It’s my youngest son’s birthday in a few weeks time. At one year old his cricket skills are something to be desired but he still has a lot to teach us all about the game.

If you had seen the type of dramatic skill improvement he has show in the last 12 months you would be playing for your country by now. He has gone from being totally helpless to being able to sit up, crawl, open doors, press buttons, throw a ball and feed himself.

I didn’t have to coach him in any of these skills. He just picked them up through sheer instinct and determination.

Watching him try and fail many times over before learning how to crawl or put a bottle in his mouth I started to realise that he was teaching us all a lesson in will power.

He never stopped trying.

He never thought it was too difficult for him.

He just kept getting stronger until he could do it.

You know it won’t be long until he is taking his first steps. The amount of core strength development that takes is huge. No wonder he sleeps 14 hours a day.

Hopefully you are seeing the link to your game by now.

For most of us at club level the difference that separates the good players from the average ones is the fact they keep trying no matter how difficult the task seems.

As Woody Allen said, 80% of success is turning up. If a 1 year old can do it, why can’t we?