How much of cricket performance is about "you"?

Seems an obvious question, but with so many coaches and resources available, it's easy to forget that it's down to you in the end! The team of David Hinchliffe, Mark Garaway and Sam Lavery talk about how you can do it: as either a coach or a player.

You will get stories and experiences on how to be a cricketer and a cricket coach, all under the umbrella of the idea that you are the only one who can really do it. So, download and listen, think about the answers and come up with your own path.

If it helps, you could win an online coaching course to get some drills and skills to try. Not bad for a 30 minute audio show.

Closing date: 24th August 2014

Cricket Australia (CA) is one of the nation’s premier sporting bodies, is the driving force behind all facets of elite level cricket and sets the direction for the development of the game at the grass roots level. It also plays a key role in assisting the governance of cricket in Australia and worldwide.  Cricket Australia’s vision is to ensure cricket remains “Australia’s favourite sport – a sport for all Australians.”

Closing date: 22nd August 2014 JOB CLOSED !

Cricket Ireland are currently recruiting an Accounting Technician

Closing date: 22nd September 2014 JOB CLOSED ! 

Lancashire County Cricket Club seeks applications from experienced Strength & Conditioning Coaches to join our Sports Science & Medicine Team.

In the last few weeks I have worked alongside England Rugby's Head Coach, Stuart Lancaster. Stuart has turned the fortunes of the England Rugby team round since he took the post in 2012.

What can we learn as cricket coaches from his story of success?

The main focus areas in his first years in the job have been lessons that can be easily transferred to a cricket club:

You are not a jug.

That's not as obvious a statement as you think. A lot of players - and coaches - think that players are empty jugs, ready to be filled with the liquid of knowledge imparted by the wise master coach.

You get the right coach with the most knowledge an you can do anything. It's why we assume top class players make great coaches: they have set the example to follow.

"The difference between an average cricketer and a top class cricketer is how mentally tough he is."

A recent study has looked at mental toughness through the eyes of cricketers and their coaches. The conclusions have given hope to millions of players.

The work comes from Junaid Iqbal at Leeds University, who researched the latest findings from sport psychology and combined them with experiences from coaches and players at all levels of the game.

His dissertation concluded that mental toughness underpins cricket ability at all levels, and it can be improved in anyone.

Once you know that, you are a step ahead of others still focused on technique alone.

So what does that mean from a practical standpoint?

I'll cut to the chase; there is a simple change to your bowling action that is a big hitter in fault correction.

Straighten your run up.

You see, when it comes to technique, so much that goes wrong can be traced back to an earlier point. That's why batting coaches focus on the grip and stance first, and it's why your bowling coach should look at your run up before he starts with the "business end" of the action.

Of course, a straighter run up will not fix everything, and there are exceptions to the rule. That said, there is plenty that can be done without ever worrying about 6 months of corrective drills and rebuilding your action.

So, spinner or seamer, Here are some of the things a straighter run up can correct:

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

The winning question was:

"I hear people saying it's tough to play test cricket. They say, you need very good skill set to play test cricket. I haven't played test cricket or first class cricket. But I've always felt that, with the field up, batsman with limited shots can excel in Test Cricket. You don't need a whole lot of shots. If you have a good defense and a few shots (cuts, cover drive etc.), you are a good Test batsman. Players like Prior excel in test cricket. But cannot score freely in ODI and T20 cricket. Because you need to have a lot of shots to be a good ODI or T20 batsman (AB De Villiers is a good example)."

"Coaches say - You need mental toughness to succeed in Test. They also say - Mentality plays a huge part in your success in tests. As I can excel in test with a few shots, if I want to be good First Class or Test batsman, should I hire a good psychologist before hiring a coach?"

Listen to the panels answer to his question here.

To enter your own question for the chance to win your choice of online coaching course send your questions in here.

Closing date: 5th September 2014