I was recently lucky enough to have a conversation with Shahzad Altaf, the Head Coach of Young Talent Cricket Academy in Dubai. One of his key coaching philosophies is that developing cricketers is just like building a medieval cathedral.

I love the analogy because it works on a number of levels:

Perseverance

Building a cathedral is not something that was done in an afternoon. It took decades, even centuries. Mastering cricket skills might not take quite so long, but its certainly a huge project. You have to stick with it through setbacks as well as the good time.

Remember no matter how small or dull the task, you are working towards that majestic cathedral.

Teamwork

Cathedrals take so much work, it's never a job for one person.

Cricketers are also exposed to many different people wanting to craft their talent. You have to take the role of architect and employ the right people to help, but you will always have more than one coach across different teams, so be selective about the team you build and the advice you follow.

Solid Foundations

A cathedral is built on foundations you can't see when it's finished. So is a cricket career. It might be a cliché, but it's also true.

So, become a master of the basics and it will allow you to do more exciting, creative and flamboyant things. But it will look like you are a "natural" who knew exactly what to do from the moment you started playing.

Just don't tell anyone how solid your foundations are, they can't see them and it detracts from the majesty of your work.

For more information about how Young Talent Cricket Ac can help you build your cricket catherdral, click here.