This guest post is by Darren Talbot.

I had a very interesting conversation this week with Chris Hanson who runs a thriving junior section for East Molesey Cricket Club down by the River Thames in Surrey next door to Hampton Court Palace. A former club of mine, we got chatting about the success of their colts set up.

There is a critical balance of authority between captains and their bowlers. Good skippers know how to manage this and get the best from their wicket takers.

Generally the captain has authority over the bowler when it comes to tactical decisions on the field. Often this can get a lot more complex. Senior bowlers like to set their own fields or take the new ball, especially with junior captains. Captains are trying to look at the bigger picture and may often disagree with tactics the bowler wants.

I am inviting readers to submit their experience, tips and advice on how to improve your cricket. Today it's the turn of Guy, who had an “aha” moment recently. Comments are open for your feedback.

I stumbled upon something the other day that really helped my batting.

For a lot of my playing time I have always started to play a shot as soon as the bowler has released the ball. It was only recently that i realised how little I actually watched the ball. I used to use the bowlers release of the ball as a trigger to start playing my shot and this lead to me placing my foot in the same place, every ball, and only being able to play limited shots.

Research into top batsmen has show they can predict a delivery from tiny clues in a bowler's run up and action. They can read his mind.

I'm pretty sure this ability has been around forever, but in these days of limited overs and Twenty20 cricket, the ability to do so quickly is even more relevant, even for club players.

Any club cricket team that talks well with each other has an instant advantage over the opposition. Does your team know how to do it?

The advantage comes from the transient way that club teams work. Players go in and out of sides and line ups change regularly from week to week. This makes it hard to gel everyone together naturally.

Herschelle Gibbs downplayed the six sixes he hit during the World Cup. He certainly didn't give any clues as to how to emulate him, but what if you want to?

Judging by the fact that it has happened at the top level less than a handful of times, it's not an easy challenge. Here is how you might be able to pull it off.

Ever heard a conversation at your cricket club go something like this:

Senior Player: That Jim is a good player but he tries too hard.

Club Pro: We will soon get that out of him!

*laughter*

The underlying sentiment seems to be that success is wanted by the club, but you can't be seen to be trying too hard to get it.

There is often little time or motivation for club players to practice fielding. That means doing everything possible to maximise what chance you have.

Good practice can give a club the edge. Based on experience and the advice of South African fielding coach Jonty Rhodes here is how you can do it:

• Keep it short and intense. Never drill for the sake of it. The intensity of your fielding practice should be close to game intensity. Do a few drills as hard as you can then move onto something else when the quality starts to go.