The former Middlesex bowler Simon Hughes certainly thinks so. He uniquely explains the rise of Graeme Swann from bad boy to first choice England spinner. Swann doesn't get his wickets through vicious turn and bounce. He doesn't get them through a mysterious doosra or carom ball.

Like Warne before him, all he does is put doubt in the batsman's mind.

As a bowler, particularly of spin, the more you can put doubt in a batters mind the more likely you are to get them out.

Those poor batsmen only get one chance and they know it. A single misjudgement could be all it takes to end their participation in the game. No wonder the nerves are jangling as they reach the crease and take guard. How much worse are those nerves when they have no idea how to play what is coming out of your hand.

You may say that is obvious, but knowing the simple fact and acting on it are two very different things. It's easy to keep them terrified if you are turning it square and have impeccable control of flight. What about the times when this is not happening?

It's said that Ian Botham used to take wickets by self confidence alone. Batsmen (especially Australians) were so fearful of his reputation with the ball they tensed up and played for swing that wasn't there or hit wide long hops straight to the fielder.

While club cricketers would find it hard to replicate such a fearful reputation, Swann shows that you don't need to be a superhuman player like Botham to use confidence and bluff to your advantage.

That starts with your own mindset. Confidence for some comes easier than for others. Chaps like Botham, Swann and Warne believe in themselves even when things are going wrong. The pitch might be flat and the batsman may be hitting it all over the park, but that spark of hope remains.

You may have less confidence in yourself and need to employ some simple mental tricks to keep you on track. Beefy might not have needed to consciously use visualisation and goal setting, but you may if your confidence is shaky.

Set the wrong field and bowl the wrong ball

If the batter has some doubt through your own confidence as they reach the crease you can add to it in your tactics.

A couple of tactics Shane Warne used to use was to bowl a ball down the leg side on purpose to a new batsman to give the impression it was spitting out of the rough. He would also bowl a 'set' of balls gradually moving wider until the last ball is well outside off stump and the batsman chases it.

Fields can add to this pressure. An off spinner may not need a short leg, but putting one in with a slip can lead to plenty of catches to the latter as the nervous batsman plays down the wrong line and nicks off.

The bottom line is that cricket is at least as much a mental game as much as it is a game of skill and technique. The bowler has the advantage in this area, so you might as well use it.

Image credit: castle79

Former first class cricketer turned coach Mark Atkinson returns for another guest post. Mark runs Elite Cricket Coaching in New South Wales. This article is all about keeping it simple when bowling fast medium.

When asked about his amazing success as a fast bowler at the highest level Glenn McGrath said that the complicated thing is to keep things simple! Although this sounds a bit funny there is a lot of merit to what he is saying.

Glenn McGrath's greatest strength as a fast bowler is his relentless accuracy (simple), which enables him to maximise his chances of taking wickets by directing an extremely high percentage of his deliveries at a 'top of off stump' line and length, a fact which he makes no secret of.

Bowling to this plan gives him the maximum chances of taking wickets, as this strategy allows him to capture wickets bowled, lbw and caught behind the wicket which are the most frequent ways batsmen are dismissed. In other words by executing this plan he gives the batsman lots of chances to make mistakes (which is how we are most often out!).

McGrath plays the percentages because he knows if he can be persistent in this plan he will have a very good chance of success, additionally bowling this line and length makes him very difficult for the batsman to score from as he does not give the batsman much room to work with in terms of line and length.

Glenn McGrath is managing his risk!  By sticking to this very simple plan he knows he is a good chance of getting a wicket if the batsman makes a mistake while at the same time he won't go for too many runs, which allows him to keep bowling.  It's pretty hard to take wickets if you are going for five or more runs an over! It's impossible to take wickets if you are not bowling and going at five runs an over is a great way to get taken off!

Glenn McGrath didn't bowl with amazing pace like Brett Lee, he didn't bowl with amazing variety like Andrew Symonds but he is the arguably the greatest (and simplest) fast bowler in the history of the test cricket.  He has a simple and highly effective plan that he executes with precision on a highly consistent basis. He has the technique to execute his plan which is important, as the quality of your plan will only be as good as your ability to execute it and as a developing player you must devote time to acquiring the skills to carry out your plan.

When McGrath says the complicated thing is keeping it simple, I think he means that by determinedly sticking to his simple plan instead of trying to do too much this will give him his best chance of success, as he deals with the pressures of performance such as the quality of his opponents, his age, the game situation, fatigue, the media, his emotions, holding his place in the team, desire for wickets and other things that can distract him from this plan.

• Do you have a plan?
• Do you know it in detail?
• Does your technique allow you to execute your plan?
• What skills do you need to master to better execute or enhance your plan?

If you would like coaching from Mark you can contact him via his website at elitecricket.com.au