There are more balls hit into the air now that at any other time in cricket history. Matches and tournaments can be won and lost on the ability of a team or individual player to cling onto a Skyer.  So it is vital for us to develop the skills of our players to cope with this aerial onslaught.

A fellow coach and I were speaking last night about a perennial problem in our team: the ball stops swinging very early.

We blame the quality of the balls. This happens every season. The new ball wobbles a little but the deviation soon ends, often after as little as 10 overs.

But it’s not just about the ball. So here are 4 ways you can make a “bad” ball swing.

The slog sweep is a legitimate boundary option. It’s hit in the air over the inner ring fielders and with the huge bats of today, often over the fence!

I ‘m delighted to announce that Kevin Pietersen’s online coaching courses Keep Calm and Smash It are now available exclusively on PitchVision Academy.

As you know, back in January we announced KP was revealing his methods in his first ever online coaching courses. And since then it’s been a feast of KP action on the site as a preview to the main event.

Now the wait is over: Keep Calm and Smash It courses are now available.

Click here to enrol.

It’s time for another free preview of Kevin Pietersen’s online coaching course: Keep Calm and Smash It.

As you know, KP is well known for his commitment to practice, and leaving no stone unturned in his quest for excellence.

In Keep Calm and Smash It Kevin Pietersen gives you the tools to copy the practice methods that allowed him to reach the top. Part of that method is documenting where you are and recording your improvements.

That’s where the comprehensive course worksheets come in.

And in this preview KP is giving away the exact worksheet that comes with Chapter 1 of the course.

In the first of three articles on sweeping spinners, I look at the hard sweep: The ‘normal’ sweep where the ball is hit out towards the square leg boundary along the ground.

Many commentators are very critical on the shot and its use in any format of the game.

In our regular series of coaching questions PitchVision Academy put to Kevin Pietersen during the filming of Keep Calm and Smash It, we asked KP to explain his approach to left arm spin. He doesn't see a problem.

The video below explains it all, including demonstrating the way he scores.

Click play to watch it.

If you want to learn shortcuts to learning your own methods of batting success get Keep Calm and Smash It, the online coaching course that gives you instant access to videos, drills and worksheets.

PitchVision batting coach Gary Palmer has been causing a bit of a stir.

After years of experimenting and developing he has come up with the ultimate batting session.

A batting session that is so effective and so complete he has been showing it to open-mouthed coaches at several first-class counties.

But here is the kicker; it teaches you to bat in a way that has never been taught before.

Gary calls it 4 Angles, and it’s the only session you will ever need as a coach or a player.

Not being able to score runs is painful. I’m sure you have experienced something similar to Kevin Pietersen and his slump as England play Pakistan.

59 runs in 6 innings? Awful; especially when you decide the best form of defence is attack and hook straight down deep square leg’s throat.

So what are KP and his coaches Andy Flower and Graham Gooch going to do about it?

When you bake a cake you don’t wait until it’s in the oven before making it taste good. A good cake is all in the preparation.

Cricket is just the same. When you put in the work mixing the right ingredients, you know you will be proud of the results.

So, if the weeks before the season starts is the prep time of cricket, what are the ingredients?