A good overseas player is a boon a club while a bad one can ruin a season for you. How do you find the best ones?

Overseas player and owner of player agency CricX, Steven Hirst specialises in the topic so I turned to him to get some ideas on how to source players of the right calibre for your club. Here is what we talked about.

Demand for players

1. Go to the gym. Just because a match is called off doesn't mean you have to head home. Stop off at the gym for an extra strength training session and be all the more fit for next week.
2. Talk about old games. A less taxing but more tactical method is to head for the bar and seek out the clubs retired old stagers for some “war” stories. Chances are a problem you have will have been experienced before and these guys are the ones to help you understand things better.

Not many things on the cricket pitch top hitting the ball cleanly over the boundary. It looks and feels great. To improve this skill you need to have good technique and work on your 'speed-strength' during the winter. Speed-strength, in shot making terms, is how fast you can swing the bat. The faster you can do this with good technique the harder and longer you will be able to hit a cricket ball. This velocity is developed in three distinct phases:

This is cricket nutrition tip of the week #3 by Dr. John Berardi.

I consider fish oil to be an essential supplement for fat loss. Data from the University of Western Ontario shows that fish oil supplementation increases lean body mass (during non-dieting conditions), increases BMR (by up to 400kcal/day), decreases inflammation, and improves the ratio of fat/carb oxidized (sparing carbs, burning fat). Recommended dose: Start with 6-10g per day of total fish oil (assuming 30% EPA and DHA).

A big money revolution is heading for your local cricket club.

Whether you are a traditionalist or a progressive, you can't fail to have a view on the invasion of big money in professional cricket. It began in the 70's with Kerry Packer and World Series Cricket. Now sponsors, coloured clothing, television deals and hefty player contracts are all standard parts of the game at the top level.

Eric Cressey reminds us of the importance of the back of our legs and 5 strength training myths that too many cricketers believe too.
The 9 mental skills of a successful athlete (via straightothebar)
Fear and the fast bowler
Posture is important to good cricket, but let's not forget about strength
WISE is a charity that uses cricket to encourage healthy living

If you want success on the pitch, it's vital to know how to maintain your fitness during a long hard season.

You have worked hard in the winter so you will not want to lose your cricket-specific strength and speed, but playing and training is hard work in itself so the quandary is how to train efficiently without overtraining yourself. You want to maintain, not strain.

If you want to look better in the field and save more runs you can't beat the sliding stop.

Sliding is a skill that is rarely taught a club coaching sessions so any fielding side whose players can perform it automatically have an advantage. It's a far faster method of stopping the ball just short of the boundary and returning it quickly.

It's also the flashy cousin of fielding skills so you need the confidence of knowing the basics well first. Those include clean pick ups and accurate throwing as well as catching both high and flat.

This is cricket nutrition tip of the week #2 by Dr. John Berardi

To ensure that good foods will be available when you need them, use the Sunday Ritual. This is performed by setting aside three hours every Sunday to write out your menu for the week, shop for the week, and prepare your meals for the week. Cook all the meat, chop all the vegetables, measure out all the yogurt and/or cottage cheese, and distribute all the powders. Have them ready and set aside so that you can grab them in the morning and bring them with you regardless of what your day holds in store for you.