Part 2: Concentration
Your senses are constantly absorbing information but you are unaware of most of it until you decide to focus on it. For example, think about your backside touching the chair that you are sitting on. Until I mentioned it, you are unlikely to have noticed the pressure on your seat, but now that you've decided to focus on it, you suddenly become aware of it.

And that is what the art of concentration is all about. Basically, it is a filtering process. You choose what you are going to pay attention to and what you are going to ignore. Regardless of whether you are batting, bowling, fielding, wicket-keeping or umpiring, your performance will depend on what you pay attention to. Effective concentration involves focusing your attention on what you are doing at the time.

Poor Concentration
Once you have mastered the skills of cricket, most of your mistakes will come from poor concentration. Before we look at how you can improve your concentration, let's take a closer look at what can go wrong with your concentration.

You focus on too many aspects of your game.

It's possible to overload your concentration with too many aspects of your game. When you bat you think about your grip, your stance, the type of bowler that you're facing, the shot you intend to play next, the score, the field setting, the last shot you played. While it's important to be aware of some of these things, it's virtually impossible to play confidently with so much on your mind.

Similarly, when you're bowling, it's important not to overload your concentration with thoughts about your run up, overstepping, your line and length, the last delivery, the next delivery, the batsman, etc.

You'll find it far more effective to concentrate on one or two key aspects of your game.

You focus on the wrong aspect of the game.

When you are batting, your concentration can become ineffective if you allow your thinking to become sidetracked. For example, you focus on the possibility of getting out, or the score, or the bowling, or a comment made by a fielder about your batting.

Bowlers, too, can become distracted by what is going on around them instead of concentrating on the task at hand. Your ability to restrict the run flow or take wickets will be reduced if you concentrate on the batter, or on the umpiring, or on the fielding, or on your figures for the day.

Paradoxically, batters and bowlers can be distracted by concentrating on how well they are concentrating. When you are concentrating effectively, you don't realise that you are doing it.

You focus on the wrong time.

When your attention is focussed on events that have happened in the past, or that may happen in the future, you are likely to make mistakes or play less well than you would if you were focussed on what is happening now.

Batsmen can be distracted by thoughts about previous shots that they've played - good or bad, or a milestone that they are approaching; they can be distracted by what they think others will say about their innings once it's completed.

Bowlers can have their attention sidetracked by events that have happened in the past or that may be about to happen. As a bowler you could lose your effectiveness if your attention is focussed on the last wicket that you took, or on the four that the batsman hit off your last delivery, or on a catch that was dropped off your bowling.

Self-talk
We all talk to ourselves. Our self-talk is how we think about what is happening around us, and how we are going to react to what is happening. Mostly, you are unaware of your self-talk because it takes place subconsciously. But with practice, you can learn to monitor it, by firstly listening to it and then by changing it if necessary. You can also control it by deliberately selecting, in advance, what you are going to say to yourself.

As we can see from above, your concentration is most effective when your self-talk is directed towards only one or two key aspects of your game that are occurring now. Your focus needs to be on what you are doing not on how well you are doing it.

You can dramatically increase your powers of concentration by selecting one or two keywords that you say to yourself before every ball is bowled. You don't need to say entire sentences to yourself, just one or two words that act as cues to remind you of your task. Keywords will help to eliminate distracting thoughts from your mind, and re-direct your attention to the task at hand. Effective keywords are reminders of what you have to do. Let's look at how you can add keywords to your routine.

When you are batting, it is important to be relaxed and ready at the crease, and to focus on the ball as it leaves the bowler's hand and travels down the pitch towards you. As you stand at the crease waiting for the bowler, say the words, "relax; ball," to yourself. These words will help you to focus on what you need to do.

When you are bowling, you need to have rhythm and deliver the ball with accurate line and length so you need to be focussing on the spot where you want the ball to pitch. As you are standing on your mark, about to run in and bowl, say the words, "rhythm; spot," to yourself.

Of course, you don't have to use the words that I have suggested. One of the greatest bowlers of all time, Sir Richard Hadlee, used four keywords as he prepared to bowl, "Lillee - Hate - Rhythm - Off stump". These words reminded Hadlee to think like his own hero, Dennis Lillee, to hate the batsman, to concentrate on rhythm and to bowl on off stump. You can choose your own words, but I recommend that you keep it simple.

Thought stopping
If you find your concentration drifting you can learn to stop those distracting thoughts with a technique called "thought stopping". When your thoughts are deflected away from where they should be, shout out loud, "Stop!" and then replace the thoughts with your keywords. If you're too embarrassed to say "Stop" out loud, it can be just as effective if you imagine yourself shouting it.

The key to concentration is to block out all distractions, using thought stopping and to replace those distractions with keywords. When you can do this without effort, you'll be on your way to becoming a much better cricketer.

Don Bradman was once asked the secret of his success. He replied, "Concentration. Every ball is the first ball, whether I've just come to the wicket or if I have scored 200." And if it's good enough for the Don, it's good enough for you.