How can a cricketer stay focused on the field?

 Focused on the field

How can a cricketer stay focused on the field? - By Daniel Ferguson

Cricket is a sport with a long playing time. With matches potentially lasting 3-5 days, where up to 6 hours can be played each day, players are required to focus for long periods of time. Especially during moments of the game where the player has very little to do, for example, being a fielder, how can a player keep their focus? 

Achieving a quiet mind

Do you remember a time when everything you touched turned to gold? It's almost like you didn't need to think, it just happened. Picture that time when it just felt like you're day. It can feel like you're playing on autopilot doesn't it? This is what achieving a 'quiet mind' is about: you don't think too much, you just do. 

The opposite of a quiet mind is a mind that thinks a lot, where thoughts feel as though they're constantly coming in and out: racing. A batsmen in cricket can overthink by analysing every possible outcome of where they could strike the ball. This can lead to paralysis by analysis where a player thinks too much about performing an action to the point they don't perform it very well. 

A fear of failure can also prevent a quiet mind, as the pressure results in mental stress.

How to achieve a quiet mind and stay focused 

Breathing techniques

Breathing techniques can be used at any point in the game. Here's one you can try:
  1. Pick a moment: find a time in the game that feels right to start you're breathing technique
  2. First inhale deeply: inhale for 3 seconds
  3. Hold the breath: hold that breath for 3 seconds
  4. Then exhale: then exhale for 3 seconds
This is known as the 3-3-3 rule, you can also find more techniques with calm. 

Breathing helps us focus as it brings us back down to earth and helps us focus on things that are important. The science is that it regulates blood pressure and heart rate and switches the autonomic nervous system from sympathetic to parasympathetic, basically chilling you out. 

Mental cues

Mental cues are simple, focused thoughts that help a player to concentrate. These are also known as positive self talk cues. These are words and phrases a player can say to themselves to remain focused. Ricky Ponting used to say to himself, "watch the ball, watch the ball". You can think of an area you usually lose focus in and create a mental cue based on this. 

For example, if you lose focus as a fielder you could say, "be ready for the ball" or "catch the ball". This is a simple technique to keep focused. 

Grounding techniques

In a blog by Karun Jethi he said an ex-Indian cricketer once told him that concentration is remaining in the present. A great way to be present is using grounding techniques. Grounding has similar effects to breathing in that sense that it brings a player back down to earth. They can be used together at the same time too. Here's an example of a grounding technique using the 5 senses.

This technique can be used at any time, in this example, imagine you're in a game:
  1. What 5 things can you see? The fans? A bat? A ball? Grass? The sky?
  2. What 4 things can you feel? The feel of your kit? You're feet on the ground?
  3. What 3 things can you hear? Your teammates? The fans? The ball hit the bat?
  4. What 2 things can you smell? The air? Your kit? Your fragrance?
  5. What can you taste? Something you ate before the game? 
You can go through these during a game, or even more simply, just ask yourself what can I see, what can I feel etc. It doesn't have to be a set number of things. 

Refresh, refocus periods

During long games you can have refresh and refocus periods. These could also be used as mental cues: "refresh" and "refocus". Here are some examples based on different positions:

  • As a batsmen you can think about what options there are to score runs to refresh and then refocus when actually batting. 
  • As a bowler you can refresh by thinking about your technique and then refocus by performing the bowl. 
  • As a fielder you can refresh by thinking about ways to receive the ball and throw, and then refocus by doing so.

I hope this blog helps you focus as a cricketer, two other great blogs which can help you are: Batting with a quiet mind by James Breese and another on the same topic by David Charlton. 

Take care.



Find Daniel Ferguson on:
LinkedIn: Daniel Ferguson
Instagram: @danferguson_sp
Twitter: @DanFergusonSP






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