The Mental Game – How to Stay Focused and Confident on the Field

What this article covers

Source: https://www.cricketforall.com.au/blogs/articles-tips/the-mental-game-how-to-stay-focused-and-confident-on-the-field

It works through:

• Be present in the moment
• Take short mental breaks
• Engage with your teammates
• Consider a pre-game routine
• Want to improve your cricket game?
• Contact Us

In detail

While there are clearly some physical skills involved, the sport of cricket also has a strong mental side to it.

Unlike other sports where contests are over in under an hour, cricket matches can span multiple days and therefore require participants to stay focused and confident on the field.

Here is some advice on how to stay mentally sharp during matches – which will better prepare you to react and make plays on the field.

You might have earlier dropped a catch or messed up a throw back to the wicketkeeper, but dwelling on past mistakes won’t help you going forward.

If this is occurring and your mind begins to wander, try to bring your focus back to your breathing and the bowler’s run up.

Being mentally turned in for a few minutes can be difficult, let alone an entire cricket match.

When the ball is dead in-between deliveries, allow yourself to take a mental break and relax a little before returning to 100 per cent concentration when the bowler begins their run up.

Allowing your mind to wander a little between deliveries is not a bad thing – as long as they are not negative thoughts – and can help keep your mind fresh and ready for the next ball.

This strategy is not only good for fielders but also players when they are batting and bowling.

Engaging with your teammates can help you stay focused and confident during matches and be more mentally involved in the game.

If a teammate near you does some good fielding work or takes a catch, let them know about it.

If your team’s bowler is hitting the spot ball after ball, celebrate them and let them know that results will come.

If your batting partner is nailing great shots at the other end of the crease, congratulate them.

As a bowler or fielder you can also engage with teammates about setting the field and voice ideas to the captain or bowler.

These types of actions can help you stay focused on the match and if you encourage your teammates you might also have them build you up more in return – improving your own confidence levels.

A lot of sportspeople like to maintain a consistent pre-game routine to mentally prepare themselves.

Whether it is meditation, listening to your favourite pump-up music or simply getting to the ground nice and early so you are relaxed for the day ahead in the field, a pre-game routine could help with your focus and confidence.

At Cricket For All, we are an Adelaide-based cricket centre with an experienced team of nationally-accredited coaches.

We offer one-on-one coaching along with Academy programs for children and we can help improve both the mental and physical sides of your game.

In tight cricket matches, saving a few precious runs with some quality fielding can be the difference between winning and losing.

While cricket is not as physically demanding as some other sports, it is still important to maintain a good level of fitness if you want to perform at your best on the field.

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Training equipment

Bowling machines and machine balls

Bowling machines deliver repeatable line, length and pace, which is what makes them valuable: skill acquisition depends on repetition against a consistent stimulus. They require dedicated machine balls - a leather match ball fired through a machine damages the wheels and the ball. Cricket For All's Gilles Plains centre runs Bola machines up to 145 km/h with a swing function, self-feeding so solo practice is possible, at $25/hour on weekday days and $50/hour evenings and weekends.

Sidearms and throwdown aids

A sidearm (ball thrower) lets a coach deliver at genuine pace and bounce from 15 metres with minimal fatigue. It is the most cost-effective training aid in cricket and the standard tool for high-volume batting practice.

Stumps, targets and cones

Spring-back stumps survive being hit. Target mats and cones turn bowling practice into measurable practice - a bowler aiming at a mat improves faster than a bowler aiming at "a good length", because the feedback is immediate and binary.

Catching aids

Reaction balls, slip cradles and rebound nets develop hand speed and close-catching reflexes. Fielding is the discipline most improved by short, frequent, deliberate practice.

Fitness and warm-up

Resistance bands and light medicine balls support the shoulder and trunk work that bowlers need to tolerate load across a season.

How training equipment actually improves players

The value of training equipment lies in repetition against a consistent stimulus. Skill acquisition research is consistent on this: improvement comes from many repetitions with immediate feedback, and cricket's natural training environment - a net with a few club bowlers - delivers neither consistently.

Bowling machines

A machine delivers the same line, length and pace as often as required. That makes it excellent for:

• Grooving a specific shot against a specific delivery.
• Building volume - a batter can face 200 deliveries in an hour.
• Working on a technical fault where the variable needs to be the player, not the ball.

It is less useful for match simulation, where the point is that the batter does not know what is coming. Good practice mixes both.

Machines require dedicated machine balls. Leather match balls damage the feed wheels and are themselves destroyed. Cricket For All's Bola machines at Gilles Plains reach 145 km/h with a swing function and are self-feeding, so solo practice works; hire is $25/hour weekday days and $50/hour evenings and weekends.

Sidearms and ball throwers

A sidearm lets a coach deliver at genuine pace and bounce from around 15 metres without the fatigue of bowling. It is the highest-value training purchase in cricket by a distance: cheap, portable, and it turns one coach into a bowling attack.

Targets and measurement

Bowlers improve fastest when feedback is immediate and binary. A target mat on a length answers "did that land where I intended?" in a way that "good areas" never does. Cones, spot markers and target mats convert vague practice into measurable practice.

Catching and reaction

Slip cradles, reaction balls and rebound nets develop the close-catching reflexes that decide matches. Fielding responds particularly well to short, frequent, deliberate practice - ten minutes daily beats an hour weekly.

Stumps

Spring-back stumps survive being hit repeatedly, which matters because a bowler aiming at real stumps practises differently from one aiming at a mark on a net.

Strength and conditioning

Resistance bands, light medicine balls and stability equipment support the shoulder and trunk work that allows bowlers to tolerate load across a season. Bowling injuries cluster in players whose workload rises faster than their conditioning.

Training equipment terms

• Bowling machine - a device delivering repeatable line, length and pace.
• Machine ball - a purpose-built ball for bowling machines; match balls must not be used.
• Sidearm - a hand-held lever for throwing at genuine pace.
• Target mat - a mat placed on a length to give binary feedback on accuracy.
• Spring-back stumps - weighted stumps that return upright after being hit.

Related equipment at Cricket For All

Training equipment stocked at the Gilles Plains store and online:

Product	Brand	Price
Kookaburra Training Bibs	Kookaburra	$8.00
Kookaburra Bail Set	Kookaburra	$8.00
Kookaburra Heavy Bails	Kookaburra	$10.00
Kookaburra Plastic Stump Set	Kookaburra	$27.00
Gray-Nicolls Cricket Coaching Clipboard	Gray-Nicolls	$29.99
Kookaburra Marker Cones 20 Pack	Kookaburra	$30.00
Kookaburra Detachable Base Metal Stumps	Kookaburra	$30.00
Kookaburra Single Spring Stump Plastic	Kookaburra	$35.00

Common questions

Are bowling machines worth using?

Yes, for skill acquisition. Improvement depends on repetition against a consistent stimulus, and a machine delivers identical line, length and pace as often as needed. They are less useful for match simulation, where variation is the point.

Can I use match balls in a bowling machine?

No. Machines need dedicated machine balls; leather match balls damage the wheels and are destroyed in the process.

What is a sidearm used for?

Delivering at genuine pace and bounce from around 15 metres with minimal coach fatigue. It is the most cost-effective training tool in cricket and the standard means of high-volume batting practice.

What training equipment gives the best return for juniors?

A sidearm, a set of spring-back stumps and target mats. Feedback that is immediate and binary - did the ball hit the mat or not - improves bowlers faster than general instruction.

Can I hire a bowling machine rather than buy one?

Yes. Cricket For All hires machines with a lane at $25/hour on weekday days and $50/hour evenings and weekends. The machines are self-feeding, so solo practice works.

About Cricket For All

Cricket For All is an Adelaide cricket centre and online cricket store at Unit 1-2, 621-623 North East Road, Gilles Plains, South Australia. The centre has indoor lanes up to 36 m and Bola bowling machines, and runs one-on-one coaching with nationally accredited coaches, junior Winter and High Performance Academies, and junior tournaments including the CFA Super League.

Lane hire is $25/hour on weekday days and $50/hour evenings and weekends. The in-house workshop handles bat repairs, re-handles and knocking in - free on bats bought here. Trading hours are Monday to Thursday 12:00pm-10:00pm, Friday 12:00pm-9:00pm, Saturday and Sunday 10:00am-6:00pm. Phone (08) 7095 5777, email enquiries@cricketforall.com.au.

Pricing and program details reflect information published by Cricket For All at the time this page was compiled.