… for those who have travelled the London Underground, they will know that ‘mind the gap’ booms out from tannoy systems in the tube tunnels deep beneath London.
Warning passengers when they are embarking or disembarking, of the space between the edge of the platform and the door of the train when it has pulled to a stop.
Now that that is all said and done, this is about the space between where you are and where you want to be.
Whether it be in business, cricket or life.
It’s been a while since I blogged, I have been building a website on cricket, mental training and all things coaching.
For those out of the cricket loop, the ICC Twenty20 World Cup is under way in the West Indies.
The England cricket fans will be waiting tentatively to see how England perform, likewise South Africa.
Two of world cricket’s serial underperformers when it comes to ICC tournaments.
I could place New Zealand in there, that would be unfair though, they tend to punch way above their weight when it comes to these short form tournaments, regularly finding their way to the semis from a limited pool of talent.
Australia will be waiting to roll out their juggernaut into this format of the game, their domination of One Day Cricket complete.
The subcontinent in the form of India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are all successful in short form cricket.
As far as ‘minding the gap’, England and SA have a considerable gap to cross … mental as much as anything else.
England under Andy Flower’s dispensation have chosen a vibrant young squad based on specific skills for the Twenty20 format of the game.
They have made brave selections in Lumb and Kieswetter and are willing to risk it, at last !
England have historically been glorious in defeat, throwing off their conservative shackles once all is lost. These selections are based on some scintillating performances by both young men, now they have the opportunity to take it up to the next level. With Eoin Morgan, Paul Collingwood and Kevin Pietersen in the line up, the batting looks dangerous.
Whether they have the bowling resources to go deep into the tournament remains to be seen, wicket taking bowlers are a premium and I am not sure whether they have the quality here.
South Africa have enough baggage in the short formats of the game to keep them in clean clothes for several circumnavigations of the globe.
Never lacking in quality players, they have specialists throughout the side, match winning bowlers in Dale Steyn and the Morkels, batting that would be the envy of many other sides, anchored by Jacques Kallis and Graeme Smith.
They have a new coach so they will have to settle as a squad and get their game plans right. In their first game of this competition they were found out with their strategy and will need to adjust quickly, many of their players have come out of IPL cricket but having warmed the bench, which is never ideal.
Their gap is between their ears though, the fear of getting it wrong, again.
From the ODI World Cup nightmares of 1999, 2003 and 2007, the harder they try the worse it gets.
For them to move forward they need to design a new map to get them to their goal. Without moving out of the old one they will fall into the trap of ‘trying harder’, bringing the reverse intention with it.They could do worse than to investigate how the biblical saying, ‘what I fear most has come upon me’ operates.
Trying to drive through life whilst navigating with the rear view mirror can be quite challenging.
About Richard Pybus
I'm Richard Pybus, I've coached Pakistan, Bangladesh, Middlesex, Titans and the Cape Cobras in South Africa and the goal of this site is to help you to play winning cricket.