Sport - Dave Lee

What does a batsman see?

July 10, 2022 Blog, Science, Sport by Dave Lee

Terrific writing in The Cricket Monthly about the psychology of being an elite batsman. It’s an article about cricket, yes, but more so about the human mind and its need to be trained and disciplined:

As he searches his mind for the answer, he enters a deep meditative state. Time passes quickly. Hours later – it is difficult for him to tell how many – he emerges with a stunning realisation: by playing cricket since the age of four, he had, without realising it, developed a systemic process of concentration and a precise method of watching the ball; but he had only been using them consistently on his good days.

Peerless

June 1, 2022 Blog, Sport by Dave Lee

“Moments after their side strode on to the pitch draped in flags of their homeland, the words which were belted out took on a whole new significance. ‘The glory and freedom of Ukraine has not yet perished. Luck will still smile on us brother-Ukrainians.’ As it transpired, luck had little to do with their team’s triumph here. In perhaps their finest hour, they were peerless.”
BBC Sport’s Scott Mullen on Ukraine’s 3-1 defeat of Scotland on Wednesday night. The war-torn nation will now face Wales for a place in this winter’s World Cup.

Jack Grealish

May 23, 2022 Blog, Sport by Dave Lee

Sky Sports chose a YouTube-friendly headline here, but the really interesting insight comes at around 3:30 minutes, when Jack Grealish opens up about the pressures of playing for the best club side in the world. It’s the kind of honest reflection you’d typically see in some retrospective documentary broadcast decades later–not 30 minutes after the final whistle.