Battling batting blues

In a sporting sense, nothing is more emotionally crippling that an international quality batsman experiencing a lean trot over an extended period.

Paralysis by analysis engulfs you.

You don’t need to check your recent statistics because the spotlight is firmly tracking your performances and articles are ever present, breaking your spirit. You try not to peruse the papers but headlines have a unique way of grabbing your attention. It can be soul destroying.

You decide to start at the beginning to get things back on track. There is always one person whose advice is sought. That person is someone who has assisted in the past and understands and sympathizes with your dilemma. The problem is, everyone has their bit of advice to pass on, that if followed will instantaneously dissolve your mental torment.

Tapes are studied and techniques are scrutinized. You begin having thoughts of tampering with your method. Those thoughts soon become reality when you notice that in an innings of some time ago, a minute insignificant difference is spotted. Next you move on to your equipment. Your mind flashes back to a fluent century scored when you decided to use a bat of a different weight. “That’s it!” you say. “That’s the problem.” You phone your sponsor and change your willow specifications. Unbeknown to you, things are getting more complex by the minute.

Whilst awaiting the arrival of your newly weighted bat, you decide a solid net session is in order. In the back of the cupboard you search for a bat that closely resembles the weight you have prearranged. Your venue for a net is a familiar one. You see well-known faces who offer solutions but deep down you know they could not really care less. One snippet of advice keeps cropping up. Relax and play your natural game. Easier said than done. You are sick of hearing that. You tried it in the last Test but got caught driving at a wide one and promised yourself that is not the answer as you ripped off your pads in frustration in the change room following another low score.

During your net session things appear to go quite well. Your feet are moving nicely and your ‘trigger movements’ are in sync. You do suspect though that too much concentration was spent thinking about those movements rather than just playing the ball. The new weighted bat felt a bit strange. Maybe another grip on the handle will sort that out. The problematic backlift seemed fine.

The next Test is now two days away and you take solace in the fact that armed with your new bat, if it arrives on time, things have to take a turn for the better. “I just need to bat for 30 minutes and then I will be off.” you tell yourself. Play the ball on its merits and if it is there to be hit, punish it. You know you will be facing metronomic bowling and those slip catchers will be full of verbal. Just 30 minutes… it’s not much to ask for. Fingers are crossed.

On the morning of the Test you awake with a jolt. The day of reckoning has arrived. Can your fortunes be changed today? You arrive at the ground and your bowling nemesis gives you that knowing grin and mutters some indecipherable words. You try to appear confident. You know you aren’t.

With your teams total on 26 runs the first wicket falls. You stride to the crease with a purposeful gait. At least you think it looks purposeful. In your mind you know today is largely down to luck, such is your mental state. You take guard and notice that the bowler seems to be looking to rush you. The slips appear closer and denser than last time. There are no gaps in the field to get off the mark! You say to yourself, “Here we go again.”

You surprise all and sundry, including yourself, by playing a sparkling shot for a boundary early. You bat for 30 minutes.

The above is pretty close to the anguish that one particular batsman would have been going through leading up to his innings during the third Test against Australia.

Michael Vaughan’s sublime innings of 166 runs off just 215 balls would have ensured that he slept better than he has for months after day one.

The new bat did not arrive on time.