This guide for young rep level cricketers aged 11-18 is of a series of introductory guides to PitchVision Academy, for the full list click here.

Variation of drill is one of the big challenges for a coach working with keepers. As we discussed last week, we should always remember that we need to keep the practice relevant to the match as possible.

It’s a mantra as old as overarm bowling: Put the ball on a good length for long enough and you will get your rewards. But in a world of slower balls, bouncers and inswinging yorkers, it’s an ideal we have forgotten.

Take Stuart Broad as an example. The England bowler spent a long time trying to work out what kind of role he had. Was he the enforcer; there to bowl bouncers and scare batsmen? Was he a line and length man; using swing and seam movement? How did this role change between formats, if at all?

The great thing about standing up sessions is that they should never be dull: you can create lots of distraction, different spins and bounce types with the overall aim to be to overload the keeper so that the practice is tougher than the actual match.

We still need to keep the drills relative and functional to match play, yet feel free to let that imagination run wild.

Karl Stevenson is a sports psychologist, who has been researching the ins and outs of anticipation and decision making skill in cricket batting. He has worked with top-flight county teams as well as teaming up with the ECB.

In a recent interview, we got some tips from the lab that can be used on the pitch: