Say what you like about Ravichandran Ashwin's Test credentials, but as a modern limited over bowler he has few peers.

His IPL economy rate is just over 6. No wonder he has a 0k contract. He has acheived this success at a time where off spin has become the black sheep of the spin family.

What can we learn from the young Chennai spinner to take to our own game?

The new ODI laws will continue to encourage players and coaches to develop new methods and shots to optimise scoring possibilities in the outer areas of the cricket field.

When the changes come into to your level, you're going to have worked on them already.

Here are some of the boundary fielding options for seamers and the options available to batters:

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

You will hear commentators talk about bowling in channels and lines and that good bowlers should look to bowl good lines.

This is true, but not the whole story.

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

Why would anyone prepare pitches that do not take any spin?

It's a great loss for the game when the beauty of spin bowling is neutralised by flat pitches. It is a modern day trend at the top level cricket that will hopefully change.

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

The arm ball.

Or as some like to call it, the floater.

Bowled by the off spinner to either leave the right hand batsman or come into the left handed batsman. Vice versa for the slow left arm orthodox bowler.

Look at Monty Panesar in this video bowling a beautiful arm ball to the great Sachin. You can see the shiny side on the off side in the slow motion, helping him drift it in.

Psychologist columnist Karl Stevenson discusses practical ways to understand personality to improve performance.

A watchmaker knows the size and weight of each cog in order to make a watch tick correctly.

Similarly, if each member of a team understands what makes each other tick, they can push the right buttons to get the best out of one another.

Below are three exercises that allow your team to start identifying with each other, and a great way of raising team awareness amongst a group of individuals.

This archive article was published in 2008. Republished today with an edit to bring it up to date.

Whether you aspire to play at professional level or not, there are many things you can learn from first class players.

Professional players rely on their form for a living. Without it they would be out of a job. More often than not that means they are doing everything they can to stay on top of their game. You can apply some of this determination to improve your results.

The 2012 India vs England Test series was a resounding success for the visitors.

After India won the 1st rubber by a convincing margin, Andy Flower asked for his team to be judged on the whole series. Many questioned his faith, yet Andy could see that the ingredients were beginning to come together. This is how they did it:

Gautum Gambhir is a fine batsman, but he got severe criticism from many quarters in the Test against England for being a selfish player.

When batting with the tail, Gambhir decided to play defensively scoring 6 runs in 27 balls. He combined this block with little effort to farm the strike and protect the weaker batters.

It got Shane Warne all hot and bothered.

The pitch for the 2nd Test between England and India was a raging turner. England's batsmen notoriously weak against spin while India went in with 3 spinners.

So why did India lose?

And how can you make sure your own team doesn't suffer a similar fate?

We have all been there; arriving at a pitch that seems tailor-made for your strengths. It's even better when you look at the opposition and realise they struggle in the key match-ups.