Seam presentation

You could put a million revs on the ball but if it doesn’t hit the seam it isn’t going to spin. We found that Monty Panesar’s deliveries only had 1,700 revolutions per minute on them – other less successful spinners have been recorded at 2,400 revs – and yet his seam presentation when he was in his pomp was excellent, which allowed him to spin the ball prodigiously. Good seam presentation also helps you get drift, similarly to how it helps you get swing.

Perfecting the run-up

You don’t want to come in too close to the stumps, as you won’t be able to come round through the full 180 degrees and stay pointing towards the target. You can put cones or a small carpet down in front of the stumps and say, ‘Your feet aren’t allowed to touch that’. You can also put in small hurdles to make sure each step in their approach to the crease comes in the right place, and that the bowler is lifting their feet and coming in with enough energy.

Isolate the shoulders

Get the bowler to kneel a quarter of the way down the pitch and bowl just using their arms. I don’t want them to bowl at full pace, all I want is their shoulders to be sideways on, spinning it quite hard and making sure their finger is coming over the top of the ball. This helps you get a feel for how your shoulders should be in your action and for the upright seam presentation, and really strengthens up the muscles in the shoulders.