Why Good Net Players Struggle in Matches

So it’s just me today as Briony is away in Ethiopia of all places, but she’ll be back next week along with a brilliant guest, John Neal my former boss at England Cricket. And in that episode, we’re going to explore the difference between personality and character and why that really matters across roles in cricket, whether you’re playing, captaining or coaching. But today it’s just me and we’re going to tackle one of the most common frustrations in the game, which is why do some players look absolutely brilliant in the nets, but then struggle to transfer that into match performance. And we’ve also got a few listener questions that have come in this week. Now, if you’re new to the pod, welcome. It’s great to have you with us. We release a new episode every week. Sometimes it’s just Briony and I, other times we bring in guests from across the game, but every episode is focused on the mental and performance side of cricket, helping players, parents and coaches understand what really drives performance and improvement. So if you enjoy these conversations, please do subscribe to the podcast or alternatively our YouTube channel. Right, let’s get into the show. My name’s Nathan Wood. Welcome to the Cricket Mind Podcast.

Now this first question is one that I’ve seen firsthand many times, both as a player and as a coach. And it comes from Josh, who’s a 15 year old batter. And his question is, I feel really confident in nets. I hit the ball well and my coaches say I’m batting nicely. But for the last two years in matches, I feel tense. I don’t play as well and I’m not scoring the runs I think I should be.

Why does this keep happening and what can I do about it? Josh, that’s a really good question and a very common issue. Some players look fantastic in training. They time it beautifully. They look confident. They play freely, but in games, it feels completely different. And I can relate to this myself. I can remember times when I felt like Sachin Tendulkar in the nets but batted like Phil Tufnell in games. So this isn’t a new problem, it’s actually a very common one. And it’s common because nets and matches are asking you to do two different things. In nets, there’s no scoreboard, there’s no real consequence, you can’t really get out, you often know what’s coming and there’s no emotional pressure, whereas in games you can get out, people are watching, there’s uncertainty and there’s something at stake. So the environment changes and when the environment changes, your thinking changes. Now here’s where I’ll gently challenge a long-standing myth in cricket. We often assume that the more nets you do, the better you’ll play in matches, but nets are repetition. Matches, on the other hand, are decision-making under pressure. And they’re not the same skill. Batting in training is largely about execution. Batting in games is about clarity. It’s about commitment and handling emotion. So if your training doesn’t include scoreboard scenarios, tactical thinking, a bit of consequence, decision making, then your hard work in nets won’t automatically translate into consistent performance in matches. And here’s where it becomes a vicious circle. When players struggle in games, they often go back to the nets looking for technical fixes. They think that my grip must be wrong, my back lift isn’t quite right, I’m falling over. But the truth is this issue is rarely solved by thinking more about technique and the solution is much simpler. ⁓ usually have a clear plan, keep your intent simple and then commit fully. Matches don’t create problems. They reveal them and that’s uncomfortable, but it’s also useful. So Josh, here are two practical things that you can do. Firstly, create scenarios in practice and add some consequence if you don’t achieve the goal. So for example, you’re 30 for five and need to survive two overs or you need 18 off 12 balls or you can only score in front of square. And if you don’t achieve the goal, something happens. It doesn’t need to be dramatic. It could be your net stops. You go off and do some fielding or bowling or fitness work.

Or yes, maybe your phone goes to your parents for 24 hours. The detail doesn’t really matter. What matters is that something is at stake because that trains decision making, not just bat swing. And secondly, reduce technical noise before you bat. Go in with one clear focus, not two, not three, just one, because clarity reduces tension and tension is usually what’s getting in the way. So that’s why good players can look great in nets, but struggle in games. It’s not ability, it’s the training environment. Josh, thanks for the question. I hope that helps.

Right. Next question. This one comes from Sarah Porter. She’s a parent and she sent this in on Facebook and she says, my son’s confidence has dipped recently. He’s not been selected for his county team and he seems flat. Should we book more one-to-one sessions to help him rebuild his confidence? Sarah, really good question. And I completely understand why that would feel like the logical solution — he’s not being selected, get more coaching. If his confidence drops, get more support. But here’s where I gently challenge that thinking. More coaching does not automatically equal more confidence. In fact, sometimes it can do the opposite because if a young player is constantly being corrected, adjusted and analyzed,

They can start to feel like something is always wrong and confidence doesn’t grow from constant correction. It grows from competence. It grows from ownership. It grows from experience. And sometimes the most powerful thing for confidence isn’t another technical session. It’s having more fun. It’s having space to problem solve. It’s feeling trusted. Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not anti one-to-one coaching far from it. Used properly, it can be absolutely fantastic, but it has to build independence, not dependency. If a player starts to feel I can only perform if I’m constantly seeing my coach, that’s what I call fragile confidence. And what we want instead is I know what I’m trying to do. I trust my method. I can adapt when things don’t go well. That’s resilient confidence and often that comes from being allowed to struggle a little and then coming through the struggle. So Sarah, before booking more sessions, I’d ask, is your son lacking technical skill or is he still processing disappointment because they are two different problems and they require two different solutions.

If confidence is dipped after not being selected, sometimes what’s needed isn’t more correction, it’s clear achievable training goals, small wins in low pressure environments and opportunities to take responsibility for his own development. Confidence grows when a player feels capable, not when they feel constantly adjusted and sometimes less intervention actually builds more belief and that’s an important distinction in modern cricket. Great question and Sarah, I wish him well.

It’s about how hardship is processed and managed. And in cricketing terms, some players grow up in very competitive environments, older siblings, strong dressing rooms, high expectations from themselves and from others and perhaps not getting much sympathy. And yes, that can build resilience. You learn how to deal with disappointment. You learn how to compete. You learn that no one is coming to rescue you. But here’s the key, it only builds resilience if there’s also support because resilience tends to grow in environments that combine high challenge and high support, not just high challenge. And I’ve seen this firsthand. I’ve seen players who are pushed very hard, but were never shown how to reflect, never shown how to recover, never shown how to separate performance from identity and they didn’t become resilient. Actually, they became anxious or defensive or fearful of failure. Whereas the most resilient players I’ve played with and coached actually, yes, they were challenged and yes, they faced setbacks, but they also had perspective.

They had mentors, conversations. They had space to process what happened. They weren’t just told to toughen up. They were helped to understand what was happening. And I’ll share something personal here. Growing up in a cricket household with a dad who played at the highest level, there was definitely expectation. There was definitely comparison and there was definitely pressure, some external, some internal. And at times that helped me. And at times it made things harder. And over time I had to learn what resilience actually meant for me. It wasn’t just about being tough. It was about being adaptable, being reflective, being willing to evolve and even challenge my own thinking. So dad, yes, environment matters, but resilience isn’t inherited. It’s developed through challenge, reflection, support, and recovery. And that’s something that all coaches and parents should really think about. Are we just exposing young players to pressure, or are we helping them make sense of it? Because resilience isn’t built in the moment of failure, it’s built in what happens after it? So another really, really good question. ⁓ Thanks for listening. Even over there in a Costa del Sol.

So that brings us to the end of today’s episode. A big thank you to Josh, to Sarah and to Barry for sending in those questions. If you’d like to send one in yourself, all the contact details are in the show notes. You can message us on Instagram, Facebook or through the Cricket Mind online website as well. We do read every message and these episodes are always better when they’re shaped by what you’re experiencing. So if you found today helpful, please do hit subscribe, whether you’re listening on Apple or Spotify or watching on YouTube. So you don’t miss the conversations we’ve got coming up. And we’ve got some really great guests coming on the pod over the next few weeks. So thanks for listening. Let’s call that stumps.