Cricket Mentoring

MAKING MISTAKES 🧠
To be the best athlete you can be - you MUST be able to let go of mistakes.

The best/ most successful athletes understand that making mistakes is the entry price you pay to being great.

It’s not what you want but it’s part of being an athlete.

So many young athletes think their mistakes define them and therefore find it really hard to let go of a mistake which leads to more mistakes.

Head to our YouTube channel to watch this full video - 22 minutes of value from a mic’d up net session 🎤

SCORE MORE RUNS WITH THIS ONE TRAINING TIP ✅
If you’re a young batter, focus more time on playing spin and watch your results improve.

So many young players (or any age for that matter) struggle against good quality spinners.

So many batters I’ve come across around the world don’t practice against spin enough…it’s usually at the end of a session or not at all yet they wonder why they don’t play it very well 🤔

OVERCOMING SELECTION SETBACKS 🧠
I constantly get asked by players and parents about how to overcome selection setbacks.

Here’s part of my answer to this question from a parent during a recent 6 Pillars of Success Presentation at in Devon 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

LITTLE THINGS MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE ✅
Awesome to meet long-time follower last week while coaching at

Rory is obviously already a decent player but one small tweak was able to unlock a better swing which made him say “I’ve never hit the ball that hard before” 💣

BATTING MINDSET 🧠
So many batters think they’re out of form because of their technique.

Often, that’s not the real problem.

I was working with a batter recently who’d made a few technical changes over the winter. He’d had advice from different coaches, was thinking about the short ball, his grip, his setup… and after a few low scores he started thinking:

“I need runs.”

That’s when FEAR creeps in.

The more desperate you become for runs, the more your attention shifts to yourself and away from what matters most… reacting to the ball & bowler’s cues.

Instead of watching the bowler…
You’re thinking about your technique - head, grip, hips etc.
Your average.
What happens if you fail.
What everyone else is thinking.

Your attention becomes internal.

The problem is, batting isn’t about thinking.

It’s about seeing the ball, making a decision, moving and reacting.

When you’re batting at your best, your mind is clear.

You’re present.

You’re picking up the bowler’s cues. Is it full? Is it short? Your brain recognises the information (subconsciously) and your body simply reacts.

But when your head is full of distractions, your brain can’t process the important information as well.

Decision-making suffers.
Your movements become tentative.
You stop committing to your shots.

That’s why I believe focusing your attention on the present moment is the most important skill for athletes.

Yes, keep improving your technique.

But don’t forget to train your attention.

At CM, we teach a simple process we call the 4 Rs between every ball:

🔹 Reflect – Learn from the previous ball.
🔹 Relax – Let it go & let your mind relax.
🔹 Reset – Prepare your body.
🔹 Refocus – Get your attention back on the ball.

If you’d like a free copy of my 4 Rs Routine eBook to help you build a better between-ball routine, comment ROUTINE below and we’ll send it to you. 👇

One of the biggest mistakes we see is players getting stuck in the Reset phase.

They’re still thinking about themselves and their body.

Your best is when your focus is external - on what actually matters… The ball & the bowler’s cues.

WHAT’S WRONG WITH AMATEUR SPORT ❌
Most cricketers will do anything to get better.

They’ll spend hours in the nets.

They’ll pay for extra coaching.

They’ll hit hundreds of balls.

They’ll go to the gym, do their running, work on their strength, their fitness, their technique.

But ask them to miss one hour of physical practice to sit in a room and learn about the most important part of performance?

Most won’t do it.

And I think that’s a massive problem.

Because it’s not the bat, the ball, the pads or the helmet that performs.

It’s the human being wearing them.

It’s the person who has doubts.

The person who feels pressure.

The person who gets nervous before a game.

The person who worries about failing, being judged, getting dropped, or not being good enough.

If you don’t understand that human, it’s very hard to consistently get the best out of the cricketer.

Mindset isn’t fluffy.

It’s not an optional extra.

It’s not something you only work on when things go wrong.

It’s a skill.

And just like your cover drive, your bowling action or your fitness, it needs to be trained, understood and developed.

The best cricketers don’t just work on their game.

They work on themselves.

Because the better you understand the human, the better chance you’ve got of becoming the cricketer you’re capable of being.

Comment UK to find out more about our 6 Pillars of Success Presentations where we help cricketers move from playing with fear to playing with freedom 🧠

NETS VS MATCH MINDSET 🧠
So many athletes play with freedom in the nets but can replicate it (consistently) in a match.

Our 6 Pillars of Success Presentations help athletes and parents understand how to move from playing with fear to playing with freedom.

Comment UK to find out more about our upcoming 6 Pillars of Success Presentations and Coaching availability around England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

CURIOSITY = IMPROVEMENT 🧠
At Cricket Mentoring we have a saying - Experience + Reflection = Learning.

After every experience (training and games) you have an opportunity to learn from what you did.

You also have an opportunity to learn after every ball you bowl or face.

The best athletes are always trying to get better and know that reflecting is a huge part of their development.

BEFORE & AFTER 🏏
What differences do you notice? 🤔

Great to do another coaching with Essex Under 16 top order batter

I first met Shaurya at in Bangalore 🇮🇳 in April last year and have been mentoring him online since.

It was great to get back in person for a session at and to focus on some technical adjustments.

JAFAR CHOHAN 🔥
It was awesome to spend some time with T20 gun Jafer during training earlier this week.

It was noticeable from the first few minutes how much he loves the art of leg spin.

Not only is Jafar a world-class bowler, but he’s also incredibly down to earth and generous with his time, going out of his way to help younger spinners improve their craft.

The best players often have an insatiable curiosity about their game.

They’re students of it.

Always learning.
Always experimenting.
Always looking for ways to get better.

Jafar’s passion for spin bowling was impossible to miss, and it’s no surprise to see him achieving success at the highest level of the game.

A great reminder that talent might open the door, but genuine love for what you do is often what keeps pushing you forward.