I'll be honest, I like to call a spade a spade and not a "vertical foot operated digging device". So why the heck do I like Ideal Performance State (IPS)?

Honestly, I think the term is clunky, but what it describes is something all cricketers can use to play better. That's where it gets interesting: It's where the spade hits the dirt and starts making a hole.

So, putting aside the term, what exactly is IPS?

It's an effortless feeling you get when you are playing in perfect harmony with yourself and the situation around you. Time seems to stand still but also pass quickly. You feel in control and you can meet every challenge without a hitch. If you have ever scored a hundred or had a destructive bowling spell, you know how this feels.

You want it every time you play. You might say it's a state of mind that is ideal for good performance.

The trouble is, it's elusive. Often you say things like "it didn't feel right today", "I was never in rhythm" or "I felt off my game somehow". You can never put you finger on what went wrong but you do know it was hard work, even though you did all the same things.

Turns out, IPS is a rare and fragile thing. It's to be cherished when you have it because it could vanish any moment.

But let's also dispel a myth: IPS is not form bestowed on you by some external magical force. There is no influence from fairies, lucky charms, Santa or unnamed deity. It's all about you and your environment.

How IPS happens

IPS happens when the challenge you face matches the skills you have.

So, if you come up against a far better bowler, you quickly get out because you are not good enough to play him. You can never reach IPS, even if you hang on and survive for a while. You just don't have the tools. In the same way, if you're the bowler and the batsman is your rabbit, you will be bored.

Often the difference is not as clear as that. Maybe it's a new ball that swings around but calms down later. If you can survive somehow when the bowler's skill is ahead, you can cash in later when your skill is better matched. That's where the mental side comes in.

It's here that things can get wishy-washy, with talk of visualisation and self-talk. What your need to know is your thinking has an influence on your performance when skill level and challenge level are close. In other words, mental training is a detail, but it's an absolutely crucial one. The better you are at keeping the gremlins out of your head, the more likely your are to reach IPS.

How to play effortlessly

So, if IPS is about skill level, the main answer is obvious: Improve your cricket skills.

Crucially, you do this by working on the skills you will need the most to feel in control. For example, if you are a bowler who is quick but inaccurate, work to develop better accuracy while maintaining speed. If you know the batsmen you come up against like pace bowling, work on ways to make them uncomfortable: Bouncers, yorkers and vicious swing.

That said, you can't just rely on skill alone. The challenge level will vary. Some days you will come up against someone you know is better, a situation where the odds are stacked against you, or someone gets plain lucky. Now, mental preparation becomes a massive factor.

You need a method for dealing with the pressure of a match situation that is mostly out of your control. You need a way to stop the little voice in the back of your head telling you you will look a fool and mess everything up. You need a way to reset back to "ready" after both startling success and crushing failure.

If you deal with these internal gremlins well, you are giving yourself a much better chance of reaching IPS.

Of course, there will still be times when the challenge outweighs your skills. There's nothing you can do about that other than work more to bring your relevant skills up to scratch. However for the other times, developing a mental game that keeps you on track is just as important as skill training.

So, while you can't always reach IPS yourself, you can train and prepare mentally to get there more often and stay there longer. And that means more runs and wickets in the long term.