Scoring runs is at the very heart of winning cricket matches. How do the professionals do it?

PitchVision Academy and 3 times World Cup coach Ian Pont shares with you the secrets of how to score more runs aggressively while keeping the percentages in your favour.

You can put these tips into action right away:

1. Pick your bat up high with your hands

Craig Wright, Scotland’s most capped player, captained over 100 times for his country. He is still captaining today with Watsonian CC.

When I was in Scotland I took the chance to examine his tactics and methods in the field and learn from someone with unrivalled experience as a skipper.

This is the blueprint of the limited over game against Grange CC.

How would you have managed the game as captain?

We might think of it as a bold and innovative IPL-style tactic, but spinners have been opening the effectively bowling for years. Yet it’s still under-used in club cricket.

In my mind there is a place for defying convention and opening with spin. You just have to know who, when and how.

So, as a spinner, when might you be called on to bowl the first over of the innings?

Former England batsman Graeme Gooch is known for advising players to score “daddy” hundreds: When you get your eye in, take the chance and score very big.

It’s sound advice that as a coach you have no doubt given to players. Yet the way we practice is the opposite of the way we score big runs. It’s no wonder player’s score a pretty 25 and get out to a lazy shot.

Ask any club captain and one of the first things he will bemoan about his team is the lack of ability to rotate the strike.

Sure, decent batsmen put the bad ball away. It’s not so easy when the pitch is tricky, the bowling is tight and the field is set to squeeze. The run rate drops and you find it difficult to set a total.

It doesn’t matter what sort of cricket you play: Clubs the world over face the same problems and are looking for solutions.

Take Watsonian; the PitchVision Academy adopted club. The side are the top of the league cricket tree. They have aspiring professionals and play at well maintained grounds. Yet when I visited the club I discovered that they have as many problems to handle as anyone else.

This article is part of a series designed to show you how to adapt cricket drills for your needs. To see the full list of articles in this series click here.

Traditionalists breathe a sigh of relief: Modern training methods for developing fast and agile cricketers are a waste of time. We should be fielding instead.

You have a vital job as head of the colts section at your club.

Every club is battling for survival; including yours. Even the finest players have to retire. Without a conveyor belt of youngsters coming through your club will die.

The best way to handle the pressure is to keep calm and carry on with these ways to keep your club alive:

Focus on fun

This article is part of "The complete guide to cricket field settings" series.

Who can resist something for free?

I have a problem. With your help I can solve it, so read on and leave a comment in the comments box with your field.

As a little incentive, the best field will win the prize of an online coaching course from our library at PitchVision Academy.

What is the best field for a slow left arm bowler in a club league match?