Last night I took the job of captain of my club second team.

It's been a few years since I was in charge of a side, and what instantly sprung to mind was: What should I do first?

As new captain, a hundred ideas flash through your brain as you try to work out how to get the best from your inherited team.

Bowlers win cricket matches. Because of this, the fast bowlers are a team within a team and need to put unrelenting pressure on the opposition.

What does a pack of fast bowlers look like?

When you think of a pack of fast bowlers the first thing that springs to mind is the great West Indian teams of the 1970's and 80's.

Get your hankies ready as Kevin tells talks us through how his championship dreams were crushed at the weekend.

Don't worry though, we have plenty of more positive stuff to look at too. Gary Palmer answers another batting question and we rummage through the mailbag for more reader's questions.

Who wouldn't want to be streetwise with thoughts and plans at their fingertips?

Raj is an opening batsman. He is a slow starter, but is able to score freely once he gets his feet moving. His coach has been helping him with some technical points.

Meanwhile his team-mates have been teasing him for his slow starts.

Bowling is hard. At least when you bat and you are out you can hide in the pavilion, but when you bowl and are clattered for 3 boundaries in a row there is nowhere to hide. You have to finish the over.

No wonder the mind becomes cluttered with thoughts and plans when you stand at the top of the mark.

But an unfocused mind makes it difficult to bowl. How many times have you bowled wide outside the off stump, tried to compensate and end up throwing it down he leg side instead?

On the show this week David and Kevin chat about the ECBCA conference and bowling the opposition out for a below par score. Gary Palmer talks about an unusual guard and we answer your questions.

Knowledge is a tool used by coaches to make better cricketers.

That's why the ECBCA conference is such an important event for all coaches: You surround yourself with such passionate and knowledgeable people, all of whom love sharing their knowledge of the game.

Premier League football club Manchester United can be envied for their glamour and success. But it's in a less obvious way that they can show your cricket team a lesson.

Over the years United seem to have become masters of snapping a draw from defeat: Playing badly and not losing.

Have you ever been promoted to a higher level team, walked in to the dressing room and felt like a stranger among friends?

Being the new kid on the block can intimidate players so much it prevents them from doing well. But a good coach and captain knows how to dodge this and help a new player feel welcome enough to relax.

The 'pub' method

A few months back, with little to do on a Saturday since the cricket season ended I found myself watching TV game show The Cube.

"What a load of rubbish" I thought as the show explained how contestants could win vast sums of money for doing a series of tasks. They were so easy Geoff Boycott's mum could have done them with a stick of rhubarb.