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USA Cricketer
Every batsman in the history of the game has gone through some rough patches. You could be averaging in the 60's one season and then you are struggling to get to 20 in 6-7 innings in a row. This is always attributed to a batsman being in Bad Form. What is bad form??? Does bad form necessarily mean that there is suddenly something wrong with your technique? Does it mean that you arent mentally strong enough to take on the opposition bowling anymore? Or does it simply mean you are having some real bad luck? I believe it usually is a combination of all three. It usually starts off with a couple of bad shots due to over confidence before you are set giving you a couple of low scores. Then you are immediately under a little pressure by your own standards to score in the next game. Thats when the mental aspect comes in. You are eager to score some runs, you feel for the ball and get that outside edge to the keeper the next two innings at bat. Suddenly thats 4 in a row and you are questioning your own technique. At this point you start working hard at the nets and also go to the batting cages to work on your footwork and hand eye co-ordination. The next game you are sure to get a good score and you begin timing the ball sweetly but your innings is cut short by a stupendous diving catch at point. Now its not in your hands any more. In your next innings, you get run out because of the indecision of your partner and with 6 failures in a row even your teammates are making fun of you. Then comes the worst blow, the umpire gives you out caught behind when you havent even come close to nicking the ball. All the forces of nature are playing against you. You are getting extremely frustrated having not crossed 20 in the previous 7 innings. Even your team's designated 12th man is giving you batting tips. The new guys in the team who havent seen your stellar performances last season are wondering why you are being persisted in the batting line up and are keen to take your spot. What do you do at this point is what defines your character as a batsman. How do you come back from this kind of adversity? Some say bat lower down the order as its easier when the ball isnt doing much - but the argument against that is you will not have time to get set lower down. Some say go after the ball in an aggressive frame of mind -- but isnt that what got you here in the first place? The only reasonable school of thought that i would prescribe to under these circumstances is to play a few games in the lower division and regain form. Here too, play the ball and not the bowler. There is nothing bigger for a batsman than having runs under your belt regardless of the opposition. Batting is all about having confidence in ones abilities and backing yourself to score runs, and its much harder to do that with the mindset you are in after 7 failures in a row. With a new season about to commence in leagues all around the USA, my only advice would be to not get yourself into one of these situations. Make it count, every opportunity you get to bat because over confidence is first phase of bad form. Would love to hear what other batsmen who have had a bad run and have come out of it have to say about how they dealt with it. It could even be as one of my teammates recently told my skipper (who is facing this problem at the moment) "Sacrifice a black Hen to the Gods the day before the next game"
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