How many times in your matches have you played a rash stroke and regretted it later?

In our early days as cricketers our flamboyant side will have the better of us. It’s no surprise because fast paced games have encouraged youngsters to be glitzy.

But even in Twenty20, if you want to become a serious cricketer, temperament is a must-have.

Temperament makes you a rock in the middle order. You will become the Sachin Tendulkar or Jacques Kallis of your team. Here are few things you should keep in mind when going out to bat:

Focus on the task at hand

In cricket matches, especially big ones, it’s normal to feel adrenaline soaring. Even international players feel that way. If you hit a boundary, you feel you are on fire.

Yet how many batsmen lose their wickets after hitting few boundaries?

The emotions, thrill and excitement have got the better of them.

To avoid this fate, plan your innings as you go along; play according to the situation, not how you feel. Players may lose their wickets around you or you may be in a big, aggressive stand. Either way, just keep going and thinking about the next ball.

Good cricket players don’t come in to bat with a hot head. As you must have noticed, nothing seems to bother them. They are immune to rants, sledging, crowd and all the excitement. They just want to bat.

That’s what you should look to do: score runs and put your team in a winning position whatever the situation.

Stay calculating under pressure

Imagine you are batting and you have to chase a high total.

Are you calculating how to stay close to the rate without losing your wicket? It’s surprising how many batsmen feel they have to hit a lot of boundaries. They go for the big hit and get out.

Dependable players know better. A few dot deliveries are not a cause for panic. They still wait for the bad balls but they also look at how to exploit gaps in the field to rotate the strike.

You don’t have to be a blocker to have a good temperament. Every team needs dependable batsman but dependable means being able to stay focused and calculating depending on the situation. That’s just as true in short format cricket as it is in longer games.