If You Want To Play Cricket Like The Best , Learn From The Greatest
Just how does Shoaib Akhtar generate so much pace? What did WG, Don Bradman, Gary Sobers, Viv Richards, Ian Botham and Brian Lara have in common. I accept this is not an exhaustive list, if I have missed your favourite player out I apolgise. How To Play Cricket Like A ChampionSo what makes a great cricketer? What qualities enable them to play cricket to a standard us mortals can only dream about? Are the qualities they all share?In his book, The Making of Champions (see below), Greg Chappell's study of the cricket legends found four specific qualities in all the best players of the last century. Chappell found that the top players:-
From an early age when you first picked up a bat, you began the process of developing balance, coordination and timing. However, these skills can be affected by factors that often go unnoticed. On the occasions you played the perfect shot; bowled the unplayable delivery or took that impossible catch, did it feel difficult or require effort? Or did you get the sense it practically happened by itself? Factors such as stress or even attempts to try harder can interfere. Often our efforts to perform result in unnecessary muscular responses that prevent us reaching the effortless state of The Zone. The world’s top players on their day can make the difficult look easy and effortless. Their techniques, perfected through years of practice, are available at will. Shot selection is virtually automatic triggered by subconscious responses to cues such as the bowler’s release and pitch of the ball. 
If you want to learn how to get into The Zone you would find my new book The Peak Performance Zone useful. It has many practical techniques to help you focus on the moment and not let the wrong thoughts ruin your game - a useful skill when a fast bowler is charging up to the crease! The foreword is by Greg Chappell. "I do recommend this book very strongly as a great way to link the body and mind in your cricket training." David Hinchliffe, ECB Cricket Coach. The Greatest Cricketing QualitiesIf we look at Chappell's findings in more detail we can see how important these qualities are.Players were always ready and poised for action Poise is a state; an ability to maintain appropriate muscle tension at all times in movement and static positions - see Poise and natural movement. The stop/start nature of cricket makes this an essential skill to have. You may have been fielding a third slip for over half and hour with nothing to do before an outside edge flies to your right requiring an instant response. If you have been able to stay free in your joints and maintained a 'spring' to your actions this is not a problem. However, if you have been fixed in your slip position and developed a slight ache in your lower back it won't be quite so easy! Even if you take care to keep moving and stretching in between deliveries, do these actions help with poise? Do your stretches help to prevent inappropriate muscular action? It is important to maintain self-awareness even when not directly involved in the play. It can help to ask yourself the following questions in between deliveries:-
They could maintain balance whilst performing complex techniques. It would be impossible to directly control and co-ordinate all actions necessary to play cricket, even the simplest of movements. We have developed a number of mechanisms, such as postural reflexes, to maintain balance and enable movement. Specialised centres of the brain act upon information received with regard to the position of the body in relation to gravity. The regulation of these mechanisms is at a level below consciousness for one obvious reason, that is, if we had to control each muscle individually it would take hours just to get out of bed in the morning let alone play cricket! 
So the best players maintain balance by preventing interference with the mechanisms that do it for us. Tension in the neck and shoulder muscles will impede the body's innate righting reflexes. Watch the best play cricket and they tend also to be good in the field. Check out this photograph of Ricky Ponting staying in balance whilst playing his shot. Does he have to consciously balance himself? Certainly not, he wouldn't have the time. Work on relaxing unnecessary tension in the body and the balance will come. They hit, bowled and threw with power. Whilst strength is necessary for developing power it needs to be directed in a way that delivers maximum efficiency. In my opinion too much work in the gymnasium will not develop the strength needed for cricket. Using gym equipment will not help with coordination or timing to play cricket. The strength to play cricket comes from playing cricket and performing the right cricketing drills with poise, balance and timing - see muscle strength and coordination They all had excellent timing. The complex movements you use to play cricket make good timing essential, not just from being able to score runs but to prevent injury. If the wrong muscle contracts when you are in full flight an injury is the most likely outcome. To attain and retain the ability to time your actions requires training diligently and almost certainly with a good coach who can provide feedback. So if you find your form dipping ask yourself is there something that you are trying to do that may be preventing the techniques that were there before the slump from happening. If you are serious about how you play cricket you may want to consider learning The Alexander Technique. (Its founder, F.M. Alexander, was an Aussie and they know a thing about cricket!) The Technique is a remarkable movement system that can radically change how you approach your sport. Many top sports people have used the technique. A number of top coaches in cricket have also begun to realise its potential for use in the game. ”The Alexander Technique will benefit anyone whether they are an elite athlete or whether they just wish to live life without the aches and pains that many people suffer and accept as part of life” Greg Chappell Want to play cricket in The Zone more often? Or to play any sport for that matter in The Zone you need to develop your skills of focus and self-awareness. I believe it is possible to learn this abilities - see my Peak Performance Program Products I can recommendWe listed just a few books and resources you might want to take a look at to help you play cricket to your true potential. I have had the pleasure of meeting both Chappell and Woolmer and these guys know their cricket!First up is Greg Chappell's excellent book,Chappell on Coaching: The Making of Champions. Greg looked at the world's top players and studied what made them great. He has developed a way of coaching to help bring these skills to how you play cricket.
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