The worst has happened: You have got off to a horrifying start to the season. Your early hopes have been shattered. Your confidence is shot. Runs and wickets are a mere distant memory.

Bad form at the start of the season is always horrible because you feel you have no point of reference. Without a good performance to your name this season you start to feel like the purple patch is gone for good.

Maybe this year is the year you lost it?

This is the problem my team's batting unit have had since the season began four weeks ago. None of the top six have scored a fifty in 30 one day digs. Like you, we are deep into the land of doubt. Can it even be done any more, or are we resigned to just being so rubbish we can't compete?

This is the classic issue of lost confidence: Players who have performed before who can't repeat it.

So before you throw in the towel, show some grit, dig in and rebuild your game.

Plan for the worst

When you are down on confidence, people will tell you to think positive. Everyone loves a cheerful tryer. That's all well and good, but it won't get you out of your hole. Instead you need to imagine the absolute worst that can happen.

Why would you do such a thing to yourself?

First, it teaches you that things are never as bad as they could be. As humans we almost always imagine far worse consequences than the reality of the situation. Second, it allows you to plan for the hard circumstances.

If you fear s spinner ripping it square then you can get to work on playing spin. If you are terrified of getting out and end up making six runs in 50 balls then hammer some strike rotation at practice. When you overload yourself beyond the game situation, you find the game itself a lot easier.

Hope for the best

Naturally, you also want a positive frame of mind when you walk out to play. This is where you switch your frame on match day to hoping for the best. There are three ways to do this.

The simplest way is to say that whatever happens, you will try your best.

This boosts confidence because you have total control over whether you try your best. You may still fail but if you can say to yourself afterwards that you put in your best effort then you have confidence.

You can add a further method to this mindset with "anchoring". This is a mental trick that uses your brain's built in autopilot to remind yourself to be relaxed and confident. It's easy and anyone can do it, so click here to find out more.

Finally, the third way to keep your hope strong is by learning to let go of past mistakes; mistakes will come, those who can let them go are more confident. So, let go of them during the game and focus on the next ball as if it was the first. You can always come back to them in practice if you feel you need work.

Fake it

There is an old saying that you should "fake it til you make it". It's kinda true.

If you use confident body language; a steely glare, a puffed out chest and eye contact, then you send a message that you are looking to control the game. Tell yourself that this is your day. You are out to dominate this game because you know your game well.

Your form of domination might not be hitting big sixes or bowling bouncers. It might be quiet, efficient accumulation, or a nagging 5th stump line. Whatever it is, you know you can do it when you are at your best, and today feels like you are at your best.

This is hardest to convince yourself and others when you are looking shapeless. But even when you have played and missed three in a row, or been hit for 15 in an over, you can stand tall, bounce back and say "the fightback starts here".

So, what's the bottom line?

You know you are good enough, even if you are doubting yourself.

When you are in that place, it's all about the mental game.

Yes, work hard, train hard and build robust confidence. Add these confidence tricks as well and that journey back to form will be shorter than you think.