Cricket is a game that takes a long time to learn and even longer to master. Coaches, parents and plenty of others are on hand to help with advice for your matches. You wonder if you are the next Tendulkar or just another kid.

A lot of people say that to be a professional cricketer you need that special indefinable “x-factor”. It’s a magical trait that you either have, or not. If you don’t have it you will never get it.

Yes, of course you need something special. But there is no way this is an indefinable thing. It’s just something that is difficult to measure.

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

"I recently started coaching a talented 16 year old cricketer. He bowls with excellent consistency regularly hitting his targets (target bowling) and bowls with good pace too. However, in his bound, the student does not use his left leg to propel his body over the bowling crease but instead skips off his right leg - over the bowling crease. Would this be an example of a bowler who bowls of his wrong foot? Would it be advisable to change his action to a more conventional bowling style? Would bowling in this manner cause stress to his body resulting in injury? Please not that apart from this issue, the other basic components of his bowling process is sound."

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. 

It doesn’t matter what level you play, if you are new to PitchVision Academy it’s an intimidating place. There are over 10 books worth of articles, in excess of 8 DVDs of video and more than 60 CDs of audio; all dedicated to cricket coaching and playing.

Not every bit of content will resonate with your personal situation. You need a filter. This article aims to help you by pointing you to the important content first.

This is part of a series of introductory guides to PitchVision Academy, for the full list click here.

Most cricket is played for fun. Yes, there are many leagues and professional teams, but at the grass-roots there are millions all over the world who just use cricket as a way to stay active and enjoy a good afternoon or evening.

Ashok Dinda’s reputation is rising. He has played for India, takes wickets for fun in the IPL - despite being in a team of International stars - and has been endorsed by no less than Allan Donald.

He may not have a perfect bowling action, but he is certainly successful as a fast bowler. He can keep speeds up near 145kph and can swing the new ball. What is it you can learn from a player like this?

I put it down to two key elements. One is technical, the other is mental.

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

"For a junior cricketer, or any cricketer actually, which is most important: Technique, tactical awareness or strength and conditioning?"

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. 

PitchVision Academy has a ton of advice on how to bowl faster, but what if you are still getting it wrong? What if you still are not searing the ball down to the other end and scaring opposition batsmen?

In times like this it’s often the case that you are better off learning what NOT to do. So with that in mind, here are the 5 most common mistakes fast bowler’s make when learning the art:

Cricket nets have an inherent problem; you don’t know how far the ball has been hit or whether it would have cleared the field. That is until now; because cutting -edge cricket technology now allows you to use net space for realistic training and entertainment.

As some of you may know, the PitchVision Cricket Research Centre in Dehradun, India is a state-of-the-art test facility for cricket equipment. It includes high speed cameras, laser locators, PitchVision sensors, a huge overhead projection screen and a test team of 12 that specialise in recording and validating performance data for cricket.

Recently we had a question posted on PitchVision Academy asking this:

“I am trying to increase the speed of my bowling. I am already a keen gym goer and quite strong. I bench 150kg, deadlift 180kg and squat  170kg. So what can I do now to become faster?”

It’s a great question because, as we already know, strength is a crucial element in bowling fast.