In part one we looked at at the common problems that village or scratch team captains face before they even get on the field.

This time we will look in more detail at the unique tactical parts of captaining at the village or park level.

Picture the scene: A gloriously sunny day with a warm breeze rustling through the trees; Perfect cricket weather.

Walking out to the middle to examine the playing area, the bowlers take one look at the pitch and hang their heads while the batsmen rub their hands in glee. It's a bowler's graveyard: Hard and flat with short boundaries and a fast outfield.

So you think you know your cricket tactics inside out?

There is only one way to find out for sure; test yourself.

That's why a while back I created a quick and dirty "Tactical Awareness Test" for PitchVision Academy users to find out how good they really are.

This is part of a series on How to exploit batsman's weaknesses. To see the other weaknesses click here.

The low backlift is seen at every level from school matches to Tests. Yet, at lower levels it's a batting weakness that can be used to your advantage.

This is part of a series on How to exploit batsman's weaknesses. To see the other weaknesses click here.

It might be controversial to say it, but a backlift over middle or leg stump is a weakness dying to be exploited by all types of bowlers.

Coaching manuals often advise players to pick the bat up straight, but this method limits a player's scoring options and allows the bowler several obvious ways to get a wicket.

After a handful of IPL 3 games the Royals had yet to register a win and were already written off as failures for another year.

After 7 games they had jumped to third in the table and looked unstoppable, despite not having the huge names of other teams.

Can your team copy the Royals method if your own season starts badly?

Critics had wondered why older players with Test pedigrees like Kallis, Vaas and Tendulkar were even bothering with the IPL. Maybe for the money, because their games are not built for the crash bang format.

It's a situation many older club players can relate to as well.

In part 1 of this series we looked at why middle practice is so important and how to deal with the problems of running a middle practice session. Today we are looking at what types of scenarios you can set up, and how to keep them interesting to everybody, even the guy stuck at third man.

Middle practice is a far better way to improve your tactics and game plans than nets will ever be.

That's because nets lack context. There is no pressure of the game or fielders.

But to learn how to play under pressure you have to practice under pressure. And middle practice does exactly that.

This is the first in a regular series of articles looking at the techniques and tactics used in IPL 3.

The 2010 IPL got off to a rip-roaring start with all the franchises playing over the opening weekend. We watched every game and picked out a few choice cuts that you can take into your games this season.

So here are the first tips, separated by team: