Inner turmoils of the opener's mind
David Foot, in his article in the Guardian , grapples with the issue of the decline of highly capable cricketers due to stress, arguing that cricket, like no other sport, is played in the head.
Siddhartha Talya
25-Feb-2013
David Foot, in his article in the Guardian, grapples with the issue of the decline of highly capable cricketers due to stress, arguing that cricket, like no other sport, is played in the head.
Both Trescothick and Gimblett made the undisputed point that cricket is, like no other game, played with the head. There is too much to worry about, too many complications that are as much intellectual as technical. Tresco's disaffection was less marked and nowadays he looks infinitely more relaxed and at peace with himself. But there were times, in the worst of the doldrums, when he, too, was repelled by the sight of a cricket bat. The similarities and phobias of these two West Countrymen, both opening batsmen bountiful of innate talent, is uncanny.
Siddhartha Talya is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo