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

"As a left arm orthodox spinner, I find bowling to right handers relatively simple. However, I just cannot bowl to left handers. Over the wicket, round the wicket, flighting it up, darting it in. I just cannot do it. I've never been a massive spinner of the ball, but I can get it to go enough (maybe a foot, nothing bigger), and I vary my pace well, but I just cannot figure out how to bowl to lefties. Can you help? "

Listen to the panel’s 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. 

One of my training clients is having a little trouble with occasional knee pain. It’s nothing more than a niggle, but we have to take care it doesn’t become an actual injury.

It got me thinking; this is good practice for all players; your first aim should always be to get on the park, and that means staying injury free. However, you are not a physiotherapist (neither am I) and so diagnosing and solving injury issues is impossible.

What do you do?

Sometimes even the great Shane Warne had to admit defeat.  Despite being the textbook attacking spinner, there were times even Warnie used negative bowling to get results.

There is certainly no shame in switching plans as a last resort.  If the finest leggie to ever live used it, you can too.

Picture the scene; a limited over game where you bat first and put up an above par score of 223. 

It’s a mantra as old as overarm bowling: Put the ball on a good length for long enough and you will get your rewards. But in a world of slower balls, bouncers and inswinging yorkers, it’s an ideal we have forgotten.

Take Stuart Broad as an example. The England bowler spent a long time trying to work out what kind of role he had. Was he the enforcer; there to bowl bouncers and scare batsmen? Was he a line and length man; using swing and seam movement? How did this role change between formats, if at all?

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

"What is the difference between an offcutter and inswinger, as well as legcutter and outswinger? How can we pick inswing and outswing from bowlers hand?"

Listen to the panel’s 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. 

There is a simple shorthand for what defines a good coach: reputation is everything. We look at a player’s first-class or International record and that helps us decide if we should follow his advice.

But you wouldn’t go to the dentist of you had a broken leg. So why go to a former player to fix your broken technique?

Of course, experience goes a long way but coaching cricket is a completely different set of skills than playing.

Everyone knows that line and length are the keys to bowling success, but if you had to choose one over the other, which would win?

The panel discuss the matter this week alongside the usual features including questions about bowling into the wind and the difference between cut and swing (for bowlers and batsmen). It’s a bleter this week so get downloading!

It doesn’t matter how good a coach you have, because when you cross the white line it’s all down to you. No coach can play for you. You have to learn to understand your own game because you can adapt to the changes proposed by your coaches.

But in today's cricket world, a keen self-understanding is uncommon.

Meanwhile in the academic world the opposite is true.  Schools and Universities specialise in teaching skills then measuring how well you have learned through exams and coursework.

Back in the good old days if you got a good length ball on off stump you dutifully played a forward defence, respected the bowler and waited patiently for a half volley to drive.

Tell that to Sehwag, McCullum or Warner; aggressive IPL superstars who are happy putting a length ball into the stands, even if it’s in the third over.