Sunday, December 8, 2019

Sunday Cricket Lessons with Baig Sir

So I am experimenting with this new idea of syncing the mind and the body, especially in motor skills like games. The video game gave me some pointers and I felt I could try it on the cricket game as well. So I went in with the idea of slowing my mind down to the pace where i felt it was under control - i.e. where the body was in sync with the mind.

The way I did it was to mentally calibrate my mind as if I had a virtual speedometer - I pulled it down from 80 on a scale of 100 to about 20. It somehow allowed me this feeling of more control. And with that slowed down version, I ran in with a clear idea of what I wanted to execute. And it worked very well indeed. To the left-hander I decided a particular line just outside the off-stump moving in to hit the off-stump and after some ten deliveries, it happened exactly as I visualised it. And again and again. the feeling that you have that in control was almost there. I never felt like I could crack the zone, until now. After a long time I got everyone out and that too bowled.

There is something to this theory of slowing down the mind to sync with the body.

Back home when I met Pallavi who had dropped in, and was telling her of my theory, she gave me another insight. About the magic quarter second, the time between the mind deciding and the body acting. The time when you can change your mind they say. I am thinking of actually using it to sync my mind and body. More on that later but this could be one of the most significant findings for me ever.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/finding-true-refuge/201501/the-opportunity-the-magic-quarter-second

Baig sir - Swing Session
Baig sir had a wonderful session with the seamers and got them to swing the ball prodigiously. Later while chatting with the kids I told them a few things from my experience. What to keep in mind when using the new ball - keep it up and allow it to swing. don't hit it, give air, make the batsman play, don't make too much adjustment for the swing. Once the ball gets slightly older polish it with great care, one side, the ball swings to the rough side and not the shiny side (conventional swing) and when it swings to the shiny side (reverse swing).

I talked about the importance of shining the ball, of forming a relationship with their equipment, the ball, the bat, all else around in their environment. It was a nice session in the end.

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