Clutch Cricket

Toughness When It’s Tight

As a young cricketer growing up in South Africa, Grant Elliot was recognized for his talent with selection by South Africa at representative level in the late nineties. He struggled at that level though, and so he took a leap of faith to continue his career in New Zealand in his early twenties.

When I was working with him around that time, I was struck by a determined, level-headed guy, and he was rewarded early with test selection soon after. His career had been up and down since then, but he remained determined to make his mark at the international level.

And yesterday, he did it, on the biggest stage.

Cometh The Hour…

In what has been hailed one of the greatest ODI cricket games of all time, Elliott singlehandedly kept New Zealand in the World Cup Semi-Final. Then, to finish off his work, he hit the winning runs with only 1 ball remaining and sent the Blackcaps into their first ever World Cup final.

Was he a man of steel? Hardly.

“I really did feel the pressure,” he admitted candidly. “And it was stressful towards the end there.”

Elliott felt the pressure, and did it anyway. Is that really possible?

In Another World

A world away, where cricket isn’t played, a team of researchers at Manhattan University in New York have uncovered evidence that this is actually the most effective approach to pressure — not to ignore it, not to calm down, or hype up.

Gardner & Moore have laid the foundations for performance enhancement with a model called the MAC — Mindfulness, Acceptance & Commitment — approach, which is based on the underlying principles of ACT therapy.

More Focus

ACT, which stands for Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, is a therapeutic method designed specifically to reduce experiential avoidance. But when applied to performance focused people like athletes, it helps them engage more with the task at hand, regardless of how they feel.

One of the original researchers who built the MAC model, Zella Moore, says it is all about removing thoughts that focus on the feelings instead of the task — a non-negotiable for high performers. “The MAC intervention protocol helps clients in high-pressure positions reach and maintain consistent optimal performance states.”

Instead of trying to change how you feel and then act, you can push on regardless — the action can happen without changing the feeling.

Elliott finds where his winning shot ended up after the game.

It describes perfectly how Elliot had taken on the biggest moment of his cricketing life: by not worrying about the stress, he kept his mind focused on the job at hand — and ultimately free of anything as he entered the zone on that final winning shot.

“Nothing was going on in my mind when I hit the six,” Elliott said. “I don’t even know where the ball went.”

ACT Tough, Be Tough

To paraphrase a couple of sayings, the acronym ACT fits perfectly here: if you ACT tough, you’ll be tough. When the pressure comes, you gotta feel it, then do it anyway.

Because unless you swing, you’ll never know how far your shot at glory might go.