We have very good and talented cricketers in our national team. Most of them are on a par with many world class cricketers. There is no need to question their ability and talent. Our selectors pick them to play in the national team because of their natural aptitude to play the game. Sri Lanka has [...]

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The Sundaytimes Sri Lanka

How can our cricketers handle pressure

By Rev. Bro. Nimal Gurusinghe F.S.C.
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The Sunday Times has decided to dedicate this column to its readers so that they can comment about contents in our sports columns and features and also write their own thoughts on various sports with letters to the editor.Their views however are not necessarily those of the newspaper.

We have very good and talented cricketers in our national team. Most of them are on a par with many world class cricketers. There is no need to question their ability and talent. Our selectors pick them to play in the national team because of their natural aptitude to play the game. Sri Lanka has a good set of players who are second to none. As well as this there are many youngsters, equally as good as our national heroes, knocking at the door to enter the Sri Lanka national team.

I do not think that we have to worry about looking for players to represent either Test or One Day or T20 teams. Often I see our selectors choose the very best players to be on the side.

Our main problem is not with the talent of our players. It is, unfortunately, with the players’ inability to handle pressure when in action, especially when they are involved in a big occasion. They have not learned this and, so, my aim here is to put forward some points on how to handle pressures.

1. When playing a game players should not get excited. They should treat every game as an ordinary, normal match.
2. When they are either batting or bowling or fielding they should be cool and calm. They ought to be relaxed and play the game.
3. Players should never play a match either to please the selectors or spectators. They should try to play their natural game.
4. If runs are hard to come by when batting then batsmen should think of milking the bowling and taking singles. In that way they could be ticking the scoreboard.
5. If the pitch is not helping the bowlers when bowling, they should not panic. They should bowl to a line and length and get the batsmen to make mistakes.
6. Fielders should never get excited. They should not forget the basics. If they keep to their fundamentals then they will not make blunders.
7. As much as possible batsmen should avoid playing fancy shots or unorthodox strokes. These strokes could be played only when it is extremely necessary.
8. The players have to be very quiet when pressure is building up and play the game according to the situation. If a batsman is excited he will play a foolish stroke and throw his wicket. If a bowler gets worried he will bowl here and there and give the opponents many runs.
9. Before a match the coach, captain and players must have a meeting and plan how to play the game according to the players’ ability. It is a prime duty of the coach and the captain to give a lot of confidence to the team. In this way they can boost its confidence.
10. If a player plays a match to secure his place in the team then he cannot handle the pressure because he is not playing his natural game. That type of player should not be included in the side.
11. When our national team plays a match it should go to the field with one aim, that is, to win it. All the players should give their 100% to the team. In that way it will be easy to handle the pressure.
12. If one or two wickets fall early when batting then other batsmen should not get excited. They should stick at the wicket and overcome the situation.
13. If things are not rosy when fielding then players need not get worried. They should have a small team talk and start afresh. In a situation of this nature the captain has to take the initiative.
14. If any team plays not to lose then that team will never win. This happens when playing Test matches. It shows that players are not mentally fit to play the game. A match must always be played with the intention of winning.
15. In any team there are seniors and juniors. Sometimes veterans try to be smart and become over-confident. As a result they do not deliver the goods. On the other hand juniors are over-cautious and they do not perform to the best of their ability. Both parties must play the game according to their skills and in that way they can contribute to the team.




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