My Account
with Andy Schmidt
Many will have heard the debate in the weeks following the Cricket World Cup, surrounding the perceived behaviour of the Australian cricket team, in their win over our Black Caps. The NZ team was completely outplayed in most facets of the game, and we can only admit that the better team won on the day.
From a performance and psychology point of view, and without wanting to take away from the excellent Australian performance, it is interesting to look at aspects of the game that may have contributed to the outcome. The NZ team was apparently subjected to a barrage of verbal ‘sledging’ by certain members of their opposition, hence the discussion in news and social media about the part that this tactic plays in sport. Sledging, particularly in cricket, is the practice whereby players try to gain an advantage by insulting or verbally intimidating an opposing player.
My interest is around whether there is any proof of the effect of sledging on players, can anything be done about it, and does it also apply to everyday life? A search of scholarly journals on the effects of sledging comes up with an article written in 2011 in the Journal of Clinical Sports Psychology. Elite batsmen in English cricket were involved in a study to ascertain their experiences of sledging. A number of, mostly negative, effects were reported including an altered self-perception, an altered state of mind, decreased batting ability and what is termed “over arousal”.
Arousal is a term used to describe the physical and mental state of activity in the body in a certain situation; it is theorized that a moderate amount of arousal can improve performance, but too much or too little can impair performance. Overall, the players reported that sledging had a substantial effect on their performance, although most had coping strategies to try and overcome this. Other studies into the physiological effects on the body of less than optimal performance in the sports arena (not attributed to sledging) show that there are considerable physical effects on the body in extreme stress, similar to what is experienced at other stressful times.
Both cricketers and other professional sportspeople use strategies such as positive self-talk, visualization, mental rehearsal, relaxation techniques and centring to prepare themselves for competition, or to focus their attention during events.
These strategies, which don’t necessarily always need professional training, are easily brought into everyday life, and can be used to good effect by all of us in times of stress and over arousal.
