I have no confidence

Top Contributors
T

trescho

New Member
I have no confidence

When i'm in the nets i'm playing all the shots and middling the ball perfectly and playing at the very top of my game.But when i go out to the middle i really struggle with confidence to play my shots and i just concentrate on blocking and only get low scores below 10.Its a massive difference between nets and match????please help me with this confidence issue????
 
Re: I have no confidence

It seems that you have the classic case of being scared of getting out when batting in 'real' situations.

Do you find that this problem is against bowling of all types or just to a certain action?

Welcome to the board by the way!
 
Re: I have no confidence

I would recommend setting yourself small targets to help get over this problem.

First target might be to survive the first ball, then first over.

The next target might be 1 run, then 10 runs, then 25 runs, then 50, etc.

This will keep you focussed on a positive target rathern than focussing on the negative.

As the saying goes, if you think you are beaten you are!
 
Re: I have no confidence

Welcome trescho.

I am not a keen advocate of nets 'practise'. It is fantastic for working on technique; building/grooving/honing your shots and bowling technique but it is not 'cricket' practise. This has to be done in the middle; where you are vulnerable ;) It is easy to come forward for the short balls or whack the easy ones in the nets, nobody is going to stump or catch you. Spending a lot of time in the nets gives you a false sense of security.

Darren's advice is excellent, take one stage at a time; little by little and do your practising in the middle.

Take a look at:
http://www.harrowdrive.com/do-you-have-the-mental-toughness-to-be-a-great-cricketer/

Some of it may help :D
 
Re: I have no confidence

This may or may not help, but if you are already failing to score over 10, what more is there to fear? Just go out there and have fun.
 
Re: I have no confidence

The problem is that the mind is a funny thing. I had a shocker today as I put myself under too much pressure, which is never a good thing.
 
Re: I have no confidence

its against all bowlers but in nets id be cover driving balls beautifully and playin all my shots well but in the match i'd either block or leave the balls im playing them to and then eventually get out cus im thinking to myselfive been in for 10 overs or summit n ow and im onlyu on 5.
 
Re: I have no confidence

Then the advice offered by Darren is a good way to go.

Set yourself small targets, try to have a positive outlook and it will come. Luck is a funny thing, but you can certainly influence it.

It may also help to have some practice time out in the middle, something which is in-between 'nets' and 'match'.
 
Re: I have no confidence

I've been suffering a similar problem since I came back after a foot injury, I hate to come onto the front foot in fear of further damaging myself. After scoring life-time worst scores of 3 and 0 in consecutive games, my confidence is completely rock bottom.
 
Re: I have no confidence

One way may be to try to add protection to the foot that was injured in order to help ease the fear that a full length ball landing on it may injure it again. I don't really know what to suggest in this respect, other than a decent pair of cricket spikes and thick socks, but it may be something to look into.

Other than that, just practice getting that stride in. Start off with static balls, then move on to throwdowns, then gentle medium pace etc. The more that you do the action without anything bad happening the quicker the fear will drop away.

Welcome to the board by the way!
 
Re: I have no confidence

Thankyou for both the advice and the welcome.

I have a T20 match tomorrow so hopefully I'll be able to use it as a stress free place to play some shots. And I should have a bit of spare time before the match so will try the things you suggested. Also, I might see if I can fashion some kind of protective layer into my spikes to protect my foot and perhaps ease my mind somewhat.

Cheers.
 
Re: I have no confidence

Injuries can be a nightmare especially when they start to play on the mind. The key thing is to make sure you've followed the rehab and given it plenty of chance to heal, then try to get back out there and play as normally as possible.
 
Re: I have no confidence

Hi trescho,

I had the same problem last year, I was amazing in the nets and struggled in the middle. It is definately a mind thing, but it's a positive as well as it shows you value your wicket and generally are very competitive. I found i batted very well when there was no pressure on me, so i guess the key is to convince yourslef that it's not the end of the world if you fail.

A trick i use, which may or may not help. I find talking to myself between balls helps me alot. Keep telling yourself to play each ball on it's merits and that way you will get rid of the pre-meditated defensive mode you seem to get yourself into when lacking confidence.

Good Luck!
 
Re: I have no confidence

madbunny said:
Hi trescho,

I had the same problem last year, I was amazing in the nets and struggled in the middle. It is definately a mind thing, but it's a positive as well as it shows you value your wicket and generally are very competitive. I found i batted very well when there was no pressure on me, so i guess the key is to convince yourslef that it's not the end of the world if you fail.

A trick i use, which may or may not help. I find talking to myself between balls helps me alot. Keep telling yourself to play each ball on it's merits and that way you will get rid of the pre-meditated defensive mode you seem to get yourself into when lacking confidence.

Good Luck!
Click to expand...

Yeh same here, I had it too. And you're right, if you convince yourself that the team isn't relying on you completely and you won't be the only one to ever fail, you should be alright.
 
Re: I have no confidence

Hi Liz,

The injury to my foot was done in two ways. Originally I was playing football and got somewhat crunched in a tackle. After limping off, I rested for about a week and everything seemed fine. Then, I was practising in the nets a week or so later and edged a drive into the knuckle part of my big toe. Immediately the area went black and swelled up. A quick trip to A&E revealed nothing was broken, just very badly bruised.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top