How many times have you thought "just watch the ball"?

While it's a useful shorthand for having good eye to hand coordination, the truth is a lot more complex than simply keeping your eye on the ball. Of course, it's not an error to try and watch the ball. It's just that there is also a lot more you can do to get better at hitting, catching and stopping the ball too.

We can make this easy by breaking it down into direct and indirect ways.

I saw a tweet this morning relating to the 4th ODI between England and NZ in the unbelievable ODI series.

Still not sure how a team goes from toilet to swashbuckling madmen in a few weeks. Hypnosis? Bionic implants? Quinoa? All of the above?

Coach and Minor Counties Cricketer, Chris Watling, shares his experiences with another article on using your mind to get you out of bad form and back to run scoring.

When you're in a bit of bad form it's easy to be negative.

I'm sure you know the feeling of being stunted by in your mindset as you approach your next innings: You start to analyse how you’re getting out. You think about your technique. You want to correct those errors.

Stop the mistakes. Stop getting out.

This approach is hurting your game.

You can always get something from training, even the worst session ever.

Take the example of having to face poor bowling in nets. It's common at club level to see below par bowlers spraying the ball around and wasting top batsmen's time. The batter has every right to think the session is wasted.

The worst has happened: You have got off to a horrifying start to the season. Your early hopes have been shattered. Your confidence is shot. Runs and wickets are a mere distant memory.

Bad form at the start of the season is always horrible because you feel you have no point of reference. Without a good performance to your name this season you start to feel like the purple patch is gone for good.

Maybe this year is the year you lost it?

This is the problem my team's batting unit have had since the season began four weeks ago. None of the top six have scored a fifty in 30 one day digs. Like you, we are deep into the land of doubt. Can it even be done any more, or are we resigned to just being so rubbish we can't compete?

This is the classic issue of lost confidence: Players who have performed before who can't repeat it.

So before you throw in the towel, show some grit, dig in and rebuild your game.

Go to a cricket training session anywhere in the world and you will see the usual things: Batting, bowling and fielding. All very sensible.

But if you want the edge - if you want a chance at making it as a cricketer - you need to do more than the basics really well. You need an edge. You need to spend time on some of the following things.

The criteria is simple; the following seven training tricks are not directly related to cricket, but all have been proven to enhance your game. All you have to do is try them for a few weeks. If each one boosts your run scoring and wicket taking by just 1% then you will be 5% better in two or three weeks. That's an awesome return on your investment.

So let's get started!

Confidence is slippery. You want it but how do you stop all those negative thoughts? In this video Graham Gooch shares his methods for breaking through doubt and walking to the crease with confidence:

If you can't see the video above, click here.

There is a world of difference between bowling in practice, and bowling under match pressure. If you are going ot be a good bowler, you need to be able to handle the latter. So, here's a simple drill you can do to add pressure to your net sessions.

Here's the video so you can see it in action:

If you can't view it above, click here.

I'll be honest, I like to call a spade a spade and not a "vertical foot operated digging device". So why the heck do I like Ideal Performance State (IPS)?

Honestly, I think the term is clunky, but what it describes is something all cricketers can use to play better. That's where it gets interesting: It's where the spade hits the dirt and starts making a hole.

So, putting aside the term, what exactly is IPS?

One of the great coaching questions is "What does success look like?"

Millfield Under 15 managed to get themselves bowled out on Sunday for 75 against Gloucestershire CCC U15s. We had a shocker: 2 silly run outs, 2 players cutting balls on the stumps when the ball was keeping low and seemingly no clue of how to compile an innings on what was a early season slow and low pitch.