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 Mumbai Indians spinner Harbhajan Singh has knocked critics who say modern players don't bowl enough these days. He took 4-32 in the CLT20 Final and won man-of-the-match. All without doing a jot of practice.
The Indian spinner said after the final,
"I didn't practice at all. I was travelling to the US but I didn't practice much before this."
It makes you wonder if you need to do any practice at all.
I mean, if you could rock up after a 4 month holiday, and bowl your team to victory, why would you bother with nets or practice games?
For me it's not quite as simple as all that. It's certainly not a model that every player can follow to guarantee success. In fact, it's not even a model Harbhajan has followed for most of his career.
The better your method, the less practice you need
The key element with Harbhajan was that he has a well established technique built over 17 years of cricket at the top. He has bowled over 18,000 balls in competitive cricket. Who knows how many more he bowled in matches as youngster and non-professional games? He knows his action and his tactics inside-out.
He doesn't need to drill his bowling any more. He is capable of picking up a cricket ball and putting it where he wants without thinking about it. It's all muscle memory and - like riding a bike - once it is ingrained you don't forget.
Now imagine that you are 15 and trying to become the next Harbhajan Singh, or Brett Lee, or Kevin Pietersen. You have not worked out your method.
You need more practice time.
Practice is about form, form is about confidence
Even if your technique is great, you might still need practice for mental reasons.
Harbhajan is all about self-confidence. He knows he is capable of doing his job even after a long break. He doesn't care about the "mystical form fairy"
But someone like Steve Harmison use to need a lot longer "run up" to competitive games to reassure himself that he was still capable. "Harmy" needed practice matches, nets galore and a lot of getting ready for the big stage.
I can't tell you his thoughts on form, but I do know many people who lack confidence also believe that form comes and goes and you have no control over it.
Which one are you more like? If it's the latter, you will want more practice and more overs under the belt to get mentally ready: To "feel in form".
You will probably also want to work on building up your confidence levels.
SO where does all that leave us?
If you are like in personality and experience Harbhajan Singh, you can get away with a long break from cricket.
If you need a little confidence, or experience, or a technical improvement then some "overs under the belt" are still a good idea.
Maybe it's not so much of a myth after all. But then, when are things really so black and white? Leave a comment and let me know where you fall on the scale.
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Menno Gazendam is author of Spin Bowling Project. 
