Innovative batsmen are constantly messing about with tried and tested batting formulas. It's all in the name of getting the advantage in their quest for fast, big innings.

Matthew Hayden and Kevin Pietersen are both batsmen who are innovating in this way: Coming down the pitch to seamers in order to disrupt their line and upset their rhythm.

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• If you find yourself with aches and niggles after training or playing, the answer might not be an expensive massage, but a cheap foam roller.
• Why some people quit, even though they want to get better at playing cricket.
• An excellent upper body power training exercise that batsmen could easily use.
• Keith Scott on the fundamentals of Sport Performance Training (aka getting better at cricket).

If you have ever seen TV coverage of top class cricket you know how good the super slow motion cameras are for seeing the grace and power of a great shot.

Cricket is no different to life: Teams and individuals operate best when they feel in control of a situation.

Unfortunately, the unpredictability of a cricket match makes it hard to keep this feeling. It's also why you find so many superstitious cricketers with lucky socks putting their left shoe on first: It provides the illusion of control.

Mental training for cricket is just as important as having a net. In as little as 10 minutes a day you could improve your cricket without even having to pick up a bat.

What are the signs you could benefit from mental training?

• You train and play with no real aims in mind.
• You let your mistakes get to you.

If you have ever been to a gym to improve your cricket fitness you have probably been frustrated by the lack of cricket specific knowledge the instructors have.

Fortunately, designing your own workout is not as hard as it seems.

While I would always recommend you work with a personal trainer who understands your own individual needs, its not always realistic. So instead you can adapt this excellent strength training program.

Is there any more maligned a shot in club cricket than going over the top?

Almost any shot in the air is usually derided as a clue that the batsman is about to hit one straight to mid off or that he is a desperate slogger with no panaché.

But well selected lofted shots are a fantastic way to infuriate bowlers and manipulate the strike. As Robert Croft of Glamorgan says, there are no fielders in the air. You just have to make sure you hit it hard and high enough.

The art of spin bowling takes years to master. That's a lot of overs in the nets and in the middle.

One of the fastest shortcuts to taking more wickets as a spinner is often overlooked: Practice with your wicketkeeper.

Keeper can be just as flummoxed by a decent spinner as a club batsman can. The more you practice with your keeper, the better they will get at learning your own particular variations, limitations and way of bowling.

Go to any club cricket ground on a warm, sunny summers afternoon and it will not take you long to find a scene that is familiar to us all.

The bowler poised at the top of his run, fielders walking in and the batsmen set in his guard. Everyone in a state of readiness, poised for what comes next with a centered, balanced, aware, and open state of mind.