Different Strokes (old)

Self belief, sledging, and the art of the possible

New Zealand have defeated Australia in the third ODI by chasing down Australia's score of 331, setting a new world record in the process

ESPNcricinfo staff

New Zealand have defeated Australia in the third ODI by chasing down Australia's score of 331, setting a new world record in the process. This comes hot on the heels of the second ODI where New Zealand only just failed to reel in Australia's score of 322.

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And the New Zealanders are not the only side doing some impressive chases. Since 2000, there have been ten instances of sides successfully chasing scores of 300 or over, which had only happened six times before 2000. A couple of years ago, Pakistan were set 350 to win and nearly did it. What is going on?

Excellent batting conditions certainly have something to do with it. The popular taste for one-day internationals is for high scoring matches, and in response to this taste, groundsmen the world over are preparing surfaces devoid of grass, and with consistent bounce and pace. Rule changes like the 'powerplay' also aid batsmen and hinder bowlers.

Declining standards of bowling attacks may also play a role. New Zealand conducted both of their runchases against an Australian attack without Glenn McGrath, and the Australian attack in the third ODI was one of the most inexperienced Australian bowling lineups seen in more then a decade.

But just as important is the power of positive thinking. Lou Vincent spoke to Cricinfo after the second ODI at Wellington and he was keen to emphasise the positives:

"You put pressure on any good players and you can create opportunities," he said. "You get a couple of full tosses and away you go."
So by looking at the positives rather then dwelling on what was a heartbreaking loss for the New Zealanders, managed to keep enough spirit in their side, even when they were set an even stiffer target. Compare that to the limp surrender of English sides to Australia in the 1990's, or English and Australian sides to West Indies in the 1980s.

It is amazing what having a positive frame of mind can do. In the 2005 Ashes series, England were routed by their old nemesis, McGrath, in the First Test, at Lords. But on the morning of the Second Test, McGrath was injured, England were invited to bat, and free of the doubts that McGrath placed in their heads, England rattled up 407 at better then five runs per over. It was clear from the start that knowing that they would not have to face McGrath gave the English batsmen a huge boost, and they batted with confidence and freedom.

Confronted with batsmen flushed with confidence, batting on a good surface, how is a fielding side to cope? Well, sledging is the traditional Australian method employed to discomfort the batsmen. By sledging, or mental disintegration, as Steve Waugh called it, I do not just mean abusing the batsmen but any method used to unsettle the batsmen. Humour may be employed to just as good effect as abuse for the point of unsettling batsmen. The goal of sledging is to cause emotions to flow in the batsmen that will help to upset the batsman's positive attitude and confidence.

To prevent the fielding side from upsetting him, the batsman must call on his mental strength and powers of concentration to keep his mind where it needs to be. Some players are better then this then others; Steve Waugh and Alan Border, the great Australian duo, had many gifts, but for both of them, their mental strength and ability to resist outside pressure was possibly their greatest asset. Batsmen with this gift in strong measure will do better then equally talented batsmen who lack it.

It would certainly seem to be a trait of the New Zealand wicket-keeper Brendon McCullum. Mental strength, confidence and self-belief were just as important to him as placement, power and timing as he powered New Zealand to victory last night, and make him a very dangerous opponent indeed. The age of sports psychology is here to stay.