Here's something that might shock you. Healthy eating doesn't have to be boring.

When cricketers think about eating right the first thing that comes into our heads is one of restriction. Who wants to be gnawing on a stick of celery at tea time while others tuck into cakes?

Not many club players in the UK want to miss out on a post match beer either.

England and Sussex cricketer Luke Wright is well known on the circuit for having 'fast hands' and a lightning blade. With a bit of practice you could build the same reputation in your club side.

If you have played cricket for any length of time you probably have a technique that you are comfortable with, but is it as effective as it could be at producing a fast bat?

I track how many times an article gets read and it's about time you found out the most popular posts too.

As I write this, harrowdrive.com is about 18 months old. Most days see a post and every day sees new subscribers (over 1,100 of you now). So here are the best posts of the year, in order of popularity, in case you missed them the first time around.

Warne, Bedi, Kumble, Muralitharan: The techniques of spin are as varied as the men who mastered it. However great spinners also have many things in common. If you can understand and copy these methods you can improve your own skill as a spinner.

1. Action. Spinners actions vary greatly but all great spinners have an action they can rely on. For most this will be side on to generate more spin. England off spinner Ray Illingworth likens his action to a cartwheel turning forward in a straight line. Practice with and without a batsman until it is automatic.

If you have ever played cricket for an afternoon or longer, the chances are you have suffered from sore muscles the next day. If you have you know how terrible it is to hobble around like a geriatric for anything up to 2 days.

More seriously, if you play more than once a week this soreness can cut your performance on the pitch: The sorer you are the less power you can produce and the more quickly you become tired.

Imagine you could get any coach in the world to coach you. Who would you pick?

Would you go for a great player like Ian Botham? Perhaps a coach with a proven pedigree at the highest level like Duncan Fletcher. Maybe there is a more local person who has won the trust of players in your area. Whoever it is on your wish list you might be closer than you think to getting them to coach you.

Your coach could make or break you as a player so you need to know how coaches operate. If you want the inside track on the way coaches think Pete Wellings is the man to ask.

Pete is A former professional and current ECB Level 3 coach. He has run his own coaching company, Coaching Cricket Excellence, for nearly 10 years. He is also head coach of Ealing CC Academy.

Over Christmas the average person will gain nearly three quarters of a stone in body fat.

While that's no surprise (it is the season to eat, drink, and photocopy your bum at the office party) carrying that extra weight onto the field come April won't be doing your game any good.

So can you have a great Christmas and still make it through without the strain on your belly, health and knees?

As a coach the cliché; is my best friend and my worst enemy. The easy to digest truism slips of the tongue when working with players, especially groups. But are they doing more harm than damage to players?

Let's take a look at some common clichés and decide.

1. Never run on a misfield. Richie Benaud still maintains this as gospel truth. The reality is less clear. If the ball goes straight through a players legs you can probably take another run safely. On the other hand it's often best for club players to avoid getting suckered by a fumble. If you are particularly fast and a good judge of a run you can run off a misfield but it's a risky business so if you decide to go only every put yourself at risk of getting run out.

As you know, I'm a big fan of intelligent, cricket specific fitness work. Running is the cornerstone of this for all cricketers but there is one alternative.

Skipping or jumping rope has been recommended for a while by Physical Therapist Gray Cook for all intermittent sport athletes and that includes club cricketers. While running (and running fast) is highly cricket specific and important this can be replaced at certain times by jumping rope.