Adrian McInman: “It is inconceivable to think that the Pakistan men’s team don’t have more mental toughness than the average individual”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
After the Pakistan team’s loss to England in the Multan Test, captain Shan Masood was asked in a press conference if the team was mentally weak.
According to Masood, that is not the problem: “I won’t say that my team is mentally weak. The third innings in isolation can seem like a collapse where everything went wrong. But if we could have kept England to near our score, then…”
In the last three articles with Cricket Psychologist Adrian McInman, we discussed how “pressure” and “stress” are not the problem. So, is the Pakistan men’s team mentally weak?
In Adrian’s eyes, he finds it “inconceivable to think that the Pakistan men’s team don’t have more mental toughness than the average individual”. Explaining why, he pointed out the tough hurdles the players have to overcome to achieve the ultimate dream of playing for the country. A dream which only a few achieve.
Adrian said: “It is inconceivable to think that the Pakistan men’s team don’t have more mental toughness than the average individual. To make it into an international team, especially in a country where cricket is revered as much as in Pakistan, you have to be mentally tough.
“However, the Pakistan men’s team should not compare themselves with the average individual or low-ranked teams. They need to compare themselves with the very best teams. More accurately, they need to develop higher levels of mental toughness than every other team including Australia, India, and New Zealand.
“People can guess the current level of mental toughness of the Pakistan men’s team. However, there’s no point measuring it. The cricketers would be too concerned with who might learn the results, making honest answers unlikely.
“Furthermore, problems should not be the focus. Instead, help them go from wherever they are mentally to a more powerful position so they consistently perform phenomenally. Teach them mental skills that none of the other teams use to increase their confidence, hardiness, conscientiousness, proactivity, mental toughness, and happiness. The focus should be learning powerful information based on research (not guesses) and practical and time-efficient techniques.”
Do that and Masood will no longer have to make bitterly disappointing admissions like: “Under my tenure, we have repeated the same mistake, we have set up Test matches and have not capitalised on. We have to find a way to capitalise.”
Adrian McInman
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@happierhorizons-adrianmcin179
Website: https://phenomenalperformances.com