What you say to yourself when you bat is vital to your run scoring.

So why not find out what you say?

We all know how important your brain is to batting. We all constantly talk to ourselves in the middle; “watch the ball”, “play straight”, “we need to improve the run rate”.

The better your self-talk, the more likely you are to succeed.

But often you focus on technique, especially in nets, and forget about the power of thoughts and feelings on your actions.

Of course, technique is important to cricket but so is having a “mental cricket net” too. It helps you understand yourself better and score more runs as a result.

Record your thoughts

Using PitchVision you can record your batting in nets and games to improve. Why not do the same with your thoughts?

Aussie Cameron Bancroft did exactly that recently. This video shows him wearing a mic and talking us through his thoughts and feelings as he has a net.

It was everything you can aim for: focused, positive, in control and accepting.

What is stopping you from doing the same?

You could wear a mic or record thoughts into a phone as you bat. You could write things down or you could even chat to the coach or bowlers as you go through things.

The point is, get those thoughts down: Rational, irrational, positive, negative... everything!

Review your thinking

After nets, match up the video to the audio. Compare those thoughts to how you played.

Did your performance in nets change when your thoughts changed?

What were you thinking about when you were at your best?

What caused you to play in a way that was unhelpful?

Most importantly, how can you reject those unhelpful thoughts before they become negative actions?

This kind of conscious review of your thinking allows your to better understand yourself as you play cricket. You can keep the unhelpful thoughts out and focus on just batting without mental interference.

And all through popping on a mic when you next go into nets (or play a match).

Not bad, eh?