Hi, I'm new to this forum. I have a big problem of fear and nervousness. So much, in fact, that my legs start shaking before I play, my mind and heart starts beating. I'm not scared of being hit, but I am scared of something.
How do I stop this?
Most of the times I've gotten out was because I was so nervous and scared. Otherwise I'm a good batsmen, when I don't feel any of that stuff, like in the nets. But for me, in a game, that's very rare. feel weak in the legs when I'm out there, so how do I stop being scared and nervous? I don't need to stop being afraid, but I do need to stop being afraid so much that I feel the stuff that I described above.
Hi Person, I used to be the same as you, I was a talented batsman, played for county as a junior player but in games I'd rarely perform because I was so nervous.
I've got a few things to say about this:
My first tip would be to ask your coach if you can try opening the batting. I found that sitting around waiting to hear the clatter of the wickets made me very nervous, my performances increased greatly when I batted #1. When you open, you have much less time to worry. You just strap your pads on and off you go and you're facing the first ball. 5 minutes later you've put away a couple of bad balls, you're on 10 and you feel great.
Second would be that talent will only get you so far in cricket. In cricket confidence and mental strength counts for so much. I've seen many players with mediocre talents do very well in cricket because they were confident. If you let fear control you, you will not succeed in cricket and will look back with regret. If you've got talent, the only thing stopping you now is your fear. You gotta think to yourself, do I wanna look back in 15 years having not realised my ambitions because of fear? You'll be so angry at yourself. It's so silly to let a little thing like fear ruin your time spent playing cricket, so stop taking it so damn seriously. Smile, have fun, enjoy yourself, because you should fear looking back having wasted your talents because you were scared much more than you should fear getting out. If you don't take it so seriously, you will succeed.
If you're not afraid of getting hit, then start to impose yourself on the bowler, make him be the one who feels afraid. Stand up tall and use a forwards trigger move to get you moving forwards like Jonathan Trott. Don't hide in your crease afraid of getting out, act like a champ and you will play like a champ, so move forward and dominate. This mindset will empower you.
Finally have a plan when you go out to bat. In the nets you can play any shot you want, you can flash at wide ones, hook, sweep, cut, whatever without repercussions. When you go out to bat, you need to have a clear plan of what shots you're gonna play to which balls. Think about how Cook bats, he has like 3 shots and he makes the bowler bowl to his strengths. If a ball isn't in one of his strong zones, he just let's it go. The bowler gets frustrated and bowls too straight and he clips it through midwicket. Now I'm not saying you have to bat like this because you'll be playing limited overs, but give yourself a chance. If you're opening the batting and they're bowling wide, don't go flashing in the first few overs. Just play straight until you're feeling good. If you find yourself getting out cutting or pulling, just put the shots away, don't use them. Play to your strengths and have a clear plan for how you're going to approach your innings and this will give you confidence.
