This is a guest posted drill from Laurie Ward of Complete Cricketer Academy.

This is the most terrifying batting drill you will ever experience. We call it "The Nazgul" because in Lord of the Rings, nothing is as scary as a Nazgul!

For the coach, it brings out the inner sadist. For the players, it's a way to work on hitting the ball into the right areas, even when you are exhausted and just want it to stop. It won't because there is no respite.

Have you noticed that some batters set up differently?

Bent knees and a slightly wider base are notable in Kevin Pietersen, Graeme Smith and Gary Ballance. They move completely differently. Their movements don't relate to those coaching words and terms that I have often been exposed to in during my 22 year coaching career.

How do you coach players like this when they struggle with technical issues?

I watched a bowling session last week with Kevin Shine, the Lead Fast Bowling Coach for the ECB. The topic was one that was discussed recently by Steffan Jones: bowling yorkers.

Andrew Strauss reminded today of a brilliant bowling machine drill which we were introduced to by Shiv Chanderpaul.

Why do some people pick up cricket skills better and faster than others?

Talent? Maybe.

Grit? Possibly.

Knowing yourself? Absolutely.

Don't panic, I'm not suggesting you disappear for 7 years on a journey of discovery to confront your guilt and become a Ninjitsu master like Batman. Learning how you learn is simply a matter of trying things until you find the methods that click with you most quickly. Everyone is different, so keep trying; you'll find several that work.

Coach and county cricketer Chris Watling returns with another article, this time on bowling machines.

Bowling machines are not always good.

We all like to get on the machine and smack 3 or 4 buckets of cover drives. It's good for confidence, it's good to feel the ball out of the middle of the bat and it puts you in a good frame of mind.

Is it actually doing you any good?

The reality of it is, you know you can hit a cover drive well most of the time. How much do you really need to spend your limited practice time doing something you can already nail?

How much are you getting into position the ball even shoots out?

Isn't it better to expand your game by taking yourself out of your comfort zone?

Cricket coach and PitchVision columnist Sam Lavery tackles how to integrate running into net sessions.

Runs are the currency we value the most. So how do we go about improving how many runs we can score?

There are two simple ways:

Either improve our ability to hit the ball with a range of shots, improve our ability to run, or both.

Last week we looked at how to score big without boundaries, now we are going to switch it and look at some boundary options.

Is your pre-game warm up helping your cricket?

We all warming up is important and we are looking for new ways to make it fun and relevant for the match.

But if you want to do it right you can't just throw down a few cones, hit up some catches and hope for success. It's important to keep it simple, but simple is nothing unless it is also effective. To be effective you need a deeper undertanding of both the "why" and "how" of warming up, so you can select the correct drills at the correct time.

So, here is a collection of the best articles on warming up from PitchVision Academy to help you understand the warm up, and use it to boost your game while preventing injury. It can be used by coaches and players alike.

Take you time to go through these, take notes, and come up with your plan.

Can your team catch regularly and confidently?

Then it's time for the daddy of all high catching drills.

This is grim if the fielder doesn't cling onto the first few high balls. It trains concentration and desperation which all the best fielders have in abundance.