Learn Traditional Swing Bowling with a Modern Twist from World #1s New Online Coaching Course

Every year PitchVision Academy announce the big "summer" signing; the box office superstar who has been a game changer throughout his career.

This year we are delighted that former Aussie International Nathan Bracken will show you how to become a swing bowler with the skills to run through batting line-ups.

Click here for full details.

Bracken is famous for his skills as an ODI bowler. He swings the ball in both directions, keeps it tight when under attack and takes wickets at the death with powerful variations.

He reached the World #1 ODI bowler in 2008 with his versatile talents that lay the blueprint for modern limited over bowling. It was enough to win him a lucrative IPL contract.

But it is often forgotten that he also took over 200 first-class wickets for New South Wales and Australia, proving that if you can master the art of swing, you can succeed in all formats.

It's this combination of technical skill, mental toughness and the tactical adaptability that Bracken shows you how to emulate in his courses on PitchVision Academy.

The courses will be available on 9th May 2013, and to give you a taster we will be running free preview content right up until launch day.

The courses were filmed at the famous Sydney Cricket Ground, with detailed streaming video demonstrations of techniques and drills alongside an insightful interview that taps deeply into Bracken's thinking throughout his career.

Unlike a traditional coaching manual or DVD, you can interact with others on the course, take on the advice and video tips and apply them immediately by using the included personalised worksheets.

It's a Masterclass in the truest use of "master".

Remember the course is available from 9th May. Until then, make sure you are subscribed to the PitchVision Academy newsletter for free, exclusive tips direct from Nathan Bracken's course.

Find more details at Nathan Bracken's Exclusive Swing Bowling Masterclass page here on PitchVision Academy.

This is an exclusive excerpt from Nathan Bracken's Swing Bowling Masterclass.

To me, getting the seam position right was very important. If you have control of the seam, you have a much greater control of how much you can swing the ball.

That's why I had a little friend that used to travel everywhere with me. He helped me make sure I had excellent control of the seam.

The red and white ball.

It didn't do anything complicated. Just something that worked for me; practising. Delivering as much as possible with the red and white ball, getting my fingers behind the ball.

The more you do this the more confidence and the understanding you get.

Like to me, an in-swinger felt like came off my middle finger and an out-swinger came off my index finger. It was feeling it off the fingers and knowing how it was coming out. Mabye it's different for you, but the key is to understand and groove the feeling.

You see in changing rooms, a spinner walking around with a ball spinning it. I'd walk around with my friend. I'd take it out in the centre when we'd warm up before the game. I'd take it into the nets. So it would be something I had every training session.

It's better than just a white or red ball because you can see the positions the seam in. Then you can work on having the seam up and just slowly turning it in either direction until you get that perfect swing level.

Practice, practice, practice and you get the control and understanding of the ball. That's what the art of swing is about.

Get more ways to bowl like an International swing bowler by clicking here.

Somewhere in the world right now is a cricketer panicking.

He's panicking because his season starts in two or three weeks and he has spent the winter doing anything but cricket.

He was too busy for nets, he forgot about the gym membership he paid for in January and pressure for his time comes from all sides; family, friends and work.

Maybe that guy is even you.

If it is, you're not alone. Life gets in the way of good intentions.

While you know you can't get the time back, there is some emergency last minute prep you can do to make sure you are in some shape for the first few games and you don't end up making a fool of yourself.

You could call it the 5 minute preseason panic buster. Here is what you do:

1. Make the one net you have count

Ideally you would practice every week a couple of times. You haven't done that up until now, so chances are things are not going to change over the summer and you will have a couple of nets here and there.

Make some time to have one before the first game, then do the following:

• Catching practice. Do your catching first and catch balls in the same way as you would in a game. If you know you will fine leg to mid on, don't spend half an hour working on slip catches. DO enough so you feel a little more confident because catching is as much about confidence as it is skill.
• Skill work. There is no time to make any technical changes to your game, so spend your net focusing on getting the feel back. If you bat, hit a few easy throwdowns, if you bowl look to hit your length, then get out of there before some slogger makes you feel awful about yourself.

2. Don't do any exercise

You have missed your window for physical improvement in the preseason, and most people who try to make up the difference end up overcompensating and getting injured.

You are better off with a little bit of stretching and mobility work every day and forgetting about the gym or going for a run, at least until you can find time to build up slowly.

3. Assess your strengths

One thing you do have time to do is think about how you will play. You can't suddenly make improvements, but with a bit of thought you remind yourself what brought you success in the past so you can do it again in the future.

For example, if you bat you might have a great cover drive but a weakness off your legs. So you decide to look to score through the covers and defend balls on your legs. With just two or three shots you can do very well and avoid getting stressed or cluttering your mind by trying to improve weak areas in games.

Sit down and decide your approach for the season based on your strengths.

4. Get your thinking in order

Speaking of planning, the most important thing you can do with no preseason behind you is build up your confidence. You do that by working out:

• A routine that works for you. You may feel better with a well planned pre-match routine, or a last minute dash to the ground. Whatever works best for you, stick to it.
• A method for handling mistakes. You will make errors, the way you handle them will mark out your success for the season.
• Playing under pressure. Most people don't think about how they will play under pressure but it's an important skill to understand about yourself. Think it through and come up with ways of coping with a run chase or other pressure moment.

Do some thinking and planning like this and you can mitigate some of the damage you caused by missing preseason. There is still hope for you. Good luck!

This is an exclusive preview of Swing Bowling Masterclass from Nathan Bracken

Swing bowling is about more than just tearing in and bowling as fast as you can. You need a more tactical approach.

In games you try and run the same routine and thought process from ball to ball. To me, it was understanding who I was up against. Different players played things differently.

As you walk back you think, "I'm bowling to a Herschelle Gibbs. I don't want to give him room outside off-stump, I want to stay nice and tight". Whereas you look at some other players and your line to outside off stump. For example, Paul Collingwood is going to look to try and hit on the leg side.

It's up to you as the bowler to work out the best way to bowl.

So, for the guy who is strong on his legs you try and make him hit through the off side. Make him do something different. The line you bowl changes the whole way a player plays you. If you bowl with their strength, they're going to sit back and find it easy.

Once I have decided my plan for that ball at the top of my run I just run and bowl. Have confidence in what you do and keep repeating it.

Changing plans

Sometimes you can be bowling well but the plan just isn't working. You also need to be flexible and aware enough to know when to change.

As a bowler you start to know if the bat is getting on top or he's finding it comfortable. That's when you call the captain over and say, "Hey, is it worth looking at this, is it worth looking at something else?"

Sometimes the captain says, "No, let's just keep going and see how it goes." And that can be effective sometimes. I know I've been in game situations where I've been at mid-on or mid-off, or I've been bowling and we had a little meeting, we decided to stick with it a bit longer And two balls later the plan worked perfectly.

That's a hunch thing, you can't really work that one out. But then other times you sit there and know it isn't working. You can have to confidence to say to the captain it feels too easy for the batter.

That's when you need your Plan B.

It might be you shut him down, get him up the other end and keep him away from the strike. When you look at the explosive players like a Chris Gayle it's so much safer to drop the fielder out, bowl that ball and let him get up the other end.

Just let him sit on a little bit longer that he's not facing balls, he's not hitting boundaries. He's getting that pressure building up, and then you'll get in your results that way.

So, for every batsman on the other time, work out a couple of plans and then go and make sure that you can bowl to that plan. As a swing bowler, it's your best chance of getting wickets.

Get more videos, worksheets, training tips and swing bowling advice with Nathan Bracken by clicking here.

This is a guest article from Steffan Jones.

Training on the day of a game is traditionally frowned upon coaches and players who are not aware of the benefits. But the truth is simple; the right kind of training on match day can make you a better cricketer.

Give me a moment and I'll explain why pre-game training is a great idea, and what you can do to boost your performance for your next match.

Don't exhaust, do activate

The right session before a match is not designed to tire you out.The limiting factor in most cricketers performance levels is the lack of "switching on" the brain. This type of training activates the central nervous system (CNS) which is the brain to muscle connection.

The science boffins call it "Post Activation Potentiation" (PAP). PAP has been proven to improve your muscles force and power production.

Handy for bowling fast, right?

It works by pairing a strength movement with a power movement like a bench press for upper body pushing followed by a chest pass with a medicine ball.

Most people say the effect doesn't last long enough. However from experimenting I have found that training 3 hours pre-game still amps you enough for it too positively effect your performance.

Sometimes you just have to throw the rule book out and experiment for yourself. So forget about traditional slow long runs or bike rides and get your PAP on!

PAP protocol

So how do you go about using PAP to your advantage?

You have a couple of options:

1. A main gym workout in a 3-6 hour pre-game window.
2. An add on to your normal pre-game warm up routine, done 5-10 minutes before going out onto the field.

Here are routines for both types:

3 hour pre-game activation

Routine 1. Basic level

• A1 Incline clap press ups off bench- 5 reps
• A2 MB overhead throw-5 reps/2kg Medicine ball
• A3 Vertical jumps

4-6 sets, or 20 minutes EDT style.

Routine 2. Intermediate level

• A1 Smiths machine incline bench throw-5 reps/20% max
• A2 Speed chins-3 reps or 5 secs timed /band assisted
• A3 1-arm db snatch-3 reps each arm

4-6 sets, or 20 minutes EDT style.

Routine 3. Advanced level

• A1 Weighted pull ups-1-3 reps /max weight comfortably lifted without "grinding"
• A2 Power snatch from blocks or Hang position-3 reps
• A3 Weighted ball bowling-3 reps

3-5 sets

follow your workout with the proper post-workout nutrition. I recommend Protein, carbs, creatine and BCAAs in a immediate post-workout shake, then healthy fats in a whole food meal within 2 hours.

5 minute pre-game activation

Routine 1. Basic level

• A1 Vertical jumps-5 reps
• A2 Floor clap press ups-5 reps

1 set

Routine 2. Intermediate level

• A1 Medicine ball overhead throw-5 reps/2kg
• A2 MB lying chest pass-5 reps/2kg
• A3 MB granny throw/Keg toss-5 reps/2kg

1 set

Routine 3. Advanced level

• A1 MB overhead twist, throw and follow through-5 reps/2kg
• A2 MB standing shot pass-3 reps each arm/2kg
• A3 Weighted ball bowling-2 reps/250g. 2 reps/cricket ball. 2 reps/tennis ball

1 set

Whatever you choose, I’m confident you will find the training session will benefit you. Please feel free to post your questions in the comments.

Mouseman asks,

"what should a fast bowler be thinking about before, during and after bowling the ball?"

There is a lot to think about, and no one answer to that question. However, there is a simple process you can follow to keep your mind clear of useless clutter than distracts you from bowling well.

It was told to me a while back by ace coach Stuart Barnes:

1. Clear your mind. Once the ball is dead, relax and think about anything but what just happened.
2. Review. As you get to the stumps on your walk back to your mark, think about what happened and if it went to plan or not.
3. Decide. About halfway back to your mark, based on your review, decide what ball you will try to bowl next.

Then when you run in, all you think about is the ball you are going to bowl based on your calm, rational decision made during your walk back.

After you deliver the ball, make sure you get your fielding right, whether it's catches or just getting back to the stumps for a run out. Only one the ball is dead should you go back to the process above.

You might identify other thoughts creeping in that are more emotional. Try to keep these out by refocusing on the three steps above. It's not always easy, it takes work but if you can you will have a much more rational approach to bowling.

Being a rock n roll hero is a long way from ripping through batting orders, but the American band Fountains of Wayne seem to have found a link between the two.

Specifically the track All Kinds of Time, from their third album, gives an insight into the mind of a sportsman at the peak of his performance.

You should give it a listen

When you do, you understand what it's like to be perfectly in the moment and flowing with ease as if you are in complete control of the game:

"He seems so at ease/A strange inner peace/Is all that he's feeling somehow"

That sounds a heck of a lot like the right state of mind for bowling well.

Even under the extreme sporting pressure of time running out and opponents attacking, he knows exactly what he needs to do.

And that gives him all the time he needs. Some call it flow.

So what's the Fountain's of Wayne secret to this amazing state of mind?

They boil it down to one single line:

"Just as he planned"

In coaching terms, when everything comes together we know it's the result of hard work. Talent is the sum of all the practice and planning that you do.

The stuff that never appears in the song, the stuff that leads up to that moment of sporting bliss.

Because it turns out that to have all kinds of time, you have to spend all kinds of time just on planning.

But if you do that, suddenly the external world falls away, you feel in total control and free.

You bowl your awesome game and the best part is that it feels easy. Like it's always supposed to feel.

So, next time you feel form escaping you, turn to the lessons of Fountains of Wayne, and make your bowling that much better by finding time to have all kinds of time.

The IPL seems a long way from the cricket we play. But it is the same game with the same size pitch, balls and stumps.

It's just the players are a bit better.

So there is bound to be lessons guys like Dhoni, Malinga, Pollard and Morkel can teach us. Even if we may never play at Eden Gardens in front of 60,000.

Here are 5 universal things that I think we can take into our next game, be it a friendly or a vital final:

1. It's not a batsman's game

There is an impression that bowlers are just cannon-fodder for the 8-an-over batters with giant bats. Especially in T20 where bowling a team out is rare, the value of a wicket is much lower.

Tell that to Mumbai who were 52-4 after 10 overs in the final. They clawed back to 148, which still wasn't enough, especially against a stellar Chennai batting line up.

In fact, maybe it was too stellar.

With so many powerful batters, it becomes easy for each player to assume someone else is bound to do it. 39-6 tells a story about the value of wickets.

Make sure you know yours.

2. You still need your best batters in early

Chennai had built their success on a rather old-fasioned approach: Bide your time at the top, keep wickets in hand and explode at the end. Raina, Hussey and Badrinath are specialists at keeping it ticking.

It worked well because the guy usually at the end is the finisher MS Dhoni.

It failed in the final because wickets fell too quickly, but you could also argue that sending Dhoni, the best one day man playing today, in at 7 left him with not enough partners.

it might be a cliché to say, but it's still true even in this world of detailed computer analysis; your best batsmen need to bat high enough in the order to give them time and space to win the game. Dhoni left it too late

3. Good bouncers work

Bouncers are tough to bowl. You need pace and you need accuracy, or you can end up in the bleachers. But used sparingly, it disturbs a batter in any format.

If you, or someone in your team, can bowl bouncers then it's vital to use them. Mumbai took key wickets with bouncers, one at backward short leg (yes, in T20).

The bouncer takes pace, practice and the right wicket. So don't enter it lightly, but if you can get it up to the throat you absolutely should.

4. Yorkers still work

There is no surprise that the yorker is still the number one variation. We once said that if you can hit 6 yorkers an over you can write your own cheque and it's still true.

Malinga - king of the yorker - sent Hussey back for a duck in the first over and pulled the game swingometer back towards Mumbai. Chennai never really recovered.

"Momentum" is certainly an overused word, but in a match there are moments where the game balance shifts and you can gain a psychological advantage. Those moments are very likely to be made from a yorker.

If you only have one variation, spear it in at the toes.

5. Practice more when you are winning

At PitchVision Academy, we tend to ignore player comments in the press. They are cliché-ridden nonsense 99% of the time. The facts come on the field. However, a comment from Tendulkar after the game was interesting:

"We have worked hard together. There were optional practice days because of travelling and the entire team would come and practice."

Now, saying you train hard is certainly not a new idea, but what was interesting (if it's true) is that even though Mumbai were winning games, they stepped up their training.

For most teams, it's the opposite way around, with increasing desperation for results leading to more "naughty boy nets".

But when you are going well, high on confidence and feeling in form, you have to space to improve even further. You can learn extra variation or shot.

Take advantage of your purple patch and have extra training. You never know how good you might get.

You may even win your version of the IPL!

Long jumpers don't overstep the foul line to get more distance.

Dart players don't stand closer to the board to get more accuracy.

Footballers don't practice penalties from in front of the spot.

So why is there such an "overstep-idemic" at cricket practice?

Here is a perfect example:

This bowler delivers a stump smashing delivery followed by a happy celebration. But his foot is clearly over the line. All that hard work wasted.

I've never met a coach who endorses over stepping in practice.

I've never met a bowler who can defend the practice beyond saying "I don't bowl them in games".

To those guys I simply ask, if you don't bowl them in games, why in heck would you practice doing it?

It seems so logical and clear to everyone that it's a no-brainer.

Yet, I bet you right now, somewhere in the world, a bowler is bowling a no ball in a net.

Lazy practice means lazy execution

So, if there is no mindful reason to bowl a no ball in practice there is only one answer.

Sheer laziness: You can't be bothered to mark your run.

You wonder what the point is as there is no umpire and a batter is waiting for you to bowl. Your teammates might even jeer at you for taking things too seriously and to get on with it.

Besides, you never bowl no balls in games.

Do you?

Let's say you (or those you coach) never bowl a no ball in a game. Staying behind the line in practice is still the right thing to do. It shows you pay attention to detail. It gives you mindfulness and focus on getting things right.

How many top level players do you imagine were lazy? Of the ones who were lazy, how many achieved their full potential?

Defaulting to a no ball is a marker. A marker of someone who doesn't care enough about doing well to even spend a minute marking a run up.

Don't be that guy.

Stay behind the line.

Is there really any reason to bowl no balls in practice? With technology like PitchVision you can track everything, even when there isn't an umpire there. There is every reason to find a solution, and no reason to keep doing it.

I'd love to hear your comments in the comments box.

This is a guest article from former professional bowler, and current Strength, Conditioning and Fast Bowling Coach Steffan Jones.

There is no doubt in my mind that most fast bowlers ignore the best training method that exists for improving pace.

Today we can break that trend.

I remember in 1999 I was was at the start of my career and was searching for that X-factor that would help me add pace onto my bowling. I was currently being clocked at 78mph. In county cricket that is neither here nor there.

I needed more.

Then I discovered a programme from Alan Pearson, owner of SAQ International. 12 week's of training that I had never tried before.

What happened next was unbelievable. I built myself into one of the quickest on the county circuit. I put on between 8-10mph of pace. I was clocked at 89.9mph at the Lords C&G Final in 2001 after two successive winters of "Arm Speed" training.

That's when I realised this stuff works. I knew when I went into strength and conditioning that it would become part of my method for developing other fast bowlers.

It's called Over-weight and Under-weight ball bowling (OU). And it's exactly how it sounds. You bowl a heavier ball, then a lighter ball, then a cricket ball.

Train fast, bowl fast

The key to OU is a natural reaction in the body called "post-activation potentiation" (PAP). The explosive capability of a muscle is enhanced after it's been forced to perform maximal or near-maximal contractions.

Or in English; you train fast to bowl fast.

Yuri Verkhoshansky, the Russian sports scientist, would describe PAP by asking you to imagine what would happen if you lifted a half-full can of water when you thought the can was full. There'd be a mismatch between your perception of the force needed to move the can, and the actual force required. The can would move twice as fast as you intended.

And you can only hope someone else will clean up the mess you make.

With PAP your nervous system supercharges itself by throwing more motor units - muscle fibers and the nerves that activate them - into the job.

You are "taking off the brakes" that inhibit an expression of all out power. Think of OU Training as "Specific Resistance Training" - a bridge between the gym and the nets - employed to increase power.

But don't think of this a new, untested method. It may be underused in cricket but research involving overload training has been going on for decades. Research involving baseball training dates back to the 1960s. In the 1970s, due to the success of the Soviet Union and East-European track and field teams, Shot-putters, javelin, discus and hammer throwers all adopted the methods. Research has been published in prestigious, peer-reviewed journals around the world.

Effect on your bowling action

Many coaches are afraid of experimenting with this training method because it’s perceived to negatively affect timing and biomechanics.

It may do over enough time, but the most I would prescribe in a session is 7 sets of 6 reps of various weighted ball, 3 times a week.

That's 43 balls per session.

Hardly enough to damage the technique of a bowler who sends far more time with a normal sized cricket ball.

OU ball training is a must in a yearly plan. It should be used in the winter before pre-season. You never change the timing because there is a mix of balls used, including a normal ball.

Even then, the amount you bowl in nets with a normal ball far outweighs the amount of reps you bowl with a weighted ball.

If you alternate these heavy ball and normal ball days, I can tell you now, as a coach to amateurs and pros, and as a player who still uses the method and have done for 14 years it has no effect on timing or your action.

OU ball bowling forms the basis of The "pre-competition" phase of your winter program. This is where training becomes even more sport-specific just before the season begins.

How heavy should the ball be?

According to published data the ideal weight range for conditioning and performance enhancement is 20% more or less the weight of the competitive implement (in cricket, that's the ball). I do not agree with this because the contrast is not enough. To bowl a ball weighing 180g is hardly any different to bowling a 156g ball.

There is some data that indicates using much heavier balls can negatively affect throwing mechanics, possibly leading to arm problems. Extra motor-units are recruited while throwing/bowling these heavy balls that are then not used when the regular competitive ball is used. I’ve yet to witness this and I confidently prescribe balls weighing up to 400g as a heavy contrast bowl.

The best and most effective contrast I’ve found is a 250g ball, 200g ball and a 140g ball. All bowled for 2 reps.

The results are awesome.

The key thing to remember is to build up to this weight like you would any barbell or dumbbell exercise. Think of it more like a gym session than a net session where purpose is to become stronger and more powerful.

Learning the art and technical mastery of bowling occurs in another session. Don’t confuse the brain. Both are essential, one can't work without the other, but train them on different days.

Reach your potential

So how fast can you bowl with OU on your side?

I'm not saying it will turn you into a 100mph bowler but it will definitely add pace onto your bowling.

I believe there is a ceiling that limits your bowling. Your body can’t cope with any more added strain. However, 90% of the bowling population have not reached this ceiling.

The correct training methods using high intensity OU ball bowling training will make sure you reach your potential as a pace bowler.

Whatever your natural bowling speed is, more speed is always more effective.

Speed will always dominate. So get out there are start reaching your potential.

For more Steffan Jones training advice and programs, click here.

This is a guest article from Steffan Jones

As you already know, there is no one type of fast bowler, but they all have one thing in common: all fast bowlers want to bowl faster.

So although the goal is the same, the way to reach that goal varies depending on the type of bowler. Training the right way for your type makes a huge difference to your performance.

When it comes to training there are 3 types of bowler:

1. Muscular and Effort (Static)
2. Ballistic (Spring)
3. Rhythmical and Lever

These bowler types can be placed on a continuum.

At the static end of the continuum, bowlers ‘muscle’ the ball down. They tend to be good weight trainers and spend a lot of time lifting some tin.

Getting stronger will help these guys a bit, but getting more spring by focusing on arm speed will definitely increase their bowling speed.

At the spring end of the continuum, bowlers have genuine fast arm speed. So doing a lot of arm speed work is overkill. They already have it! These bowlers would improve by increasing their maximal strength alone.

The third category bowlers are fortunate to be blessed with long arms and legs. They have great leavers and a mix of training methods will help them.

As you can see, there is definitely not a 'one size fits all training program for fast bowlers.

The science bit, or why this works

Let me explain why this works in more detail.

When a cricketer bowls a ball, his central nervous system (CNS) relays a message to the peripheral nervous system, which calls into action the appropriate muscle fibres to get the job done. This voluntary action constitutes the static part on the continuum. The more trained you become, the better you are able to recruit muscle fibres.

On the other end of the continuum we have THE spring athlete. The spring end of the continuum can be regarded as involuntary. these players have excellent reactive ability, meaning that the more force he takes in, the more force he’ll put out!

Every time a muscle lengthens the muscle stores energy like an elastic band. This energy is then used when the muscle shortens. Learning to use this action as a bowler is key to increasing your bowling speed.

So, before you start lying on the Bench to perform a bench press - incline bench is a better option by the way - take a minute to think.

Would you benefit more from doing clap push ups or other plyometric activity? It depends where you are on the continuum.

Make sure you know which end of the continuum you sit. Make sure you know what training method will improve your recruitment and the effective utilisation of your muscles.

Pre-match warm ups at the grass-roots level have transformed in recent years, but how would you like an often missed yet simple upgrade to get you more wickets?

Coaches and players spend time making sure the warm up is specific to the game. Batters get their eye in, bowlers bowl at targets and everyone catches, stops and throws balls. It's great stuff.

The problem occurs when the captain comes back from the toss to announce the team is batting, and the bowlers head of to put their feet up. Runs are scored and at the innings break we have some food to refuel. But it's rare to so this time used by the bowlers.

The warm up is long gone. You may have been sitting about for almost three hours if you have not batted. Unless you are a wily old campaigner, how are you going to get through your spell without some looseners?

So instead of an extra cake or cup of tea, the bowlers should spend 5-10 minutes getting ready to bowl.

Get the stump out

There isn't time for a full warm up, but a couple of stumps is all you need. Mark out 22 yards on the outfield and rope in the keeper or coach to catch the ball. You have halftime bowling all set up.

Extra bonus points are awarded to having some flat marker discs or PV/ONE to use as a target for a length ball, bouncer and yorker. If you have more stumps you can set up two areas and split up the bowlers (spinners and seamers for example).

The aim here is to get into rhythm for bowling and the way you do that is to build up.

• A general mobilisation and activation if you have time (glutes, shoulders, core and t-spine are the places to focus)
• Walk through your action
• Jog through your action
• Deliver from the full run up

How many balls you ball depends on the time available, the number of bowlers and the individual needs of the bowler. Some guys need to bowl a lot of balls to feel in rhythm and 10 minutes will never be enough time. Other guys can hit the spot after one ball. They should spend more time on quick injury prevention work.

Lose the looseners

With a small bit of effort, the halftime bowling drill reduce the number of poor balls you bowl, especially at the start of a spell. It works not only by physically warming you up, but also mentally preparing you for the task that you will be required in the next couple of hours.

Graeme Swann described Stuart Broad as "hot as the surface of the sun" at Durham after his match-winning 11 wicket Ashes haul.

So how did Broad do it, what happened to give him such an edge in the match? And what lessons can we learn from it.

1. Shifting length

Broady used to be fixated with back of a length bowling. His line is generally immaculate, yet too many balls would fly through harmlessly to Matt Prior.

At Durham, Broad hit a fuller length on a more regular basis and this bought the stumps and edge into the game.

5 of his wickets in the 2nd innings were LBW or bowled demonstrating the adjustment he made from Old Trafford.

2. Working in your change up ball

When Broady changed his length he tended to go to a committed bouncer: Very Glen McGrath-like.

This is a great combination ball when the ball is swinging as it will prevent the batter from simply pushing forward every ball.

The ball to get Smith out was a bonus. Broad delivered it to take Smith's feet and decision making away from him yet picked up a bonus wicket through his surprise element.

If you have no bouncer to club up with your length ball, then push your point to deep point and slide in a wider, away swinging half volley. The batter will be tempted and the slips/keeper will be waiting.

If he nails it then there is a good chance it will only be a single to your deep point.

3. Recognise the times to bowl at top pace

During my time around Test cricket, I noticed how quality fast bowlers chose the time to maximise their pace and other times to sit into a spell at a lesser pace.

Zaheer Khan was a master of this. He would bowl at 75-78mph when the ball was not swinging and as soon as it did Zaheers pace would rise to 83-85mph to capitalise on the changing ball condition.

On Monday, Tim Bresnan started to get the ball to reverse a little, something that the commentators felt would not happen as the outfield and square were green and lush. Yet the ball did start to tail as a result of getting old and battered.

Broad noticed this and his pace rose from 83mph to 91mph. The swing started to increase and the reaction time of the batter started to decrease.

The lead up to Michael Clarke's dismissal was textbook. Reaching top pace, hitting the length that brings the stumps into play and the off stump rocked back!

Learn to hold your pace at a manageable level when the ball is not moving laterally so you can build pressure through dots.

Then have the capacity to increase your pace when the ball is swinging conventionally or through reverse/contrast swing.

Master this and you will be a bowler for all conditions. Just like Stuart Broad.

Phil sent in a question and, frankly, it's one I thought the PitchVision readers would be able to help.

Here it is:

"Having played league cricket 26 years and taken a wicket or two, I have now moved city. The ground where I now play is very open and there is a strong breeze blowing from left to right. As an away swing bowler I have quickly accepted that I cannot swing it away to a right-hander when the wind is blowing across. Is this incorrect of me? Of course, I would assume a high class swing bowler would have no trouble but I am unsure whether it is possible or not"

So, what do you think?

My opinion is that local knowledge is crucial here. Certainly by the sounds of it, Phil is fighting a losing battle against the force of the wind.

However, swing bowling is as much an art as it is a science. That means sometimes things happen that make no sense and the ball will swing into the wind.

There are a lot of moving parts to consider:

• the ball quality and condition
• the bowler's pace and action
• the speed of the wind
• the type of wind (gusty or consistent)
• Angle of the seam

If other factors fall into place then I would never rule out swinging it away before you have bowled a ball.

So, Phil is best trying to swing it away to see what happens. Experiment with the pace bowled, seam position and length of delivery. See what happens.

If the ball doesn't deviate then it's time to go to plan B. Perhaps bowling wide outside off stump to a 6/3 or 7/2 field.

But them, I'm not a swing bowler who has to struggle with the wind. Maybe you are, so is it a lost cause for Phil?

Leave a comment and let us know your experiences.

Target bowling is one of the most used drills by bowlers to improve accuracy: Lay cones on a length, try to hit them, track you progress.

However, an often overlooked aspect of target practice is where you focus.

There are many options, but when the coach tells you to "look where you want the ball to pitch" he or she is not giving you the whole story.

According to research, less than half of all bowlers need to look at the target as they are bowling. In short, not everyone needs to look on the pitch.

It may well be making you a less accurate bowler if you follow the standard advice.

Fortunately, there is an area of focus for everyone. So with experimentation you can find out what works best for you. Here are the options:

1. Look at the place on the wicket you want the ball to pitch.
2. Look in the general area you want the ball to pitch.
3. Look at the stumps.
4. Try to hit the wicketkeeper's gloves.
5. Look at the batsman.
6. Run in trying to take in the whole environment.

Each one of these moves slowly from a narrow focus (looking at the spot on the pitch) to a wide focus (taking in everything). It's a continuum of focus where only you can know the place that is best for you.

So while you work it out, start with a narrow focus and bowl 10-20 balls, then move to slowly towards a broad focus, bowling balls and seeing which method works.

The key here is experimentation as one size doesn't fit all. It might take a few weeks of playing about to find your sweet spot. It's worth the effort. When you are using the right focus you can see your accuracy results in practice and in matches shoot up.

Wickets are sure to follow.

image credit: Sarah Canterbury

Picture the typical fast bowler personality. You are probably thinking of an angry, red-faced man with a face full of bristling moustache. He is bent on everything short of murder and not short of a few choice words or a bouncer aimed straight at your teeth.

But what if you have a bit of fast bowling talent without the aggressive personality?

Can you ever be a success as a quickie?

It's more common than you think. We have such a bowler at our club. He is tall and strong. Genuinely quick for non-professional level cricket, he can extract a bouncer or rising back of a length ball from all but the slowest of pitches. That is a rare talent in a world of medium pace dobblers and darting spinners.

He is also the sweetest, most generous inoffensive young man you are ever likely to meet. The most aggressive sledge he came up with this summer was telling a batsman who struggled to play him that his efforts were "not acceptable".

I'm sure you have come across someone similar. You may even be that not-so-nasty fasty.

The good news is that you can be a nice guy and still bowl fast.

Work on your "white line fever"

You may not have the fire-breathing fury of Dale Steyn, but you can learn ways to be more nasty on the field without changing who you are off the field.

In other words, fake it until you make it.

It's a well established self-improvement method to force yourself to do something every day for a month until it becomes habit. So force yourself, for 30 games, to try something more aggressive. You don't have to suddenly change everything, but pick a thing you think you can do:

• Stare at the batsman when he plays and misses
• Think about sending the stumps cartwheeling rather than just trying to hit a length
• Decide you are going to push the keeper back a pace or two with your speed
• Imagine the batsman said hurtful things about your mother

When the innings is over, you can go back to being the guy that girls take home to mother. Until then, you are after blood and are insulted by the batsman surviving more than 2 balls.

Be a ninja: The silent killer

Of course, you don't have to shout and scream to be nasty. Michael Holding famously said very little. He let his 95mph thunderbolts do most of the talking.

But his approach was still very aggressive. He was simply calculating with it. The "red mist" bowler attempts a barrage of short balls because he wants to cause damage. The ninja fast bowler, like Holding, bowls 3 short balls followed by a yorker.

Goodnight Vienna.

You can trust that the batsman walking out will pass on his shell shock to the next few coming in. Make the next guy wait. Stand at your mark and stare him down. Build up his tension and let him be afraid of what is next. It's all drama and you have not said a word or even bowled a ball to the new guy. Reputation precedes you.

You can let the ball show what a nasty bowler you are, as long as you have the right attitude: Aggression is just a tactic to exploit to get results.

Being true to yourself is a powerful weapon

These tactics can be effective, but only if you know the overarching truth...

A bowler who understands himself can match tactics to his personality. This is crucial because the wrong tactic just will not work. The extrovert is different from the introvert. The neurotic doesn't have the same approach as the emotionally stable.

Learn to bowl with your personality and the rest looks after itself.

That's easy to say but very difficult to work out. It takes years and some players have finished playing before they really get to "who they are". So take your time, play with methods and keep going until you have built up confidence in your game.

Eventually you will, and only then will you truly be the nice guy who finishes first.

image credit: barryskeates

It's common in cricket journalism to say that an inexperienced bowling attack cannot maintain pressure. That's exactly the analysis of England against Australia in the third ODI.

Is this double-speak for "bad bowling", or is there something more to the idea that experience improves your ability to tie batsmen down in the middle overs of a limited overs?

The critics argue that experience makes no difference. If you have a repeatable action, you can bowl good line and length and yorkers at the death, you have all the skill you need.

Personally, I think experience has a huge influence, but it is not obvious at first glance.

The key to the power of experience in bowling is linked to a skill that batsmen are desperate to develop: picking line and length.

Picking line and length: Not just for batsmen

One of the most important differences between elite batsmen and lesser players is their ability to pick line and length. It's a topic that we have discussed often on PitchVision Academy, and have even sought out the advice of one of the best shot selectors of all time, Michael Bevan.

With much practice, the batter learns to subconsciously read the signals from the bowler and respond to the bowler, rather than wait to pick up the ball from the hand.

But experienced bowlers also have a version of this ability.

If you talk to a bowler who has played from many years, he will confidently speak about a 6th sense: The ability to know what a batsman is about to do based on some kind of a hunch. He just "feels" something is about to happen.

Except, it's not really a hunch at all. It's the result of years of experience of bowling to batsmen and learning how they react in any given situation.

Sure, there are variations of reaction, like there are variations in bowling cues and clues, but the more you bowl, the better you get at reading the reaction before it even happens.

Use experience to maintain the stranglehold

The experienced bowler senses this, knows what to bowl next and how to change the field accordingly.

The wild swing to leg countered by 5th stump away swinger, the sweep countered by a fuller, quicker ball that slides straight on, or the batsman with fast footwork set up for a leg side stumping by bowling wide down the leg side.

These tactics are all logical and simple and a bowler of any experience can come up with the idea.

The difference is that the experienced bowler knows exactly when to bowl the right ball based on the batsman's reactions.

When you are skilful at this, you are much more able to tie down good batsmen in limited over cricket based on your hunches.

Sometimes, simple is effective too

All that said, experience is just one factor. The better the player you are bowling at, the more you need experience to counter his skills.

However, sometimes you will be in a situation where you don't need to be clever at all. You can bowl an over at the top of off stump and walk away with a maiden no matter who is at the other end.

You can bowl an over of yorkers and go for 5 runs or less at the death.

So there is no need to try and get too cute with experience. Simply try to bowl well, work on your accuracy with deliberate practice and develop a useful variation. This will see you well.

But also bowl a lot in matches, and mindfully try to learn how batsmen handle the pressure you build. As you move up in experience - you get the "aha" moments of your career - you will find that your ability to tie batsmen down improves.

Khalique dropped me an email recently for some advice on his bowling. I thought you might be able to give him some tips. Leave a comment and let us know.

"I am struggling with my pace: I had good pace with natural in swing but now during the last 3 years it has all gone. I am 6.3" tall and 68kg in weight. kindly help me to get my pace back and bowl like a fast bowler."

We have spoken a lot about bowling fast, from the action to fitness to mental approach. So I thought it was time to see if you can add to the suggestion pile, and also help Khalique reach the goal that many site readers also desire: searing, destructive pace.

Here are videos he sent in:

and here are a couple of stills to help you out:

I have a couple of thoughts, but first; what do you think?

How can Khalique up his pace?

All suggestions are welcome from the obvious technical pointers to things from left field. Leave a comment and let us know.

It's well documented that Zaheer Khan returned to fitness in 2013 by attending a "performance camp" in France. What can you learn from how Zaheer did it to help you improve your bowling stamina?

The exciting part for me is that he did it without the old fashioned mantra of "putting miles in your legs" and jogging. That's not to say he needed a lot of special expensive gear either. Everything the paceman did is simple to recreate at home, in the gym or even in the nets.

In fact, it's a great overall plan for any fast bowler who wants to bowl longer spells and come back for second and third times with equal fire. So lets take a look at what he did:

Bowling Stamina Tip #1: Get Committed

I don't know Zaheer Khan personally, but I do know people. I have seen cricketers transform themselves by making a big shift in attitude. You can see that with Zaheer clearly: You don't fly across the world to train unless you are serious about improving.

For most, this is the biggest hurdle to overcome. You want to improve. You make a plan. Then life gets in the way and you find you can't stick with it. So you give up and feel like a failure. This negative cycle stops even the best of intentions dead.

A practical way to deal with this is to stop it happening in the first place. Make sure your plans are realistic and achievable (like all good goal setting) and take some time to establish a routine that integrates your plan into your life. This can take a month or more, so cut yourself some slack if you fail a couple of times.

With your new found steely determination, you can move onto the more practical elements of boosting stamina.

Bowling Stamina Tip #2: Get Lean

Fast bowlers don't need to have low levels of body fat, but the more you carry the more dead weight you are lugging around, so it makes sense to get lean while staying healthy.

The fastest way to do this is through diet.

Zaheer's approach was to cut back on the starchy carbs like pasta and rice while stocking up on lean protein, especially from fish, combined with lots of vegetables. It's hard to argue with this approach as a strategy for losing body fat, and it worked for Zaheer.

Many argue that increased stamina comes from "loading" or extra carbs. This is true for long distance endurance events, but for the stop-start nature of cricket it encourages extra calories and therefore more fat. It's more sensible to balance your carbs.

Bowling Stamina Tip #3: Get Strong

Meanwhile, in the gym, Zak avoided the treadmill. Instead he focused on training that would make him stronger, more resistant to injury and more able to overcome the fatigue of a long bowling spell.

The regime was based on weight training (not bodybuilding which is also counter-productive). The focus was on raw strength in "big" lifts like squats and deadlifts. This was combined with exercises to strengthen the core across all the ways it can move (or to be more accurate, resist movement).

Bowling Stamina Tip #4: Get Powerful

Strength was the base, but strength alone does not translate perfectly to more stamina on the pitch. To do that Zaheer also needed to improve his power. The goal was not to increase his pace, but to allow him to maintain his existing pace while keeeping his mind clear and focused for plotting batsmen's downfall.

So, he would jump onto boxes, throw medicine balls and sprint: powerful movements that have similar effects on the body to bowling. His body learned to recover between bouts quickly, just like it would have to do between overs and spells in the middle.

And this is one of the secrets of good training for bowlers: You don't have to see the differences (like you do when you lose weight) you can feel them when you are in the middle. No one else may notice, but they will see you coming back stronger and longer, even if they don't realise it's your gym work behind the change.

If you want new-found stamina like Zaheer Khan, I can strongly recommend his training regime.

Ian Pont has launched the Ultimate Pace Foundation in Bangalore: The chance for any Indian fast bowler to learn how to bowl faster. Ian explains why he set up his fast bowling academy, and how to join.

Every fast bowler would take an extra yard of pace.

Yet, India has not produced genuine fast bowlers. There is no genetic or physical reason for this. The only thing it can be is that young bowlers are not encouraged to bowl straight and fast like in Pakistan.

That's what I want to change at the Ultimate Pace Foundation.

I want Indian bowlers to come and take their chance to become a fast bowler. I want to have bowlers who have a heart for bowling fast. I want to break the tradition of being satisfied with being a trundler.

Bowl like Steyn, not Kumar

The youngsters that I speak to around India all idolise bowlers like Dale Steyn, Brett Lee and Shaun Tait.

No-one wants to be Kumar or Sharma.

They all want to be Kohli or Tendulkar with the bat, but nobody wants to be an Indian bowler. They don't have anyone to look up to like in Pakistan where you fall over three fast bowler's walking to the shop. The difference is expectation.

At the moment cricketers are destroyed by the 40 year history of being told they can't bowl fast. They think they need to slow down to be accurate. You don't see coaches in India tell bowlers to try and hit batsmen on the head. You can see how effective fast, short bowling has been on English batsmen during the Ashes.

Hitting line and length is fine, but why not hit it 20kph faster?

Most coaches tend to say "I would rather you hit your length at 120kph than miss it at 145kph". I wouldn't: I rather you bowled at 155!

That way, when you get it right you destroy teams. It takes a lifetime to prove you are accurate, but it takes one ball to prove you are quick. The West Indies of the 1970s dominated the world for 15 years with that strategy. Pace is king.

What with increasing restrictions on bowlers in cricket, speed is the one area where there is no limitation. Use that fact to your advantage.

You can learn the attitudes and secrets of how to bowl faster at the Ultimate Pace Foundation; my 7 day fast bowling academy that will set you up for a lifetime of pace bowling.

The facility we are using in Bangalore is ideal for fast bowlers. You can wear spikes in the nets, and the monsoon rains tend to stay away. That means it's cricket all year round. And fast bowling at maximum pace.

Click here to take your one chance and become a cricketer.