How to Stop CHOKING?

It was the 25th September 2004. The English summer had passed on and autumn was in the air. But an ICC Champions Trophy final still needed to be played.

It was to be the scene of one of the greatest chokes in cricket history.

The West Indies had got off to a poor start chasing England's 217. After 17 overs they were 72-4 and wickets tumbled further until a hapless 147-8 put England firmly in the driving seat, moments from victory.

Then England choked.

The bowling, according to match reports, was strangely lacklustre and the West Indian tail calmly knocked off the runs.

The science of choking

It's a phenomenon that happens across life, not just sport. Boffins have studied what happens to everyone from golfers to firemen when they choke.

And it turns out to be the same no matter whether you are carrying someone out of a burning building or trying to putt on the 18th or bowling at the death.

You feel out of control, as if events are overtaking you and there is little you can do about it, and most importantly;

You choke when you think too much.

We have all been in the situation. You play and miss, or drop one short. What is your instant reaction?

Maybe you rehearse the shot, or try and compensate with your action. You are thinking about the mechanics of the skill.

And several research studies have shown that the more you think about technique in the middle, the less well you perform.

How to stop thinking

So the answer is simple: stop thinking so much.

Only, your brain isn't quite as cooperative as that, you need to trick yourself.

According to one of the least likely men to choke in the world; Tiger Woods (and sport psychologists who back this opinion) the best thing to think about is all those tired clichés that you are fed up of.

Fill your mind with general fluff and you don't have time to consider your wrist position or head falling over.

So next time you are dropped at slip, don't think about where your feet went and rehearse the shot. Clear your mind and think something general and positive like "Keep going, keep fighting".

And the same applies when you are in the field. Listen to the boring but enthusiastic geeing up of the keeper. It's enough to keep your mind from worrying about mistakes and get on with playing the game.