role change between formats, if at all?

This week’s winner of the Cricket Show podcast question competition is Mohan. He wins a free coaching course from PitchVision Academy.

"What is the difference between an offcutter and inswinger, as well as legcutter and outswinger? How can we pick inswing and outswing from bowlers hand?"

Listen to the panel’s answer to his question here.

To enter your own question for the chance to win your choice of online coaching course send your questions in here. 

There is a simple shorthand for what defines a good coach: reputation is everything. We look at a player’s first-class or International record and that helps us decide if we should follow his advice.

But you wouldn’t go to the dentist of you had a broken leg. So why go to a former player to fix your broken technique?

Of course, experience goes a long way but coaching cricket is a completely different set of skills than playing.

It doesn’t matter how good a coach you have, because when you cross the white line it’s all down to you. No coach can play for you. You have to learn to understand your own game because you can adapt to the changes proposed by your coaches.

But in today's cricket world, a keen self-understanding is uncommon.

Meanwhile in the academic world the opposite is true.  Schools and Universities specialise in teaching skills then measuring how well you have learned through exams and coursework.

Back in the good old days if you got a good length ball on off stump you dutifully played a forward defence, respected the bowler and waited patiently for a half volley to drive.

Tell that to Sehwag, McCullum or Warner; aggressive IPL superstars who are happy putting a length ball into the stands, even if it’s in the third over.

Karl Stevenson is a sports psychologist, who has been researching the ins and outs of anticipation and decision making skill in cricket batting. He has worked with top-flight county teams as well as teaming up with the ECB.

In a recent interview, we got some tips from the lab that can be used on the pitch:

This week’s winner of the Cricket Show podcast question competition is Naveen. He wins a free coaching course from PitchVision Academy.

"While playing in Twenty20, What do you think should be role of the top order? Should they go after the bowling initially even if it requires taking chances or should they wait for the bowlers to bowl loose deliveries and give the team a steady start?"

Listen to the panel’s answer to his question here.

To enter your own question for the chance to win your choice of online coaching course send your questions in here. 

Imagine opening the batting for Kings XI Punjab in Mohali. The opposition is Deccan Chargers and standing at the end of his run is no less that Dale Steyn; one of the world’s most destructive pacemen.

It’s fair to say your heart would be racing. That’s a situation experienced by 20 year old Punjab opener Mandeep Singh. Yet despite the pressure, the pace and fear he is flourishing. Many critics have him on the fast-track to becoming India’s next big thing.

From Harbhajan Singh to Dale Steyn, IPL 2012 has been littered with examples of cricketers pushing the Spirit of Cricket to its limits. The offenders will say it’s just passion over-spilling, but do you need a bad boy to succeed at your level?

The example of Harbhajan Singh is a good one to examine. The Mumbai Indian’s skipper argued for several minutes with the umpire, eventually forcing him to review his decision.

This week’s winner of the Cricket Show podcast question competition is Varun. He wins a free coaching course from PitchVision Academy.

"I want to improve my fielding standards but problem is that a league has just started in our city and is going to continue for a month. As a result , we are not able to do any fielding drills (the ground remains occupied for the whole day). We have to settle for just the net practice.Any tips and drills which i can do on my own to take my fielding standards to another level?"

Listen to the panel’s answer to his question here.

To enter your own question for the chance to win your choice of online coaching course send your questions in here.