Everyone wants to finish their season with some strong performances so they can w̶a̶l̶l̶o̶w̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶n̶o̶s̶t̶a̶l̶g̶i̶a̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶l̶o̶n̶g̶ ̶w̶i̶n̶t̶e̶r̶ ̶p̶e̶r̶i̶o̶d̶ help their side complete their targets.

I know that many of your players will feel that this is completely out of their reach as they are stuck in a mid-season slump with the ball or the bat. Without intervention, a player relies on luck to get them back into form yet with appropriate mental and technical a player can be back on track for a late season purple patch.

Here are some mental tips that have worked for me with players as they go from slump to superstar.

Has your coach ever said something to you that you don't quite get?

Don't you feel like you are missing out because you can't decode it?

You are not alone.

Improving your game, or simply not getting worse is a matter of focus. You do the right practice and it pays off, that much is well established.

So how can 2 emails help with this?

Club, school and academy players are prone to "spinning the wheels". I'm sure you can recall a time where your practice was simply running in and bowling in an aimless way, followed by a bit of a 5 minute hit. It's mindless and unfocused.

To cut this out and stay totally focused, send the coach (or captain, or even yourself) 2 emails.

Protein will help your cricket.

It's not as important as technical ability, physical fitness and tactical nous, but it has a role. As you are going to eat protein anyway, you may as well make the most of what it can do for you on the pitch.

The good news is that it's not difficult.

There's no weighing of chicken breasts and measuring out macro nutrient breakdowns. Sure, you can do those things if you have a specific reason. For the average cricketer you simply need to dial into the basics and get on with playing God's own game.

Here is a quick and dirty summary of the stuff you need to know about protein for cricket.

Closing date: 11th Spetember 2014

New Zealand Cricket is looking for expressions of interest for the role of Team Physiotherapist with the Wellington Cricket men’s team (Firebirds). 

Closing date: 10th September 2014

Fixed-term role - 5 months

Cricket is New Zealand’s staple summer sport with more than 100,000 people currently playing the game, making it one of the most widely played sports in the country. 

Do you recognise this in yourself, Mr/Miss Introverted Cricketer?

You want to be left alone to get on with your role. As a result you tend to be slightly apart from the team. You're not especially interested in the social side of the game, you prefer the challenge set to you by trying to score runs or take wickets.

And as for contributing to the team overall tactics or culture, you have deep and well-considered opinions that you keep very quiet about. Team meetings are a chore and you avoid them at all costs.

You thrive under your own steam.

This can come across - especially to the more socially minded players - as uptight, over-serious or maybe even rude: Think the classic accusation that "he only plays for his average".

You know it's just the way you are wired. So here are some ways to keep the social secretary happy whilst also contributing to the side as a team player and an individual.

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.

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.

Can you train all the new skills of cricket and master the basics?

The team get stuck into this question as Mark Garaway, David Hinchliffe and Sam Lavery also swap stories of holidays and Bob Taylor's wicketkeeping. We quickly move onto more important stuff though, including the aforementioned discussion on this article.

Plus Sam Lavery geeks out about kit before helping a young cricketer in the USA deal with unique conditions with tricks and tips on hitting over the top and picking up quick singles.

Then we give some advice on protein powder for teenage bowlers. Learn the basics on the show, and get stuck into more details with this article and this one.