The Hindu : Sport : Making the mental switch

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Mar 28, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Sport

Sport

Making the mental switch

S. Dinakar

Amla seems to have conquered the demon of self-doubt

— Photo: K. Pichumani

MAN OF THE MOMENT: With his mind and body in harmony, Hashim Amla came up with a near flawless innings.

Chennai: Visualisation is as important as any technical attribute. Playing the innings in the mind, in the pavilion, before walking in, can be critical to success in the middle.

Great batsmen slip into a zone mentally. The process begins before the Test, the distractions are shut out and the focus is on the conditions anticipated, the nature of the attack and the match.

These men are on the ball before the first ball is delivered.

Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul David, two of the greatest, make the crucial mental switch better than most. They enter a terrain where concentration rules. They relish the smell of a duel.

Natural flow

Hashim Amla has miles to travel before he can be called accomplished. Yet, the manner in which the South African constructed his innings suggested he had drawn the outline of his effort in his mind, conceived it. There was a natural flow to his innings that was hard to ignore.

His mind and body were in harmony from the beginning, his 159 was almost flawless. He endured the heat, put mind over matter.

Amla also appeared to have split his innings into several compartments, taking it ball by ball, over by over, and session by session. He saw off spells and built partnerships. Much of cricket is about playing the present moment and building for the future.

Even on the surface as flat as the one at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, there can be pressure on the batsmen. Failures are not easily tolerated. Technically, Amla still has chinks. He has a tendency to shuffle across, is a candidate for leg-before decisions to incoming deliveries. But mentally, he is there.

Indeed, Amla appears to have conquered the demon of self-doubt, the biggest scourge of them all. In the process, he is a transformed batsman.

His confidence stems from a sense of belonging in the side. He has had some good moments with the South African team over the last 18 months and seemed to remember them at the crease.

Famous sports psychologist Sandy Gordon often dwelt on the subject of a cricketer allowing pleasant memories from the past to sink in ahead of an important contest. The past can inspire the days ahead.

Of course, setbacks from the days gone by can also be used as a motivator. Amla began his Test journey in India in 2004-05, and was short of runs and belief. He has turned his international career around.

Dr. Gordon has explored the depth and the secrets of the mind. Mental toughness, he says, is often the most discussed but the least understood term in sports. There are layers within layers; gray areas like the fear of failure and success abound.

Perfect role model

He frequently recollected the example of former Australian opener, Justin Langer, who used adversity as a stimulant. For Dr. Gordon, Langer was a perfect role model.

The frustrations of seasons on the sidelines were turned into winning performances by the feisty Langer. Of course, he possessed the mental resilience to handle failures. “He (Langer) was a mini Steve Waugh in several respects,” Dr. Gordon would say.

In fact, Langer spent several sessions with Dr. Gordon, where he was asked to visualise. We return to the same topic.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport