You love your phone. You can't possibly be parted from it. The problem is that Coach has banned phones from the nets.

What do you do?

The obvious answer is to just turn it off, put it away and go play some cricket. That's why you are there, and the coach wants you distraction-free while you go about hitting harder, bowling faster and fielding with skill and commitment.

But we can do better than that.

We can turn your phone into a device that actually improves your game.

Stop the distractions

First up, we need to deal with the distraction element of your phone. It's a distraction machine, begging for your attention all day and all night: Text, WhatsApp, Snapchat, Facebook, Email, Calls, Twitter, Slack, Skype...

Even Pokemon Go! wants you catching them all instead of catching cricket balls.

So, when you step into nets, put your phone into Do Not Disturb.

Every phone has this setting, and most phones allow you to let important stuff through while quietly ignoring all the other notifications. For example, on an iPhone, if someone calls twice in quick succession, the phone will ring the second time. Handy for occasional emergency calls.

From here you can keep your phone nearby and not worry about the latest snap from your stupid friend distracting you.

Use the tools

So now you have a powerful device that is free of distractions, what can you do with it?

First, take notes. I know it's cricket not a history class, but we know how important reflection is to improving your game.

The simple way is to use the notes app on the phone itself. The standard app on most phone is fine for a few quick words and ideas.

However, you also need to go over these notes and check if there are any actions to take for next time. So, check out the PitchVision app, a service for your phone that lets you take notes per session, and even per delivery! It ties in to PitchVision's ball tracking too.

Second, use video.

Your phone has a camera, so fire up the PitchVision app (free on Android and iOS), get a mate to point it at you while you perform and log everything as you go.

The app allows you to upload your videos to your PitchVision account so you can track your improvements over time, and tie them together with your notes. Everything you do in cricket is brought together on your personal timeline in the app. A one stop solution.

From pain to power

With PitchVision, you can see how you transform your phone.

When you are at nets it stops being your distraction communicator and starts being your cricket logbook and video analysis tool. So, when the coach sees how much you are improving, you might even get away with the odd snap!