Pressure Situations - A Brief Essay

Very often in cricket, especially in the modern day with the shorter version of the game, pressure situations occur more and more often. A team, as a unit as well as each individual must be able to manage these situations.

There are many different kinds of pressure situations in the game; the pressure of the match (World cup final, etc) and circumstantial pressure. The pressure caused due to the match itself is more a kind of nervousness rather than pressure. On the other hand, in a particular situation in the game, the pressure may be on a particular team because of the situation itself. This pressure is caused because the players realise that no mistakes can be afforded.

Some players succumb to this circumstantial pressure while some handle it with relative ease. As a coach often says – It’s all in the mind. A great instance which serves as an example to the point that some players handle pressure situations extremely well is the catch Ricky Ponting took of Johan Van der Wath in the famous 400+ chase of South Africa.

People handle pressure in many different ways. Many bowlers, most noticeably Glenn McGrath talk to themselves, some bowlers mark the crease for no apparent reason, some batsmen on the past even hummed at the crease! This circumstantial pressure is a mere fear of commiting a mistake and can easily be avoided. Experience helps.-BS