I need mental toughness tips (for off spinner)?

I need mental toughness tips (for off spinner)?

My off spinner is bowling well in the nets and in matches too, but he says that he is not confident about his bowling. Do you have any tips for improving his mental toughness?

Cricket CoachCoach
ANSWERS
Paul CromptonPlayer, England

Hi Niraj,

the only way to get mental toughness is to bowl in the middle and take wickets. The great Shane Warne used to say he didn`t mind getting hit for boundaries because it meant he had the next ball to bowl the batsman out. Instill that mentality in your bowler.

As an off-spinner, my confidence can take a knock when the batsman smashes me for a four or six (especially after a good net session) or coming on to bowl against a set batsman.

But I look at it as an opportunity to `think` the batsman out. Bowl a little wider of the crease if he`s playing across the line and set the field appropiately for the catch and stop singles ( build pressure and the batsman wil get himself out).

And finally, make sure if the bowler goes for a few runs that the captain doesn`t automatically take him off. That will wreck the bowler`s confidence because he can no longer take a wicket and realise he`s actually bowling better than his figures suggest.

hope this helps a little,

Paul

jayesh dadarkarCoach, India

Hi Niraj,

As you say that your off spinner bowls well in practice & matches as well.But to gain confidence you can make him play a lot of practice matches & make him bowl his quota so that he can get the match confidence.

Similarly during your practice sessions you can give match simulations like the target of 3 to 4 runs per over or getting 2 to 3 wickets in his allotted quota of 6 to 8 overs by setting his own fielding.

Jayesh Dadarkar

Rashed IqbalCoach, Bangladesh

preparation is importent for be confident. Know first that prepared how to prepared himself according to game sense.

Cricket CoachCoach

Hi, mental toughness can be learned and your spin bowler can start by working on his mental skills, specifically confidence as that seems to be the initial problem. Routines and mental preparation are also important and investigating how he measures his confidence would be useful. Get a sport psychologist or mental conditioning coach to help him with a mental skills training programme. If this is not viable, get him to start reading books on sport psychology (although it works better if a trainied person can work with him. Steven Peter`s the Chimp Paradox is a nice one

akshay keluskarCoach, India

let him play as many practice matches as he possibly can that will make him fill better about himself encourage him to bowl in right areas no matter wheter he is getting wickets or not keep encouraging him if he is leaking runs from one end still let him finish the full qouta of overs get someone to bowl tight line to ristrict the run flow its only matter of getting wickets of good balls let him fill good about himself

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