Can you help a young spin bowler to improve?

Recently we were contacted by Jack who said:

"This season I've returned to leg spin. Occasionally I get criticised by our captain as I'm not "finishing off my action". I know that when I do, I get drift and dip, and take wickets. Could you have a quick look at my action in the attached video and see if you have any thoughts?"

This question was interesting to me because Jack didn't point out any problems he is having. Only a vague awareness that something might be wrong.

So I thought this would be an excellent challenge for the PitchVision community to discuss.

What can Jack do to improve his action?

Vaibhav has a question:

"I wonder if there is any way to practice improving reflexes against a fast bowler's release?"

There are many ways to improve your reflexes, but not many of them will make a difference against a fast bowler.

That's because the reason you are slow to pick up line and length is not the result of slow reflexes.

Think about the phone you owned 7 years ago. I'm willing to bet that it didn't do much more than be a phone.

Then the iPhone arrived.

Since then, think about how much mobile phones have progressed. They are now small computers that many people rely on to run their lives. I know I do. It's evolved fast.

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

The winning question was:

"ECB have changed the way that coaches get qualified, and I was wondering what difference this makes for someone who wants to get into coaching. I helping coach youngsters at my local club but eventually I want to coach older players, so which way is best for a coach who wants to be an “all rounder”?"

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.

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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 5 videos uploaded from PitchVision systems around the world this week.

Let's talk about "old school" coaching.

What's that?

It's high on my mind recently because of the appointment of Darren Lehmann to the Australian coach position. He has been sold in the media as the "non nonsense, straight talking" option. He's not about powerpoint presentations, an injury potential matrix or any other modern coaching term. In other words, he is old school.

A lot of people are screaming in celebration that common sense has returned to coaching.

Me, I'm not so sure.

Menno Gazendam is author of Spin Bowling Project. Get your free 8 week spin bowling course here

As part of my course, I ask readers to send in their questions. Here is one problem I got from Ihsaan that many other bowlers experience:

In a low scoring one day game, India's stand-in captain Virat Kohli, was unusually aggressive with his field settings. Is this a method you should copy?

There are certainly times when a bit of creative thinking results in unexpected fields, and results that hail you as a brilliant tactical leader.

But you need to be careful as a captain or bowler.

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

The winning question was:

"I have noticed international spin bowlers (particularly off spinners) rely heavily on the amount of top spin and dip they are able to generate. They aren't bothered with a lot of side spin and drift, is this just their personal style or is dip actually the most useful of the aerodynamics? Certainly bowling with a lot of side spin and drifting the ball will confuse the batsman more about which line to play and make him move his head, isn't that exactly what a spinner wants to achieve?"

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.

Jacques asks,

"Is it possible for your wrist to lose its flexibility when you haven't been spin bowling for a while or does it stay more or less the same with no damaging changes?"

Great question! It certainly is possible to lose flexibility.