Somewhere in the world right now is a cricketer panicking.

He's panicking because his season starts in two or three weeks and he has spent the winter doing anything but cricket.

He was too busy for nets, he forgot about the gym membership he paid for in January and pressure for his time comes from all sides; family, friends and work.

Maybe that guy is even you.

If it is, you're not alone. Life gets in the way of good intentions.

Today's guest article from Darren Talbot; Professional coach, Managing Director of Darren Talbot Cricket Coaching and founder committee member of the Surrey ECB Coaches Association.

I keep hearing from clubs they are doing off season "nets" for their juniors (and seniors, more of which later).

Coach Darren Talbot laments a wasted chance in this article. To find out more about Darren Talbot Cricket Coaching click here.

Around preseaon clubs plan their senior and junior winter net training sessions.

Maybe you are doing it now.

One of the biggest issues is finding a venue as there are still nowhere enough indoor net facilities to cope with the demand from clubs, schools and individuals.

But why do we do nets? 

 We have all b

We’re back! It’s an all new Cricket Show. New logo and new theme tune and the advice is just as good.

This week it’s all about preseason training.

Burners, Mark Garaway and David Hinchliffe are back together to discuss how preseason has changed and what the new IPL coaches will be getting up to as they gear up for the latest instalment of the tournament.

Plus we answer your questions on swing bowling when it’s not swinging and keeping focused through a long, and sometimes hard, preseason period.

When you bake a cake you don’t wait until it’s in the oven before making it taste good. A good cake is all in the preparation.

Cricket is just the same. When you put in the work mixing the right ingredients, you know you will be proud of the results.

So, if the weeks before the season starts is the prep time of cricket, what are the ingredients?

Warming up is important, and there is never a more important time to warm up than in the cold of preseason training.

But we only have a short time at nets, so warm ups tend to get a lost or converted into slightly more gentle practice.

Both are a recipe for injury if unchecked, but we carry on anyway, so what’s the minimum we can get away with to stay on the park while not wasting precious deliberate practice time?

Preseason nets are looming and this year you are determined not to waste them. You want to take every last drop of improvement in time for that first game in the spring.

That means this year talking to the coach or captain and getting him to copy some of the practices of successful club, academy and school sides. As you already know, being an amateur player is no longer an excuse for amateur practice.

So let’s use some of that determination with these changes to nets:

When preseason starts we are all filled with hope and optimism for a stellar summer ahead.

Then life gets in the way, we lose motivation and fall back into old habits. The Grand Plan is lost for another season.

This preseason will be different because you will have followed the advice below and find yourself with a cast-iron will and brand new good habits that stick.

Be realistic

No one wants to be a fat cricketer or coach.

Sure, you point to the tubby players at the top level and try to fool yourself that it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t work because deep down you know that being overweight just isn’t fun, especially if you want to do well on the pitch.

Losing weight and dieting and hitting the gym are even less fun than being fat.

Running on a treadmill isn’t anywhere near as exciting as scoring a hundred. Eating a cake at tea is plainly better than a protein shake and an apple.