Mental Skills in Cricket: How Batters and Bowlers Train the Mind
The psychological techniques elite cricketers use — pre-ball routines, process focus, dealing with failure, confidence under pressure — and how mental skills coaches work with international players.
Modern elite cricket treats the mental game as seriously as technical skill. International players work with sport psychologists and mental performance coaches who teach specific techniques: pre-ball routines to reset focus, process goals to replace outcome thinking, visualisation before facing deliveries, and structured approaches to recovering from bad sessions or failures. The mental skills that separate good players from great ones are largely invisible to spectators — they operate between deliveries and between matches.
Pre-Ball Routines
One of the most universal mental techniques in cricket is the pre-delivery routine — a brief, consistent sequence of actions a batter takes between each ball. Routines typically include: tapping the bat on the crease to reset physicality, looking at a fixed point (the sight screen) to clear the mind, bouncing briefly on the feet to maintain alertness, and setting the trigger position for the incoming delivery. The routine's purpose is not superstition but cognitive reset — it breaks the emotional carry from the previous ball and creates a fresh starting state for each delivery.
- Process over outcome: Focusing on executing the correct shot rather than thinking about runs or averages removes anxiety.
- In-ball vs between-ball: Elite batters are fully 'on' for the 2-3 seconds the ball is in flight; fully 'off' (conserving attention) between deliveries.
- Visualisation: Many players mentally rehearse playing a delivery correctly before stepping into their stance.
- Reset after failure: A clear, structured response to getting out (or going for runs) prevents the last dismissal from affecting the next innings.
- Communication: Talking to the non-striker between overs, discussing conditions and bowler plans, externalises mental pressure rather than hoarding it.
Frequently asked questions
How do cricketers deal with a run of poor form?
Elite cricketers dealing with poor form typically work with mental performance coaches on: separating self-worth from batting performance (a bad run doesn't mean you're a bad player), returning to process-focused thinking (what's my job this delivery?), rebuilding confidence through net sessions and domestic runs, and identifying specific technical causes for poor form to address them specifically rather than generically. Many players also use data review — watching back dismissals — to distinguish 'bad luck' from a technical pattern that needs correction.
What is a batting routine in cricket?
A batting routine is the consistent sequence of physical and mental actions a batter takes between each delivery. Routines typically last 5-15 seconds and include: tapping the bat on the crease, stepping away to the side to break the stance, looking at a neutral point to clear the mind, and re-setting into the stance as the bowler begins their run-up. The purpose is cognitive reset — creating a neutral mental state for each delivery regardless of what happened on the previous one. Most international batters develop their routines through deliberate practice and coaching.
Do cricket teams use sports psychologists?
Yes — all major Test-playing nations employ sports psychologists or mental performance coaches as part of their team support staff. England's team psychologist role has been filled by various practitioners over the years; Australia's system integrates mental performance coaching throughout their player development pathway. The role has become standard since the 1990s, when sports psychology moved from the fringe to the mainstream of elite performance. In franchise T20 cricket, IPL and BBL franchises similarly employ dedicated mental coaches to support players through the pressures of tournament cricket.