Steffan Jones bowled a yorker or two in his time and he wants to stem the flood away from bowling them. Here is how to take out those toes.

Why is the yorker going out of the game?

Maybe you have been told that by trying to bowl the yorker you are likely to either bowl a full toss or a half volley.These days those balls will disappear into the stands either over long-on or ramped over the keeper. The batters have got stronger and the bats have got bigger so the margin of error has decreased. Bowling a yorker is a risky business.

But you know what?

A true yorker still remains a ball you can't hit for six.

It makes me sad that very few are willing to bowl one. Instead you bowl a slower ball bumper that just opens up the whole field and is asked to get smacked. That's a cop out. You haven't practised the art of bowling yorkers. Anything else doesn't work as well. I was speaking to Azhar Mahmood last week, and he said that after the last few years of bowling his "back of the hand slower ball" he only bowled it twice this year because he knew batters were expecting it.

You know what you can't do much about even when you know it's coming?

A good yorker.

Yorker first policy

When we talk about variations, you must build a foundation of death bowling skills based around bowling a perfect yorker first. Build the bricks of the house first before worrying about putting fancy curtains in.

Speaking of which, I suggest if you can't hit a natural top of off length then practicing bowling at the death is a step too far. SO think about where you are in your development first.

That said, what is the plan for getting to yorker perfection?

The right action helps: Slightly slingy and a skiddy pace. It's also good if you are stocky in build and average height. It's more difficult to bowl a yorker as a tall bowler due to a smaller margin of error as a result of trajectory.

These traits make it easier, but with practice you can get good whatever your genetics. One of the problems I see today is exactly that; not enough practice for all kinds of reasons:

• Time restraints at net practice.
• Batters don't like getting their hoof blown off so won’t face bowlers bowling yorkers.
• Added workload to an already over bowled bowler.
• Needs to be practised indoor in the winter. Adding impact stresses on the joints and short run ups.
• A long learning curve: You have to bowl thousands of yorkers to lock in the muscle memory.

A lot of this can be solved with a simple conversation with the coach and batsmen. If you can hit a length then bowl half the session for the needs of the batter then say, "Now you help me, I'm practising death bowling". Get at least an over in every session.

At the top of your run

So you have permission to go for your death bowling. What do you do next?

"The body learns technique in the values of 85%-92.5% of your maximum effort" Anatoli Bondarchuk

Practice the skill as close to match pace as possible without adding extra workload and stress on the body. Half hearted at this point is waste. There's absolutely no point in practising off a short/walk through run up.

But effort doesn't mean all out speed.

To me, nailing the exact spot was more important than bowling it quickly. I truly believe an 80mph Yorker is far more effective than an 85mph half volley. Focus on the skill execution as opposed to the effort of the skill.

Has the advent of the speed gun at live games hindered bowling yorkers?

So now with the speed gun out of your mind, where do you aim? It's important to understand everyone is different. I ran in and focused on the bottom of the off stump. Remember, bowling yorkers isn’t a "feel" thing - like hitting a length - it has to spot on. It’s more like darts. Where you look is individual. Wasim Akram, Shoiab Akhtar and Waqar Younis all looked at different points: Bottom, middle or top of off. The one constant was that they looked at one particular point: That's the key. Don’t be vague, be specific!

The take home point

• Yorkers are out of fashion but still devastating.
• Practice yorkers at the right intensity, even when others try to stop you.
• Get in a lot of repetitions. 5,000 to start.
• Find the effort to practice it, it takes a long time to get right and has a tiny margin of error.
• Find a way that works for you. Everyone is different.

It's worth the effort because bowlers win matches and death bowlers win trophies!

For more from former professional cricketer and current coach Steffan Jones, click here.