England will play a three-Test series against the West Indies in Southampton on July 8 but without any spectators due to the coronavirus pandemic. To cope up with this absence & adapt to a new atmosphere during matches Stuart Broad is taking the help of Sports psychologists.
England fast bowler Stuart Broad has consulted to a sports psychologist to prepare for Test matches behind closed doors. England starts a three-Test series against West Indies in Southampton on 8th July, but fans will be absent in the stadium due to the coronavirus. While Broad is preparing himself for test matches, he thinks that it will be impossible to perform well in the silence of empty stadiums so he opted to take expert advice before the series go ahead.
“The games will feel a bit different with no crowds but I think cricket is in a slightly different position to sports like football and rugby,” Broad said on Sunday.
“Our domestic game in red-ball cricket, a lot of the time we play in front of smaller crowds, so we are not relying on the atmosphere or the crowds to drive us forward.
“I’m very aware of that, I’ve already spoken to our sports psychologist about creating a mindset around making sure I can get my emotions up to where they need to be for me to perform at my best.”
In such a health crisis, Broad wanted to make sure that he is in the right frame of mind to face the West Indies team who beat England when they last met in a Test series in 2019. “It is going to be a different challenge for everybody, there will be times when the mind might drift further than it would in a normal Test match but that is where we have got to be so strong as individuals to not let that happen…
“I know that I perform at my best as a player under pressure when the game is at its most exciting point when the game needs changing”, Stuart concluded.
