Tennis balls: bright, light and fluffy; obvious descriptions.

But what is not discussed is how much harder they are to catch than cricket balls when at speed.

Cricketers won’t admit this because everyone knows a cricket ball is one of the most dangerous things in the universe, but it’s true!

Because they are so light and have high rebound properties, they take more skill to catch than a heavy and hard cricket ball.

This week’s winner of the Cricket Show podcast question competition is Raza.  He wins a free coaching course from PitchVision Academy.

My question is regarding bowling; kindly inform me a pace bowlers activities like running (how many kilometers need to run) and warm ups plus gym activities (how I can improve my arm or shoulder power to deliver fast like 150kmph).

Listen to the panel’s answer to his question here.

From the 6 year old beginner to the established Academy cricketer, here the 5 most common mistakes I see everyone making in the field from time to time.

Maybe they are small but all are crucial as a mistake has bigger consequences.

One of the keys to being a good fielder is that you stay focused through the day and don’t let these mistakes slip in. Never think you are too experienced or confident to make them. Keep your concentration in the field and work to support your bowler.

Mark Garaway takes time out from choosing a new head of MCCU Loughborough to give his normal simple yet effective advice and insight.

We don’t just talk about what is happening at the ECB performance centre though. Burner’s and David chat with Garas about 2 day batting camps, fitness for fast bowlers and switching to spin aged 25.

Burners gets on his soap box with a vengeance too (stay tuned right until the end to hear a bonus rant).

Sadly due to technical difficulties we are unable to bring you an interview this week, but there is still plenty for you to enjoy in the half hour. 

Imagine you scored 220 of your 50 overs and you now have the opposition 185-8 with 5 overs left.

You’ve bought your openers back on to finish the job, and rudely the last few batsmen are defending like their life depended on it.

You can stick with the strike bowlers and hope the batsmen get bored or the bowlers are fast enough to blast them out.

The game will end in a draw and your hopes of a strong league position fade a little more.

Or you can bring on your more occasional spin bowler.

This week’s winner of the Cricket Show podcast question competition is Diviyanath.  He wins a free coaching course from PitchVision Academy.

Too many of us are guilty of the big Friday night out ahead of Saturday’s game; even professional players play the ‘rain card’,  trying to decide if it will rain the next day in order to justify a night out in town.

But how is this for a justification for your ill behaviour: Going out is research because batting is just like a big night out on the town.

The first pint, the first ball

You’ve scored an unbeaten ton in your last 3 innings.

You’re batting well, you feel good and most importantly, you look good!

You can carry as much form as you like coming into your next game, but unless the opposition study and follow your scorecard closely, they are unlikely to know your recent success.

But, they can sense it.  They know something special is coming out to bat when you walk out. It’s almost an aura.

Hayden is a year 8 student on New Zealand’s North Island. For his assignment he has been asked to do on a seminar on a career of our choice. He chose a cricket player.

But to make it work he needs some more information. So I thought the community of cricket nuts at PitchVision Academy could help.