by K.Arjun
(Chennai)
Graeme Swann: Supreme Confidence
Hi Coach!
I am confident while bowling in the nets but I get nervous and fearful when bowling in matches, which obviously restricts my performance.
Please suggest some measures to get mentally tougher for cricket and handle or eliminate these fears.
Yours K.Arjun
Hi,
overcoming your fears and getting mentally tough for cricket means learning to use your conscious and subconscious minds to control your cricket performance.
The most powerful of the two, although they are really just two operational parts of the brain, is the subconscious mind.
It is the home of your imagination, memory, and creativity, it runs your body, from blinking to breathing … it is the seat of your power as a person and a cricketer.
We can consciously learn to control our subconscious mind to deal with our fears, if not, our fears will run us.
You say …’I am confident while bowling in the nets’.
The confidence in the nets comes from bowling in a controlled, enclosed environment, there’s no fear because there is little to go wrong.
So let’s examine the fears that you have when you bowl in a match situation.
If you haven’t read this post to a question from Oscar in Sydney, please do, because it gives some background and context to your issues. Getting Into the Zone
Firstly, you need to think about and identify what your fears are and the situations they come up in, then write them down.
Then I want you to choose the one you need to deal with first, let’s prioritise an action plan.
Remember, Zone performance most frequently happens when you can quieten your mind down so that you can deliver your skills.
We isolate the fear and the situation, then I want you to write out your ideal, ‘Zone’ performance in this situation.
Exactly as you want it to happen in game time, with good cricket strategy and the same level of calmness and focus that your inner mind knows you need to perform optimally.
Build into it positive self talk, so you are saying the right things to yourself at the right times.
Anxiety can also be controlled by performance breathing skills, so take time to understand how slowing your breathing down and breathing lower into your abdomen between balls can hep you to control your performance state.
With your performance script, read it over, be very clear about the specific outcomes that you want.
Now use your imagination to mentally rehearse and visualize yourself executing your plan effortlessly and easily. Do this in a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed and you can relax and focus properly.
Repeat this every day, taking time to mentally rehearse and run through your confident, controlled performance. Be patient with this, it can take up to 21 days to get this imprinted in your subconscious mind.
Do speak to your coach about this and see if you can reconstruct this exact scenario in a middle practice, to run it through in real time.
Then go to the next fear or situation that makes you feel anxious and then go through the same process.
Every time a new situation crops up, work on it with mental rehearsal and visualization and in cricket ‘situations’ like middle practices if it is possible, to build your ability to perform with confidence.
You can find more tips on this at Cricket Mental Training
Best wishes Coach
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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.