The Hindu : Sport : Mental strength counts more than physical

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Tuesday, Feb 05, 2008
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Mental strength counts more than physical

Makarand Waingankar

Shaun Tait’s decision to take an indefinite break from the game has shocked the cricketing world. One expected the 24-year-old to terrorise batsmen with the speed he was generating on any surface.

Though Tait may not have said a word about the pressures at home or problems of preparing to excel at the international level, it’s a possibility that not doing well at Perth may have disheartened him.

The Australians saw Jeff Thomson in Shaun Tait. They expected him to bulldoze the opposition. Little did they realise that Tait wasn’t mentally as strong as Thomson, despite the physical comparisons.

Frank Tyson, one of the fastest bowlers in the game’s history, always maintained that the modern cricketers tend to spend too much time conditioning their physique but seem to be spending hardly any time conditioning their mental faculties.

The point is technical and physical capabilities don’t take cricketers anywhere if they are mentally not strong enough to withstand the pressure in the middle. There have been cases in Indian cricket of players with less ability succeeding at the international level because of their temperament, while some who had superb technique didn’t have the temperament to take on the opposition.

Bowling 2200 overs in matches apart from bowling in the nets in the past four seasons, at an average of 550 overs per season at the speed of 160 km, Tait must have worked very hard to maintain his rhythm. Not only must this have been draining on his energy levels, but the returns were also not encouraging. He took five wickets in three Tests at an average of 60.40 and 33 wickets in 18 ODI’s at an average of 23.45 with an economy rate of 5.46.

It was at that time the process of checking his state of mental conditioning would have given some indication of problems. Tait needed rest to come back fresh. Fast bowlers are a different breed. Their physique, technique, temperament and recovery period form the base of their approach to the game. By nature, they are supposed to be aggressive and that aggression has to be understood, especially while bowling on the placid tracks of the sub-continent.

Analysing the psyche

When a fast bowler is struggling with his rhythm, he is mentally down and expects reassurance from the coach of his capabilities.

The last thing he needs is technical lectures, as he is mentally not prepared to grasp solutions.

Once he is reassured of his capabilities, he would then be ready to work on the solutions.

Having been a fast bowler himself, the Indian bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad must have analysed the psyche of fast bowlers, studied the workload and trained them to the individual specifics to make them effective in matches.

Shaun Tait is a case study for all the coaches. Here is a case that makes us understand the vital value of the role of a counselling psychologist in every state team and even at the NCA for the growth of a modern cricketer.

As Ricky Ponting said, “cricket is not about the five-star facilities. It’s much more than that.”

Hopefully, the cash-rich BCCI will take cognizance of the pressures an Indian fast bowler faces. We need to adopt scientific measures at the National Cricket Academy to ensure fast bowling talent is nurtured.

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