I got a great question emailed in recently,

"My son gets a lot out of playing cricket. I think as well as the physical side of the game, it is vital the mental side is dealt with. My lad as played club and county development cricket this year. He says when he plays county he finds he feels different. He never seems to be able to say how, but just that he does. I would like to find out how he can overcome this."

This feeling is very common, it comes from the addition of pressure.

As we know, cricket is a mental game. Commonly we say that 80% of the game is based on confidence, tactics and dealing with pressure rather than physical fitness or technical skill.

It's clear that this lad is feeling the influence of more pressure when he steps up to play at county level. Although he can't quite put that feeling into words.

However, that's a good thing. It shows that his response to pressure situations is not to feel scared or naturally want to run screaming!

That means he can harness the extra adrenaline of feeling pressure and turn it into better performances.

The core to that is to put himself under pressure in practice so he learns his stress response more clearly. People respond in different ways to pressure, but if you know how to handle your response you are on the way to enjoying your cricket.

So, ramp up the pressure in practice, think about how you responded then come up with a way to manage it.

Coaches call this robust confidence. When you have it, cricket is much more fun!