We’ll do anything to look the part on a cricket field, to belong and to feel part of the ‘tribe’ of cricketers.

And nowhere is this more a point of pain than the cricket helmet.

Why is it that some teams can crush the opposition while others throw away winning positions?

In cricket, things can turn around very quickly. Celebrating one moment, you are frustrated the next.

Some years ago, it was in middle of cricket summer. My college team was competing in a one off fixture. Our team was superior to them and not just on paper; we had dominated much of the game and thought we had the other team nailed down to the floor.

Losing lingers in the mind.

Everyone dwells on bad bowling spells. If it’s really bad you even let it worry you right into the next match, making it more likely you will bowl badly. A vicious circle of failure.

And in Twenty20 there is a fair chance it wasn’t even your fault.

The new series of the PitchVision Academy Cricket Show is in full swing. This week we feature an interview with former New Zealand coach and first-class cricketer Andy Moles.

We also get stuck into your coaching questions and look at:

This drill is part of the PitchVision Academy fielding drills series, for more in this series click here.

Purpose: To develop agility while using the skill of picking up the ball after a chase in a competitive situation.

Being able to bowl leg spin well is rare quality; if you do that then you are valuable to any captain at any level.

Good leg spinners seem to need so much; a canny tactical awareness, steely personality, and a phalanx of variations on top of a fizzing, dipping leg break that turns a foot on any wicket.

Leg spin bowling may be an art, but it’s one that can be learned.

Would you cheat when you do your umpiring stint? 

Imagine standing at the bowler’s end, hearing and seeing the slight nick and not giving it out. That’s cheating.

I was returning to the game after a 5-year absence. During the second game, we were in the field, I was wicket keeping and we had appeal after appeal turned down by the opposition umpires. I was convinced a couple of times that the batsman had got an edge, or been plumb in front.

It’s the long awaited return of the PitchVision Academy Cricket Show!

A new series, a new format and a brand new contributor.

This drill is part of the PitchVision Academy fielding drills series, for more in this series click here.

Purpose: To develop chase, pick up and throw skills in a realistic game situation where decision making is important. Also develops the batting skill of running between the wickets.

So you want to take up wicketkeeping but you are worried your hands will be like Teflon and your feet buried in concrete?

Coming soon we will have some exclusive new free content to take you from total beginner to high-class stumper. Get the free newsletter to make sure you don’t miss it.