One of the biggest signs of a team in trouble is when the batsmen are not talking to each other between overs. If I see a pair do that I know they are out of ideas.

Talking to each other while batting and waiting to bat is vital. It allows you to discuss tactics and motivate each other. There is always something to say, even if it's just to take your mind off the pressure for a few moments.

Jeetan Patel of New Zealand was watching his team bat against Ireland. It was early (about 10am) and he had clearly missed his breakfast so he was enjoying what looked like a toasted cheese sandwich.

That is a terrible food choice for a professional cricketer to be making.

Patel would have warmed up with the squad before the game and was due to bat at 11 so was unlikely to have to do much in the next few hours. Yet he was getting his fuel from processed food high in 'bad' fat: Hardly the precision eating of an elite athlete.

Batting is hard work on the mind. It requires a few seconds of very intense concentration followed by almost total relaxation between balls.

Not many people are born with that skill, but you can learn it.

Mainly this is developed by batting in games and practice matches under pressure. There are a couple of drills you can add to your practice sessions to supplement this.

When does your season start? Are you ready? There is still time to make 2007 your best summer ever!

• Some great variations on core stability.
• Vern Gambetta on baseball pitching. Most of which applies just as much to fast bowling.
• Alan Aragon's nutritional guidelines. Replace "preworkout" with "pre-game" and you have a perfect match day nutrition guide.

Look around the room you are in now for anything that is the colour bright red.

I guarantee you will be able to pick out even the tiniest speck now you are looking for it, even if there is hardly any red at all.

Maybe you have bought a brand new car sometime in your life.

How many of those cars do you suddenly see on the road once you start driving around?

That's the power of focus.

If you can improve your coordination you will get stronger and faster on the cricket pitch.

This works because the more your body's nervous system is able to activate the fibres in your muscles quickly and in the right order, the more efficiently it operates.

Most club cricketers are not making the most of this efficiency potential and so are not using their hidden reserves. Lucky for you, it's quite easy to tap into them with the right approach.

You have to hand it to Beefy, he sticks to his guns long after he has finished playing. When it comes to cricket fitness though, he is wrong.

The offence in question was a comment he made during the World Cup Super 8 match between New Zealand and Bangladesh. A New Zealand bowler had hurt his calf in a similar way to Australia's Shane Watson so the commentators were discussing why this would happen twice in a row.

To improve your cricket power you need to train in a highly specific way. That means doing exercises and routines that strengthen your whole body in ways that can be transferred to the cricket pitch.

I have discussed this before without mentioning specific exercises so today I'm going to give you the 10 most important to me.

Sunny Saturday afternoons playing cricket wouldn't be the same without the weak orange cordial served up halfway through an innings.

But it should be different.

You see, while squash is a great way to get fluids and sugar into your body it's certainly not going to give you the edge.

Getting the edge