Academy and Club

Fear of Failure by Derek Perera

“Don’t get out”, “Don’t lose your wicket”, “C’mon don’t bowl wides”. I am sure any cricket fan has heard anyone of these phrases belted out to a batsman or bowler from teammates, spectators and parents. Let’s look at how it pans out for the person actually batting or bowling.

For the bowler, let’s call him Jack. Jack is a good bowler, who has not been in the greatest match form lately. At the practice sessions however, Jack bowls very well. He bowls a stump to stump line and keeps it very tidy.

At the game now, and for Jack the pressure of taking a crucial wicket or curbing the run rate, exists from the time he is handed the ball. He must contend with an in-form batsman, who is scoring freely and for his spot on the team next week. If Jack fails, Jack is in trouble.

First over of the match, Jack runs in to bowl. He bowls a wide first up. OK, not a big deal. He runs in for his second delivery and bowls another wide.

Now Jack’s captain who wants him to do well, runs up to him and offers him his best advice, “Come on now Jack, don’t bowl wide”.

Jack is in knots as he runs in to bowl the third ball, and guess what??? Well, he didn’t bowl a wide, but he bowled a half tracker that got smashed for four. The rest of his over was just as poor and subsequently he got taken off after only bowling the single over.

What exactly happened to Jack? Putting all technical issues aside, Jack was afraid of failing. Jack knew that his spot in the team was being scrutinized, and a bad performance would mean that he may not play next weekend. Jack also knew that from practice he was bowling tight, and getting wickets so he had the added pressure of living up to his weekday performances. When he was asked what was going through his head, he said that after the first wide, thoughts of failure (bowling badly) and embarrassment (of being dropped) crept in. Jack stopped thinking about bowling his usual line and length that he was so successful with at practice, and started thinking about “not bowling wide”.  

By focusing on “not failing” or “not messing up” we take our mind off of what we are simply meant to do.  It is easier said than done, I know that personally. But if we can change our mindset to doing small tasks correctly, then we are not focusing on failure, but focusing on the processes to success.  Just play the game.  

Take the advice of the baseball legend Babe Ruth “Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game”.

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