The Sports Psychology Blog
This Sports Psychology blog, comes as the Stanford Superstars, put England to the sword, in the first of the annual Super-Series finals.
Cricket: England - Focus!
So, England return home from the Caribbean, thrashed by the excellent, Stanford Superstars. In many ways, this was a game that was won and lost, well before Saturday.
It was won and lost perhaps, the moment that England captain, Kevin Pietersen, declared on the Wednesday, that he wanted the week to be over with. This, after some of his team were taken ill. And after some of the players partners, were pictured on Sir Allan Stanford's knee. Plus other distractions, that haven't been revealed.
Given the Superstars six weeks of supreme preparation, the ten wicket romp was a direct reflection, of the focus of each team. In sporting parlance, the Superstars simply wanted it more. Life changing money was up for grabs. And they were not going to be denied. They had a clear mission.
When a team is so focused and motivated, they can be hard to beat. An unfocused England outfit, simply did not have the will, necessary to do so. They batted like a team of individuals. A throwback to the bad old days, of one-day international defeats. Poor, impulsive decisions, made under pressure.
The Stanford Superstars were ready, for a life changing experience. England weren't. And that is why, simply, that they won by ten wickets.
