It doesn't matter how good a player you are. Without confidence in yourself you are not going to reach your potential as a player. Ask Marcus Trescothick.

Doubt yourself and you get frustrated, lose focus and make mistakes.

Have total confidence and you will make fewer errors because you can shrug them off.

But confidence can be elusive, especially if you are not prepared. So take time to think about your own self-confidence and you will see your game improve with it.

• Learn to trust yourself. If you think you are having a bad game you probably will be. Focus on your goals and let your ability do the rest.
• Let go of the past. Mistakes are inevitable. Let go of them during the game and focus on the next ball as if it was the first.

Marcus has bigger problems than these techniques can solve by all accounts, but you can learn to build up you confidence if your situation is different from his.