Fundamental thinking for success – Chandika Hathurasinghe
Cricketing success requires technical and mental skills. We tend to focus on the technical area but ambitious young
cricketers can also improve their performances dramatically by working on four key areas that are absolutely
essential to the full development of a player’s potential. These are:
1. Attitude
2. Focus
3. Emotion management
4. Game intelligence
You need to have the right ATTITUDE. This means you must be ambitious and committed to the achievement of clear and achievable goals.
You need to be confident and able to react positively not negatively to any setbacks.
Also remember that you should be a team player and be accountable for your performances.
FOCUS is crucial. During a match there are many internal and external distractions.
But it is essential that you are able to direct your full attention to the job in hand. If you are batting,
for example, you should be focusing on watching the ball not worrying about the comments of fielders.
EMOTION MANAGEMENT can be difficult. Anger, anxiety and frustration can all affect your game adversely.
You must understand that all these feelings are natural and learn how to react when you experience them so that
they do not interfere with your performance.
The best cricketers can read a game. We call it GAME INTELLIGENCE and it refers to an understanding of what is happening in the game.
You need to be able to make the right tactical decisions. You should realise your strengths and weaknesses.
© Wisden CricInfo 
