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[dynamiccoins]

I know what my problem is yes, i'm not very good! Even with a clear mind im still crap

Having never seen you play I can't comment on ability but I can tell you this - if you say you are rubbish at something you will be.

Positive thinking works wonders...but so does negative thinking, only in the wrong way!

When I play (and its only been once this year due to hurting my knee) I always think I am going to attack the bowler and score runs when he runs in.  If its a good ball I play safe and the next ball I start over again.

Going back to me - I got a 50 no so the average is looking pretty good what with that being my only innings. And it looks like it will stay that way as I can't see me paying again this season!

[iand123]

Having never seen you play I can't comment on ability but I can tell you this - if you say you are rubbish at something you will be.

Positive thinking works wonders...but so does negative thinking, only in the wrong way!

When I play (and its only been once this year due to hurting my knee) I always think I am going to attack the bowler and score runs when he runs in.  If its a good ball I play safe and the next ball I start over again.

Going back to me - I got a 50 no so the average is looking pretty good what with that being my only innings. And it looks like it will stay that way as I can't see me paying again this season!

Alot of people has said the same about mindset and negativity. I get it but im being realistic, i have averaged something like 10 across the last 4 seasons. Different leagues but not much in the standard, not much difference in the pitches. Averages of 10 for someone who plays as a batsman only is pretty crap in my eyes!

[ABello1]

played adult cricket for over 20 years mostly 1sts first for the club I grew up with my dad and brother but don't think the 3 of us played in the same team together played many years with my brother after lots of good years the team broke up due to uni, moving away, giving up etc and relegation after relegation happened.   I decided to move to a club in a higher division after many years of been nagged at now I travel to home games past my old club and 4 other grounds. Every Friday night and sat morning comes the same words will it rain tonight or has it started raining yet but once I am amongst team mates all is fine but if the game is called off as under the guise of wanting the game called off I'm completely lost all day

[JMB174]

Having played in a very good standard for nearly 25 years including various trips overseas to play for different clubs, i am now effectively playing in village cricket. I play in a pretty talented team and get very frustrated sometimes with there lack of ambition to not only do well but play well. Some people are happy if they do there little bit ( get somes runs, take a couple of wickets etc) me personally if we won each game i would take a duck every week.
    As old father time rolls on you find yourself having to play a different way than you did 10/15 years ago. Not going in and smashing it from ball one, but now having to go in a build an innings and wait for the bad ball
   Now days when you play you hear the oppo giving out chat, and all that goes through your head is I WISH IT WAS 10 YEARS AGO, but its not and then your neck back in a keep waiting for the bad ball and nurdling 1 off the good one rather than smashing them for 4/6.
    I have always said i would play till i didn't enjoy it. But now as you come towards the end ( iam sure there some more left in the tank somewhere) you realise it's the banter and teamspirt you will miss.
 On the other hand keep playing it keeps you out the pub longer....

[Biggie Smalls]

I spent a lot of money on coaching this winter, i even lost about a stone. I videod myself over the winter and i looked decent (for my level anyway). I just havent transferred a single thing out to the middle. I now feel im in a complete mixed up state where i really have no idea what i am doing. Im trying to do about 8 things at once

Just my two cents.... keep up the coaching and vid analysis , but then forget about it on match day and just bat .
As an example , I'm 39 , old habits die hard . I have been using vid analysis,  by myself , tightening up my technique over the off season . This  week i started the first of a 20 session batting coaching stint . I want to improve my leg side game ( i tend to play a bit inside out ala n.hussain , instead of on driving /driving through mid wicket ) . It was my first session and the drills hurt my dodgy knee , i felt inept....basically , it made  me look (No Swearing Please), and was very humbling . Tonight was first preseason trial .I didn't think about any of the coaching id recieved earlier in the week ... just told myself to bat how ive been practicing all offseason . I drove ( smashed the cover off it actually ) a straightish on drive that just felt sooo good . It's not the end goal , but its a step .
Just trying to say these things are possible , irrespective of age and how we feel . You don't know when they'll happen , but when they do it could well change how you're feeling about your game and the game in general.

[joymarvin]

Cricket is life for me and a good opportunity to try out bats..

[Biggie Smalls]

I asked a mate this at training tonight and he said 'i like hitting things with sticks'. 

[edge]

I spent a lot of money on coaching this winter, i even lost about a stone. I videod myself over the winter and i looked decent (for my level anyway). I just havent transferred a single thing out to the middle. I now feel im in a complete mixed up state where i really have no idea what i am doing. Im trying to do about 8 things at once

If I get really stuck in a rut of form and remember to think straight, I just pick the two shots I feel most confident about and tell myself I'm only playing those! Helps to forget about technical bother and mindset blah blah and just focus on whether the ball is one you can hit or not. If it's there for one of your two shots, bang it away; if it isn't then block/leave. Runs will come.

[edge]

Ha @DorsetDan ! The two I really bank on are clipping through the leg side/hitting down the ground (which I think of as the same shot) and the pull, although I try to avoid going looking for the pull so will often look to dab singles into the off side instead to keep myself from overhitting on the offside. Sadly the smashing it out of the ground shot hasn't had much of an airing so far this season!

[iand123]

Thanks for the advice chaps, i am and always be crap. The only shots i can successfully handle are jagerbombs and tequila right now!

[ppccopener]

Good advice from Edge @DorsetDan try to stick to a few shots you are comfortable with even if it is the massive forward block 

There's quite a few of us not not done so well this year so I wouldn't fret too much, in 2015 I couldn't hit a cows (No Swearing Please)  with a banjo and I've got 18000 runs for my club...not quite as impressive as it sounds I've played a lot of games!

Your answer probably lies in more practice as it does for most of us. In the short term I would be one thing(this is what I'm going to do from here on in)

Really really watch the ball from the bowlers hand onto the bat. However you get out and whatever score you do or don't get don't let it be because you have not made an extra effort.

So at the end of the match make sure you walk away knowing that.

It's not rocket science game changing wisdom, it's very simple.

Good luck, one helluva lot of us all in the same boat, it's crowded 

[richthekeeper]

What does cricket mean to me? I think I can relate to every post in this thread in some way or other; from the feeling of not playing with my best mate anymore to the slow transition from a win at all costs mentality into something a little more collegiate.

The basic fact is, cricket is on my mind all day every day through the summer. From the dissection of the weekend at work on Monday, to nets in midweek, to the anticipation of the team selection on Thursday, and the nervous energy that's running through me today (Friday). I can't wait to get out there tomorrow and do a job for my team. They need me, I need them.

[iand123]

So I've been picked today because I've paid my subs 😂 Will see how it goes, wish me luck

[GoodLeave]

So I've been picked today because I've paid my subs 😂 Will see how it goes, wish me luck

Form is temporary. Subs are weekly. 

Go well.

[Seniorplayer]

So I've been picked today because I've paid my subs 😂 Will see how it goes, wish me luck

Yes good luck  watch the ball play safe shots and don't throw your wicket away