How to have high levels of confidence even when going through a period of bad form
Cricket is a game of consequences, which means that you are always under pressure to make runs or take wickets. It is one of the few games which is team based but relies heavily on an individual (or a batting pair) for long periods – there are so many variables affecting good individual performance and eventually winning a match. The ratio between good and bad performances is roughly 50:50 which means that even good players have to go through bad form and confidence level can go down after few bad innings or bowling spells.
Confidence relies heavily on the perception of our control of any given situation we are in and if we think we are not competent enough, then it brings a loss of confidence and even anxiety with it. Because of this, our attention diverts towards irrelevant things and our concentration on the task at hand drops. Because of the low levels of concentration our skill level also drops and we also might start getting negative feedback, which in turn effects our motivation and commitment to improve our task. Because of all this we get into a negative emotional cycle and stop enjoying playing cricket and it also effects other areas of life as well. How quickly this will happen will depend on the individual – it may be gradual, or it might happen in a short period of time.
Our cognitive behaviour patterns are made up of our beliefs, physical cues and patterns in a specific situation which means that every time we are low in confidence then our mind triggers that response. Having a few bad innings, bowling spells or dropping catches triggers that response and we go into a negative confidence cycle. Most cricketers always think about the runs or wickets to boost their confidence and become too much results oriented as a way to get out of the cycle. Adopted goals to always produce results coupled with a low level of perceived competence (low confidence) can lead to maladaptive behaviours e.g. low effort level and cognition which presents as anxiety, cognitive/ interference and ultimately results in low levels of enjoyment.
Good players always have more confidence than their skill level which stretches them to improve by putting themselves in difficult situations and challenging themselves more and more. So how can we have confidence to put ourselves in tough situations and come out of them victoriously?
‘Task involvement and enhancement’ is the solution in young adults. If the task is divided into small portions and if we think that we can easily achieve a positive outcome, then automatically the concentration level will improve which will bring in the enjoyment and in turn elevate the confidence level after completion of every small chunk of the task. It’s easy to change what success looks like and repeat these processes in practice first before going into match situations. For batters, it could be about playing each ball to the best of their abilities and then feeling great once you have achieved it and then set yourself a bigger target of playing the next 3 balls and then 6 and so on.
In the match situation the same process could be repeated to only concentrate on playing every ball on the best of your abilities. Once you think you are comfortable at the crease then you could think about having more then one process goal which would contribute towards your end performance, for example now bring in hitting the ball in the middle of the gap. Having these process goals will keep your mind away from the end performance and you will start having the confidence back which will contribute towards your enjoyment. Good luck!