BATTING

PART “C”:“Mental Management”

Brian Lara – 400*

Matthew Hayden - 380

To play long innings and score consistently

To maintain a high career batting average

AIM OF BATTERS

400* BC Lara v England 380 ML Hayden v Zimbabwe 375 BC Lara v England 365* GS Sobers v Pakistan 364 L Hutton v Australia 340 ST Jayasuriya v India 337 Hanif Mohammad v West Indies 336* WR Hammond v New Zealand 334* MA Taylor v Pakistan 334 DG Bradman v England 333 GA Gooch v India 329 Inzamam-ul-Haq v New Zealand 325 A Sandham v West Indies 311 RB Simpson v England 310* JH Edrich v New Zealand 309 V Sehwag v Pakistan 307 RM Cowper v England 304 DG Bradman v England 302 LG Rowe v England

TEST 300+ INNINGS

Brian Lara & Gary Sobers

400* & 375 365*

Mark Taylor, Don Bradman &Sanath Jayasuriya

334* 334 & 304 340

Inzamam-ul-Haq & Hanif Mohammad

329 337 in 970 minutes

They hate being dismissed

They are accountable for performances

They are prepared to work hard

ESSENTIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF BATTERS

Stephen Waugh, Sunil Gavaskar, Allan Border & Javed Miandad

Technique Method & Approach Role in team Equipment Routines Personality Sporting luck

HOW TO BE CONSISTENT?

“What type of player am I? What are my strengths and weaknesses? How do I respond to the game?

Sir Everton Weekes & Jacques Kallis

VVS Laxman & Shivnarine Chanderpaul

Andrew Symonds & Yousuf Youhana

(a) Against quicks

Look to score rather than defend or you will be mentally worn down

Must feel comfortable on the back foot Increase shot range, especially hooking / cutting A simple plan is “drive or play back, don’t push

forward” Play the delivery, not the bowler’s reputation

SOME METHODS & APPROACHES TO BATTING

Michael Vaughan & Ricky Ponting

Desmond Haynes & Gordon Greenidge

(b) Against spinners

Must be comfortable to leave the crease Glide don’t bounce Alter the length and you control tempo Learn to sweep Defending is ‘NOT’, not scoring Have a plan for every bowler Placement is as important as power

SOME METHODS & APPROACHES TO BATTING

Mark Waugh & Michael Clarke

Andy Flower …… sweeping !

WHAT NOT TO DO! Accept good balls and respect talented bowlers, they are allowed to be

as good as you. Expect, accept and then ignore poor umpiring decisions. They are part

of the game…today’s ill fortune will be tomorrow’s good luck. Don’t allow outside issues to interfere with your routines and focus. Over-analyzing a series of dismissals is mentally exhausting. It is a one

way journey to confusion and frustration. There is no quick fix or easy solution, the obvious is the best thing to

do…accept you were dismissed a few times and look forward to scoring your career average next innings.

Don’t change equipment or your practice methods and routines. Tinkering is the first sign of uncertainty and mental fragility.

Never speculate about your selection or think and talk about favorable outcomes (e.g. “I am going to score a 100 tomorrow”).

FORM FLUCTUATIONS

WHAT TO DO! Clearing the mind is essential. Return to practicing batting only. Practice with a purpose…ball by ball. Understand you will never hit every ball perfectly. Watch the ball. Hit more balls than usual (for a time). Don’t rely on bowling machines or throw downs. Sharpen reflexes with lots of short, sharp catches. Experiment with controlled breathing in nets. Thinking about cricket finishes when practice is over. Take the ball by ball focus into your next innings.

FORM FLUCTUATIONS

Sachin Tendulkar