Cricket Show 274: Competition Winner

This week's winner of the Cricket Show podcast question competition is Sahabir. He wins a free coaching course from PitchVision Academy.
The winning question was:
"I play in the high schools league in New York City. We play T20 only games, so when batting we need to be hyper aggressive and play most of our shots in the air, since the grass in our playing fields are tall. They are so tall, we would need a machete to chop trough them! My problem is that when I bat, I always try to play on the ground, but the ball goes nowhere. Every time I try to hit the ball hard in the air, I chip it up in the air and get caught. Adding to my woes, is that the playing surface on our pitches are mattings, which don't bounce at all. Can you help me solve my problem?"
Listen to the panels 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.
PV/VIDEO Weekly Highlights: That's an Oopsy!

Welcome to the PV/VIDEO Digest, your highlights summary of the weeks best videos from PitchVision Interactive
You can share these videos by email or onto facebook, and post your comments right here: From serious analysis to Friday fun. Here are the top videos uploaded from PitchVision systems around the world this week.
Quick Tip: Learn Cricket from Blood Bowl

Blood Bowl is a dice and turn based board game where players compete in an American football/rugby style sport with fantasy characters like Orcs, Elves and the like. What can that possibly have to do with playing better cricket?
You'll be surprised.
Case Study: Coaching at Stirling County Cricket Club
Cricket clubs around the world are dealing with the same issues. Sometimes it's nice to see how someone else does it within those common constraints.
One example is Stirling County Cricket Club, a thriving Scottish side. I caught up with Head Coach Ian Shaw to find out how a modern coach approaches the club game.
Cricket Show 273: Competition Winner

This week's winner of the Cricket Show podcast question competition is James. He wins a free coaching course from PitchVision Academy.
The winning question was:
"I have coached for my club since I was 18 and had great success with club teams. I taken up community work on behalf of my club to strengthen links with the community and I find myself hungry to work within cricket in a permanent role. Does a decent club cricket who is an even better coach, who has gone above and beyond in his voluntary roles out of love for the game stand a chance of getting a full time coaching job in any capacity across the expanding cricket world?"
Listen to the panels 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.
PV/VIDEO Weekly Highlights: Technique vs. Results

Welcome to the PV/VIDEO Digest, your highlights summary of the weeks best videos from PitchVision Interactive
You can share these videos by email or onto facebook, and post your comments right here: From serious analysis to Friday fun. Here are the top videos uploaded from PitchVision systems around the world this week.
Quick Tip: The Player is the Master

You are not a jug.
That's not as obvious a statement as you think. A lot of players - and coaches - think that players are empty jugs, ready to be filled with the liquid of knowledge imparted by the wise master coach.
You get the right coach with the most knowledge an you can do anything. It's why we assume top class players make great coaches: they have set the example to follow.
Study Reveals How to Improve Cricket Mental Toughness
"The difference between an average cricketer and a top class cricketer is how mentally tough he is."
A recent study has looked at mental toughness through the eyes of cricketers and their coaches. The conclusions have given hope to millions of players.
The work comes from Junaid Iqbal at Leeds University, who researched the latest findings from sport psychology and combined them with experiences from coaches and players at all levels of the game.
His dissertation concluded that mental toughness underpins cricket ability at all levels, and it can be improved in anyone.
Once you know that, you are a step ahead of others still focused on technique alone.
So what does that mean from a practical standpoint?
Is There Really One Simple Change That Corrects Almost Every Bowling Technical Error?
I'll cut to the chase; there is a simple change to your bowling action that is a big hitter in fault correction.
Straighten your run up.
You see, when it comes to technique, so much that goes wrong can be traced back to an earlier point. That's why batting coaches focus on the grip and stance first, and it's why your bowling coach should look at your run up before he starts with the "business end" of the action.
Of course, a straighter run up will not fix everything, and there are exceptions to the rule. That said, there is plenty that can be done without ever worrying about 6 months of corrective drills and rebuilding your action.
So, spinner or seamer, Here are some of the things a straighter run up can correct:
Cricket Show 272: Competition Winner

This week's winner of the Cricket Show podcast question competition is Tim. He wins a free coaching course from PitchVision Academy.
The winning question was:
"I hear people saying it's tough to play test cricket. They say, you need very good skill set to play test cricket. I haven't played test cricket or first class cricket. But I've always felt that, with the field up, batsman with limited shots can excel in Test Cricket. You don't need a whole lot of shots. If you have a good defense and a few shots (cuts, cover drive etc.), you are a good Test batsman. Players like Prior excel in test cricket. But cannot score freely in ODI and T20 cricket. Because you need to have a lot of shots to be a good ODI or T20 batsman (AB De Villiers is a good example)."
"Coaches say - You need mental toughness to succeed in Test. They also say - Mentality plays a huge part in your success in tests. As I can excel in test with a few shots, if I want to be good First Class or Test batsman, should I hire a good psychologist before hiring a coach?"
Listen to the panels 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.
