Menno Gazendam is author of Spin Bowling Project. Get your free 8 week spin bowling course here.

The great Indian bowler Bishan Bedi use to bowl for endless hours non-stop on his own in the nets.

But none of it was mindless. It always had a purpose and it made him one of the finest spinners who ever lived. And his methods are still just as relevant today as they were when he played because the way to develop skill as a spinner has not changed.

So how did he approach practice?

This is a guest article from coach and PhD candidate Adam Kelly

Spin bowlers are game changers; the likes of Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralitharan and Anil Kumble have all show this. But there will be days when things don’t go to plan.

How can you maintain a good performance or turnaround the bad day?

Menno Gazendam is author of Spin Bowling Project. Get your free 8 week spin bowling course here.

India has many great cricketers, but fielding has always been the weakest area for the team. Like a club side, the attitude is that fielding comes last. It's not as important as batting or bowling so you can afford standards to drop, as long as your main skill is in form.

That's a pure hoax.

Harbhajan Singh returned to International stardom with 4-12 against England. He was supposed to be a fill-in bowler but he bamboozled English batters.

How did he do it?

He took two cricket clichés and turned them on their heads, using the mantras of accuracy and variety in 24 balls.

Harbhajan spent his time away from the India squad rebuilding his confidence in county cicket, and it showed. He was out of the spotlight and returned to his successful method.

Menno Gazendam is author of Spin Bowling Project. Get your free 8 week spin bowling course here. 

Spinners that fit into the "successful and unorthodox" or mystery spinner category are from countries who do not have much formalised coaching for juniors; India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

Players like Murali are left to themselves in their junior years, untouched by sustained structured coaching, to develop their skills in combination with their weird action.

That's why England or Australia will never produce a Mendis.

Menno Gazendam is author of Spin Bowling Project. Get your free 8 week spin bowling course here. 

As a spinner you already have a battle just to justify your position on the Twenty20 team.

Most captains have limited sympathy for spinners. You often find yourself bowling well short of your full spell.

Menno Gazendam is author of Spin Bowling Project. Get your free 8 week spin bowling course here. 

Asking how long the run up should be is a common question.

And as always, no definitive answer.

Primarily, rhythm is everything: from dancing to delivering the perfect off-break.

It all involves going through the mechanics, feeling comfortable and knowing what the next move should be: a strong, regular, repeated pattern of movement.

Menno Gazendam is author of Spin Bowling Project. Get your free 8 week spin bowling course here. 

For spinners, the end you bowl from is more important than what the pitch does. Bowling into the wind is what you want to do. It helps with your dip and flight.

Menno Gazendam is author of Spin Bowling Project. Get your free 8 week spin bowling course here. 

Menno Gazendam is author of Spin Bowling Project. Get your free 8 week spin bowling course here.

Finger spinners spin with their fingers. And so, they cannot generate as much spin as a leggies.