Here's a shocking fact.

On average, the cost of wides and no balls at school is 27.3 runs per 50 overs bowling innings (28.4 runs per 50 overs for the opposition).

We know this because we analyse the impact of wides and no balls:

One of the young coaches in my coaching team, Matt Thompson, recently recounted a coaching session with one of the International players at the school.

Matt and Tom had a range hitting session and it was clear Tom was inconsistent.

Matt's solution was to get back to basics.

Can your team catch regularly and confidently?

Then it's time for the daddy of all high catching drills.

This is grim if the fielder doesn't cling onto the first few high balls. It trains concentration and desperation which all the best fielders have in abundance.

I have been chuffed with the development of one committed player that I coach. This poor fellow couldn't catch a cold three weeks ago. He was getting frustrated and embarrassed in fielding practice and was dreading a high catch being hit his way.

Today, he is transformed.

How vital is a good slip catcher?

We work all year on developing bowling fast bowlers and spinners with the intention of taking the edge of the bat to create catching opportunities. So develop fielders who can convert those chances into wickets!

So, as a coach, lets assign some quality time to slip catching skills. Including your own. Read on to find out more:

Are you a cook or a chef?

I was asked exactly that at a recent symposium on talent identification. Weird?

A cook follows a recipe and ends up with a result that looks and tastes as intended.

Kumar Sangakkara signed off his Twenty20 career with a Man of the Match performance steering Sri Lanka to World glory.

Yet entering final Sunday, Kumar was experiencing something every batsman feels: hideous batting form.

Sri Lanka had progressed to the final of the tournament despite Sangakkara scoring 19 runs at an average of 4.75. He was horribly out of form and couldn't buy a run.

We all know that feeling!

For most players, the downward spiral tends to continue, our scores remain low, our confidence is eroded on a daily basis and our emotions shift between dejection and desperation.

But this cycle did not happen to Kumar Sangakkara.

Do you recognise this?

Bowlers have bowling with soaking wet balls, drying the ball on a towel kept in the back your trousers and fielders throwing the ball sideways as the ball slips out of their hands. Anyone who has played club cricket will know all about these kinds of challenge.

Can "context" win you matches?

Let's look at an example. I was as amazed as anyone when watching the striking power of the Netherlands in the World T20 match against Ireland.

I love it when a spin bowler comes along with something different.

And not just for the reasons you think.

One of the spinners at Millfield School has gained so much confidence from his winters practice sessions that he felt it was time to bowl his "doosra" against batters in the nets for the first time.

The young lad has been working on developing his own version of the ball in his technical sessions, and also down the corridors of his house. He has been delivering tennis balls into an upturned bucket in order to master the release position and now is letting the delivery go in nets.