I think it might be appropriate to share my experience with pressure situations and how I dealt with them. Make no mistake about it, Cricket, whether you’re in Club cricket or international cricket, is filled with stress. It’s how you handle it that separates the mediocre player from the great player. It also separates the player who enjoys the game from the player who is scared by the game.
For me, the turning point came when I stopped fighting the feelings I had when I got into pressure situations. The sweaty palms and elevated heart beat type symptoms. You see, for a long time I thought that the great cricketers had somehow overcome these responses or learned how to suppress them. It took me a long time to realise that these feelings NEVER go away, no matter how long you’ve played or how much success you’ve had. So instead of viewing them as something negative or something I needed to overcome, I just accepted these emotions as part of the game and used the heightened awareness that accompanied them to be a better player. I just kept it simple (hit the length I want), stayed in the moment by not anticipating success or failure, enjoyed myself, and let the results take care of themselves. Be a player who would give anything to have an opportunity to win the game or being successful.