I must play how I know I play, the way I play best
Play straight, play the line, watch the ball, be determined, be positive, don’t think about what the pitch may or may not do.
Following Sandy’s approach and sticking to a heavy fitness, weights and net training program became quite a burden. But back then I needed that volume of work and reflection because I was so hungry to learn and achieve. I felt I needed to do everything possible to get ahead.
Being conscious of my preparation became extremely important to me through my work with Sandy. However, there were times when factors I would usually be able to control were beyond reach. The lead up to a match does not always progress exactly as you want it to and it can be hard to replicate all the ingredients that went in to your last good performance. I learned that lesson gradually throughout my years playing first class cricket for WA.
We generally have plenty of time to acclimatise and get our patterns right for a Test match. However, domestic cricket is different, especially when you live on the far side of the continent. For a domestic match on the eastern seaboard, we would usually fly in just a day or two before a Sheffield Shield/Pura Cup match and there would be time for only one practice session before game day. I always found it very hard to get my sleep and dietary patterns right within that short space of time.
SLEEP PLAN:
Afternoon/evening – no caffeine, milk good
9.30pm – dim lights, relaxing music, TV off
10.00pm – go to bedroom, dark room, relax body, clear mind, focus on breathing
Waking in the night is normal; tell yourself not to worry and relax
7.30am – wake, sunlight, fresh air.
Brisbane stood out for me as the hardest trip because it’s a long flight and we often had to fly through Sydney to get there. We’d fly out at 10am from Perth but wouldn’t get in till about 8pm that night, local time. My eating pattern would be put out because I wouldn’t eat properly during the day and would have dinner only at about 9 or 9.30pm. Sleeping then became difficult because of the time difference. At midnight in Brisbane it would be only 9pm in Perth. The next morning we’d get up at 8am for training but, because it was only 5am in Perth, I’d feel pretty shabby. The heat and humidity would knock me around up there too, so trying to adjust to those conditions in such a short period was not easy.
I wanted to do whatever I could to prepare well for a first-class match but could see that there was no way to get around these factors. Being from Perth and playing games on the east coast meant there would be elements in my preparation that could not be controlled. I spoke to Simon Katich, who has played out of both Perth and Sydney, and he said that since he has moved to Sydney he’s found preparing for games much easier. You can do your preparation in Sydney and then fly to Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide or Hobart in an hour or two the day before the match, settle into your hotel and get straight into it, feeling 100 per cent. Coming from Perth taught me that it was important to stick to my routines – but not too much. There has to be some leeway in your mind and I have begun to accept that I’m not always going to be at my peak. The key is learning to not talk yourself out of performing well if your preparation has been less than perfect.
That’s what happened on one of my first tours with the Australian team, to South Africa. My son William was born soon after the team had left. I left the day after he was born. Five weeks later, Amy and the two kids we had at the time came over to join me. Of course, it was great to have my loved ones with me and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. But secretly I was a bit nervous because, having them in the room with me, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to get the eight or nine hours of sleep that I believed I needed to be able to play well. I was still pretty set in my ways, despite my experiences with WA, and very precious about my sleep so I was a bit worried about how this would work. In addition, the pitch on which we were playing this Test, the Third Test in Johannesburg, was very difficult to bat on. It was seaming around all over the place, which made me even more adamant about ensuring distractions would not get in the way of my performance.
In order to deal with this predicament I tried to convince myself that, if I did do badly, it wasn’t because I hadn’t had enough sleep – or any other reason. I went on to score runs in both innings, 70-odd in the first and 80-odd in the second, and did my bit to chase down a total to win. The conditions were challenging. But more significant than scoring runs in a tough situation was the fact that this consolidated in my mind that even if my preparation was not exactly as I wanted it to be, I was still capable of giving a good account of myself at the very top level. The footnote to the story is that Amy, knowing how much I value my sleep before and during a game, did her best to look after the kids without waking me in the night. However, she confided afterwards that she was glad I scored runs in that match because it proved that I didn’t have to be so uptight about my preparation.
Playing for Australia has been a real eye-opener for me in this area. I was astounded during my first few times in the dressing room. I was expecting a nervy environment. I thought the players would be tense. I thought there would be silence as everyone thought about what their job was and willed themselves and the team to do well. But it is nothing like that.
The entire Australian team is incredibly relaxed. Never mind that we are about to walk out in front of a huge crowd and millions of TV viewers. Never mind that there is an enormous expectation on us to perform well over the next five days, as a team and individually. Never mind that a split-second lapse in concentration – a false shot or a dropped catch – could have major ramifications for the result of the match. Nothing seems to faze our team.
Take a look around. There’s Warney, possibly the greatest ever bowler, acting as though he’s about to play a fourth-grade match down at the local park. He is kicking back, feet up, puffing on a smoke. He spots Nathan Bracken on the other side of the room and pokes fun at the big quick’s hairdo. Brett Lee is in the corner adjusting his blond streaks in the mirror, completely at ease about his task. Simmo hasn’t stopped yapping. He finishes telling a joke and starts giving cheek to another teammate. Justin Langer is in a good mood but, because we’re batting, he’s put on his iPod and is bopping away in his own world. Same with Matt Hayden. He’s putting on his pads and thinking quietly to himself. Batting or bowling first? Doesn’t matter to Glenn McGrath. He mucks around either way, playing jokes on unsuspecting teammates and, basically, being a nuisance. Gilly is a little quiet before he keeps wicket. All his gloves are laid out and strips of tape are hanging down from his locker door, ready to be applied to his roughed up fingers. Gilly is structured but he, too, is very relaxed.
Team meeting at the old fort in St Vincent before the World Cup began.
There have been times when the atmosphere wasn’t quite as serene. For the First Test of the Ashes series in Brisbane in late 2006, the mood was tense. We’d lost the Ashes the year before and were resolved to regain them. Almost everything in the preceding year had been directed towards winning the upcoming series against England, so there was an enormous amount riding on that first morning. Warney was the same as always and McGrath was again playing practical jokes, even if he didn’t get quite the response he normally gets. But, considering what we had in front of us, the overall feeling was peaceful, as it always is.
Perhaps my teammates try to foster a light-hearted environment in the dressing room as a way to defuse nerves. There is no denying there is cause to be nervous or, at least, apprehensive about what’s coming up. But I also know that the reason these guys are able to stay so cool is because each one is so comfortable with his game – and so comfortable with his standing in the game – that the pressure valve is considerably more loose than it would be in the dressing rooms of some of our opponents.
That is not to say that we are completely free of constraints. Everyone has their own niggling doubts or nerves at different times. But one thing that works to the advantage of all the players in the Australian team
is that we trust ourselves and our teammates and we each know that we have done whatever we need to do to be ready. I know that if I’ve prepared well and I stick to my plans I am able to enjoy a Test match and, usually, play well. I’ve done the hard work, got myself into my IPS and feel comfortable. There will always be nerves before a Test because you are representing your country, the opposition might be a good one, there are lots of people watching and there are many things going on around you that can stir your emotions. But nerves only become intrusive when a player is not ready and believes he may not be capable of living up to what is expected of him. The fact that our team does not get sabotaged by nerves is a reflection of how much attention we pay to preparation and how much confidence we gain from doing it correctly.
HIGHEST TEST BATTING AVERAGES BY AN AUSTRALIAN
LEAST DAYS TO SCORE 1000 TEST RUNS
MICHAEL HUSSEY TEST CRICKET STATISTICS
Partly because of circumstances and partly because I am stringent about the way I prepare, I’ve never gone into a Test convinced that I’m not ready. I haven’t played many Tests yet, but I have started to form a definite structure of preparation for a match that works best for me and I stick to it as closely as possible.
ASHES GOALS:
1. OUTCOME: Cement my place in the Test team
2. PERFORMANCE: Score three tons, score three fifties, win man-of-the-match awards
3. PROCESS: Set up well, relax body, clear mind, watch ball (batting keys), stick to plans, bat long periods of time, bat my way, fight and never give in
4. HOW/WHAT: nine hours sleep per night, eat well, basic at training, recovery, relax away from the game, face fears
5. THINGS TO WORK ON: Play very straight at training, groove my stance, watch ball out of the hand, catching, strong front arm, left foot not jumping in
6. BATTING KEYS: Eyes level, bat handle to bowler, top hand pick up, weight on heels, right shoulder tight to chin, wrist cocked, feet open slightly, back elbow tight, tap bat slightly open, bend knees.
My preparation for the lead-in to a Test match begins on the Sunday preceding it. We usually start the match on a Thursday, but arrive five days earlier. On that first night we settle in and do our own thing. We are lucky to be accommodated in nice hotels and, normally, the first thing I do when I move into my room is unpack my bags, get my creams out and put them away neatly. I’ll hang up my shirts and set out my training gear so I know where everything is and set out my toiletries so it feels like home. That night I’ll have a nice meal and, later, sit back in my room and have some quiet time, or some ‘me time’, as I like to call it. I enjoy that first night a lot because there is a sense of excitement. All the boys have met up and we all know that we are entering the home stretch before a Test match. It’s a nice feeling.
The next day, Monday, is very busy. It always starts with a hard training session to blow out the cobwebs. All the batsmen will have a long hit and the bowlers a long bowl, knowing that we have plenty of time to recover before the match. It’s a good workout; you can really throw yourself around in those few hours and give it everything you’ve got. Afterwards, we’ll have a recovery session, which can consist of a swim or a massage, or maybe both. There is a lot to take care of away from cricket, too, and later that day we’ll have meetings with various people. Cricket Australia officials come in to explain to us our obligations and how things will work during and leading into the match. There will be briefings by the coaches and sometimes sponsors will want to talk to us. Other officials will tell us what our media commitments will be and how that will all unfold. Later, we might have a signing session, which could mean signing hundreds of bats or shirts or books. Sometimes, at the end of all that, we will have a weights session. It’s a big day, physically and mentally, and we’re pretty knackered by the end of it.
On the Tuesday, we will have another good-volume day with lots of batting and fielding. There may be a few less meetings and official commitments, with a growing emphasis on recovery, massages and swimming. That night is always exciting because that’s when we hold our main team meeting where we talk tactics.
On the Wedneday, the day before the match, everything is completely optional. If you don’t want to turn up, you don’t have to. And, this is where you start to see differences in the way players go about being ready for a Test. Someone like Glenn McGrath or Brett Lee, for instance, will get right away from the action. Glenn might go off sightseeing, or meet up with a friend, while Brett often spends the whole day playing his guitar. Basically they want to get away from people and the game and just recover so they are refreshed mentally and physically. I like to go to the optional training session, though I will only have a light hit, a few throw-downs or face some net bowlers for 10 or 15 minutes, just to keep things ticking over. That way I’ll feel like everything is in working order, yet I’m still fresh. After that, I’ll go into the dressing room to make sure my gear is all set out and ready to go. I want to be able to turn up the next day and have everything ready so I don’t have any nasty surprises or last-minute dramas. That afternoon I will do my best to wind down. I’ll go back to my room, pull the curtains closed, lock myself away from the world, watch a movie and try to relax and recover as much as I can.
On the Thursday, normally I’ll be a bit nervous. But, once I start my match-day preparation, I start to feel more at ease. It begins with a team warm-up. We meet on the ground, have a bit of a chat and then get into what is generally a pretty structured loosening-up period, consisting primarily of jogging and a good, long stretch. Once we are feeling flexible, it’s time to get the eye in. That’s where Mike Young, our fielding coach, comes in. Mike will get us throwing to each other, short distances, long distances and throwing at the stumps. Next will be catching. There are always different types of catching to practise: short catching, high catching, fast, slow, whatever you want. I will normally go through a few disciplines. I like to have a good throw and I always make sure I do some short catching to get my eyes in and my feet moving.
After the warm-up, each player is free to do his own thing. Often, the bowlers will go out to the middle and roll their arms over. I’ll usually go to the nets and get someone to throw me a few balls so I feel comfortable with the bat in my hand. I like to get back to the dressing room within half an hour of the start of play so I can have a drink, gather my thoughts and get ready to go.
Across each day in the lead-up to a Test, there are a few things I make sure I keep tabs on. One is my sleep. I try to get eight or nine hours’ sleep every night. It’s not always easy, as I suggested earlier. But if I get something near that many hours I feel as though I can mentally function well, physically I feel a lot fresher and I can get the best out of myself. Sometimes my mind plays tricks on me, particularly coming into a big Test. It will be ticking over and can be hard to shut down. If that’s the case I’ll take a sleeping tablet. I know they can make you feel drowsy the next day and are not the ideal remedy, but they have worked well for me, so I will keep taking them when I feel it helps.
The other thing I make sure of each day is to start off with a big hearty breakfast. That means the whole lot: cereal, fruit, bacon and eggs, pretty much whatever is on offer. Breakfast is very important because it gives me plenty of fuel to keep going. If I can have a good sleep and a hearty breakfast, I feel like I’ve put in place the building blocks for a productive day and am directing myself towards being ready for the match. Diet is one aspect of Sandy’s advice I probably didn’t follow as seriously as other things when I was younger because I was never overweight. I was skinny and what I ate didn’t seem all that important. However, I was still interested in what foods I should eat to help me keep going all day playing cricket. Nowadays I get into carbohydrates, such as pasta, not so much the day before a game, but probably two or three days out, and a lighter meal the night before the game. I believe that gives me the energy I need. Other than that, I just keep a balanced diet, a good mix of fruit, vegetables, meat and carbohydrates. In
the countdown to a game, though, a big breakfast each day is the most important meal for me.
While this all sounds very eccentric, it’s pretty standard. All the players in the team go through a similar procedure, except, of course, on the day before the match, when everything is optional. It is the time between matches and, indeed, between seasons that you see big differences in the way individuals go about their business. Each one of us players has gone through a long process of refining and revising our routines, programs, diets and habits. I have spent thousands of hours over the past 15 or so years and spoken to countless people seeking advice on how to keep in the best possible shape and frame of mind to be able to achieve my goals.
The mental side of the game is in fact about 90 per cent of the reason for a player’s success or failure. Yet we only work on the mental side about 10 per cent of the time. The difference between good players and those who reach the top is mental ability. So to play for Australia it’s important to understand deeply the mental aspect of cricket.
I did away with my more peculiar superstitions a while ago but to this day there a number of things I know I need to do to achieve what I want to achieve. However, even if my preparation hasn’t been perfect, I haven’t hit a million balls and I don’t feel quite 100 per cent, I can say to myself that it doesn’t matter and that, if I get a start out in the middle, I’ll be fine.
Ian Kevan the batting coach with his two students, me,
the Western Warrior, and Dave, the Victorian Bushranger.
IAN KEVAN
I retired from A-grade cricket in 1990 after about 260 games with Mount Lawley in Perth because I decided, as the old saying goes, to spend more time with the family. Not long after I stopped playing, I got a phone call from the WACA saying that a coaching vacancy had come up for the state Under 17s. I took on the job and it turned out to be quite a good team. Among the players was Damien Martyn, who played his club cricket at Wanneroo. I knew that Wanneroo had some other promising youngsters and part of my job involved scouting out the best players for the junior state squad. The officials at Wanneroo saw me around the place quite a bit and they started asking me to take on the role of club coach there. If anything I was interested in coaching at Mount Lawley, but Wanneroo were very keen, so I accepted the job there as well as the state job.
Mr Cricket Page 10
