Psychology | Cricket coaching, fitness and tips

6 ways to boost your cricket confidence

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This article has been written by Ryan Maron, Assistant Coach to the Netherlands national cricket team, VRA player coach and Director of Ryan Maron's Cricket School of Excellence in South Africa.

Are you making the muscles in the head work as hard as those in your body? The consistent finding in Sports Psychology research is the relationship between levels of confidence and success.

How to stop cliques forming in your cricket club and build unstoppable team spirit (part 2)

In part one we found out the building blocks of trust. Today we tackle the difficult people who want to break it all down again.

Most club cricketers play for the fun and camaraderie they game brings, at least in part.

How to stop cliques forming in your cricket club and build unstoppable team spirit (part 1)

Studies have shown that footballers pass the ball to their friends more than less liked team members. Even if the latter player is in a better position. The real shock is that this can still happen at professional level.

The conclusion? Cliques are not good if you want a successful team.

Practice makes perfect – but what happens when things are less than perfect?

Most athletes arrive at a coaching session enthusiastic and ready to have a good, strong, focused and intense training session.

Sometimes it doesn't work out like that.

Nets are double booked, our training partners are running late or can't get there at all. Maybe the coach is sick. So many little things can and do go wrong all the time.

How 'perfect day planning' can help your cricket (part 2)

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In part one, we found out why planning the perfect day is so important. Today we discuss how to make it a reality.

When you have your perfect day on paper, what happens next?

You need to find out what the practical steps are to making your dreams a reality, and there is a simple process to doing this.

5 Sure-fire ways to play aggressive cricket

Will playing attacking cricket get you better results than playing the percentage game?

You can have both.

Fast bowling, big spinning and hard hitting are fun, but cricket is a subtle game. Even Twenty20 has nuances. The best brand of aggressive cricket you can play is the selective type. Aggression is a mindset, not an on/off switch.

Ask the Coaches: Throwing

Send your questions on any cricket related topic to us using the question form here.

This week we discuss how to improve your throwing distance and how to make it as a professional cricketer. Both can be pretty tough, depending how talented you are.

How indestructible team spirit can turn your bad form around

A big part of the reason the team I play for is near the top of the league is our team spirit.

Last Saturday was a grudge match against our local rivals, a good team just relegated from the division above. Several of our senior players were missing including the captain, vice captain and main bowler (who was next in line for the captaincy). Due to another player falling ill just before play we had to go in with 10 men.

What ' Top Gun' can teach you about cricket

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Remember how the pilots were chosen in the 80's film Top Gun?

They were the best of the best.

They were the elite within an exclusive club. Men wanted to be them, women wanted them. Or so the cliche went.

Better batting is built on bulletproof concentration

I can't seem to get the South African first Test recovery out of my head. Most comments have been negative: That old fashioned defensive cricket does no good in this big hitting, big money world.

But batting out two full days for a draw requires almost superhuman concentration.