Recent research has show that sport psychology techniques work even for people who don't believe in all that mumbo-jumbo.

I'll be the first to admit psychology has a bad reputation in the sporting world. If professional players still view ideas like self-talk and visualisation with suspicion, what chance does the average club player have of using these powerful tools to his or her advantage?

Club players just don't trust the ideas.

In this new series I am inviting readers to submit their experience, tips and advice on how to improve your cricket. Mansoor Khan kicks things off with a discussion on how he gets himself into the zone while batting. Comments are open for your feedback.

I believe that on game day my frame of mind and how psyched I am before a game really affects the way I bat.

As a follow up to yesterday's cricket nutrition podcast, the good Dr. Berardi wanted me to tell you about this competition on Precision Nutrition at the moment:

1. Free groceries and supplements for a year
2. Free meal delivery for 3 months
3. Free camera and Results Tracker

So what do you need to do? Just visit the PN Body Transformation Contest page here for full details.

If you are eagle eyed you may have noticed you can now get weekly email updates as well as daily ones.

If you prefer to get an email once a week with all the harrowdrive updates you can enter your email in the first box on this page. As always I will never sell, trade or give away your email to anyone.

If you have ever wanted to improve your diet for cricket reasons then this latest podcast is for you. I speak with sport nutrition expert Dr. John Berardi about a range of topics including:

• 5 ways to immediately improve your nutrition
• What to eat on matchday
• Tips on eating for health, appearance and performance
• The growing importance of fish oil

Useful links The links we discuss during our chat are:

While many would disagree, I believe the coach has a vital role in improving your cricket. So why is it that most club players are not using coaches?

The problem seems to stem from the perception of what a coach does in the club game.

At elite level coaches are essential staff. All UK counties have them from youth sides to the first team squad. Many with a host of support staff like psychologists and strength coaches. They work with the captain to build a team and continue to make players better throughout their careers.

Cricket has a great tradition of written material so it's time I revealed what you, the harrowdrive community, buy and read.

I know what is popular through the sneak peek I get when you click a link on here and buy anything on Amazon. I don't get your personal details (of course not) but I do get a bestseller list of what's popular.

I have been mulling over the idea of producing a comprehensive-print-and-keep guide for you to have for free.

It's going to take a while to do so I decided to ask what topic you would be more likely to want in a pdf format? With your input I can get to work.

So my question is simple: what topic would you like it on?

A while back I gave a helping hand to Shun, a cricketer in Japan with limited resources.

Shun has got back to me to tell me he is putting my advice into practice and playing games with Mount Fuji in the background. Here he is:

I especially love the kit most of them are wearing. Where do you get pale blue white's from? I caused a stir wearing trousers with a slightly wider than usual blue trim!

Don't put away your thoughts of cricket when the season ends. You can use the winter to improve your base of strength and power for next season.

The benefits are huge because work in the gym transfers directly to the pitch. More speed, more power and even better endurance.

The benefits are not the issue though. Most people know that working out is good for you. However many cricketers don't know where to start with this kind of planning and programming so they don't bother.