Looking back

I've been looking over my figures for the season so far, and was surprised to notice that I've never taken a 1-for! I've taken 2 wickets on three occasions, 3 wickets on four occasions, 4 wickets on two occasions and no wickets on the other five opportunities I've had. I can't really think why this should be the case. Maybe when I get a wicket my confidence is up and consequently I perform better and take more wickets. Certainly, the spells where I get no wickets are often very short (2 overs) and expensive; or sometimes a bit longer (4 overs) but at a few levels higher than I'm used to.

So it looks like the key for me will be mental preperation. If I can get myself into the post-first-wicket state of mind at the start of my spells, then I can be relaxed and more likely to take a few wickets. Looking in more detail at my worst spells backs this idea up.

19th April 08 - 0 for 15 off 2 overs. This was my first spell of bowling this year on a very cold day. My first few deliveries were pure muck due to me not warming up - and after that I just tensed up and kept getting worse.

26th June 08 - 0 for 22 off 2 overs. I came on to bowl at a guy that had just hit 2 sixes, and he had a field day with me. It was clear from the way he played that anything short was going over the pavillion, but despite knowing this, short seemed to be all I could bowl. Again, after a bad start, tension took over and it was all downhill.

10th August 08 - 2 for 46 off 7 overs. A bit of a tale of 2 spells here. The 2nd spell of 3 overs being fairly economical and containing the 2 wickets. My first spell was awful for a number of reasons, the slippery conditions due to rain being one. Mostly though, it was because I came on to bowl much earlier than usual (8th over instead of 15th +) and so wasn't in my comfort zone. Obviously that shouldn't matter, but coming on so early took me by surprise (didn't get notice to warm up either) and I couldn't settle. So, again, I felt tense and consequently bowled poorly.

Next time I get a bowl I'll try to imagine I've just bowled an over with a wicket in it, and see how I get on. Or if I tense up, try to be aware of the fact and make myself relax.

These spells have far from ruined my season (still managed 26 wickets at an average of 11.07), and I'm not fixating on them or anything. I do believe though that you have to analyze problems and learn from them, or else the experience is totally wasted. And we can't be having that now, can we ;-)