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Batting on a sticky wicket: Identifying sources of stress and associated coping strategies for professional cricket batsmen
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Psychology of Sport and Exercise 8 (2007) 219–232 www.elsevier.com/locate/psychsport
Batting on a sticky wicket: Identifying sources of stress and associated coping strategies for professional cricket batsmen Richard C. Thelwella,, Neil J.V. Westona, Iain A. Greenleesb a
Department of Sport and Exercise Science, University of Portsmouth, Spinnaker Building, Cambridge Road, Portsmouth PO1 2ER, UK b University of Chichester, UK
Received 11 October 2005; received in revised form 21 February 2006; accepted 19 April 2006 Available online 27 June 2006
Abstract Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine the sources of stress and associated coping strategies as reported by professional cricket batters. Methods: Nine male professional cricket batters completed a semi-structured interview to examine their stress sources and associated coping strategies. A combination of inductive and deductive content analyses provided a detailed data analysis for the two areas of investigation. Results: The interviews revealed a total of 25 general dimensions for the sources of stress and 23 general dimensions for the coping strategies. Conclusions: Despite the overlap between stress sources and coping strategies to previous literature, practitioners need to be aware of the specific demands of the sport in which they are working. Future research suggestions are made regarding the study of stress and coping in sport. r 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Analysis; Cognition; Content; Interviews; Inductive
Corresponding author. Tel.: +44 23 92 845164.
E-mail address: [email protected] (R.C. Thelwell). 1469-0292/$ - see front matter r 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.psychsport.2006.04.002
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Introduction Understanding the sources of stress and the mechanisms by which athletes cope continues to be of interest to sport psychology researchers (e.g., Giacobbi, Foore, & Weinberg, 2004; Giacobbi, Lynn et al., 2004). This has primarily stemmed from Gould, Jackson, and Finch (1993), Scanlan, Stein, and Ravizza (1991) who in their early work examining performance-related stress revealed figure skaters’ sources of stress to include, negative aspects of competitive, negative interactions with others, environmental demands, and physical/psychological demands. Although the early work examining competitive stress provided a detailed insight, it provided a somewhat limited view to the types of stress that performers may experience. Thus, athletes have now reported their stress to be influenced by performance-related, intra- and interpersonal, selfpresentational, and organizational issues. While the varying categories of stress have been identified, much of the stress-related literature has employed more of a holistic approach that identifies all stress sources within the environment. An example of this is provided by Noblet and Gifford (2002) who, when interviewing professional Australian Rules Footballers reported sources of stress to exceed those merely associated with the competitive event. In addition to the typical performance-related sources, the participants discussed a variety of intra- and interpersonal issues such as career development, relationship and lifestyle issues, as being significant sources of stress. Similarly, Holt and Hogg (2002) in their work with female soccer players, reported sources of stress to include both performance-related and organizational demands. Although much of the sources of stress literature has been from either a performance-related, or holistic approach, more recently there has been increased interest in the area of organizational stress. Taking Woodman and Hardy’s (2001) theoretical framework, Fletcher and Hanton (2003) interviewed performers from a variety of sports to identify their organizational stressors. Following both inductive and deductive content analysis, four general dimensions for organizational stress were reported that included environmental sources, personal issues, coaches and coaching styles, and communication. Taking their work further, Hanton, Fletcher, and Coughlan (2005) examined the performance and organizational stressors reported by elitelevel performers. From categorizing the stress sources, Hanton et al. were able to report that for their sample of elite performers there were a great deal more organization-related sources of stress compared to performance-related. Further, they suggested the performance-related sources to be similar across the population given the requirements of elite sport, with the organizational stressors being wider ranging. As a result, their study provides some interesting avenues of work for the applied practitioner given that organizational themes were cited more frequently. In addition to the increased attention towards the sources of stress, similar interest has emerged regarding the coping strategies employed by performers (e.g., Giacobbi & Weinberg, 2000; Gould et al., 1993) and the effectiveness of the coping strategies employed (e.g., Nicholls, Holt, Polman, & James, 2005). Despite the useful insight to the varying cognitive, behavioral and affective forms of coping strategies employed by performers, there has been limited information associating coping strategies to specific sources of stress. Of the few studies that have, Gould et al. reported national champion figure skaters to employ mental preparation strategies, self-talk and rational thinking to cope with the physical and psychological demands placed upon them, and time management skills to combat the environmental stressors.
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More recently, attempts have been made to draw some associations between stress sources and coping strategies. Giacobbi, Foore et al., (2004) examined the sources of performance-related stress and associated coping strategies in golfers. Having identified the sources of stress (evaluative others, specific performance challenges, psycho-emotional concerns, and competitive stress) and coping strategies (cognitive strategies, relaxation techniques, off-course efforts, golf-course strategies, avoidance coping and emotion-focused coping), Giacobbi, Foore, et al. reported the associations between stress and coping. For example, they reported the use of cognitive techniques to overcome all major sources of stress, whereas relaxation techniques were used by some performers to overcome evaluative others, and by others to help relieve competitive stress. Also, emotion-focused coping was employed by performers to overcome specific performance challenges such as physical/mechanical concerns and competitive stress. Similarly, Giacobbi, Lynn et al. (2004) using Lazarus and Folkman’s (1992) transactional model of stress and coping, examined the sources of stress and coping strategies reported by first-year swimmers in their transition to university. Although the sources of stress were wide ranging, the employment of coping strategies were mediated by the situational appraisals held by the performers. While there are obvious applied benefits from understanding sources of stress and coping strategies, there is still a need to examine them from alternative sports so that practitioners can be more knowledgeable and precise when intervening with performers. Such knowledge would provide useful information to how, and why some individuals adapt to stressful situations, while others find it difficult, and in some cases impossible to do so. Also, much of the stress and coping research has been directed towards individual and predominantly closed skill sports. Cricket by contrast is an interactive, open skill, team sport where stressful situations frequently occur. Therefore, in terms of the present study, the authors suggest that a greater empirical insight to the varying sources of stress and associated coping strategies within professional cricket, and in particular the cricket batsmen, is necessary. There are several underpinnings to the rationale for studying cricket batsmen. Firstly, previous literature (e.g., Thelwell, Greenlees, & Weston, in press) has reinforced the need to examine the psychological requirements of specific roles within sports. Secondly, it is uncommon in sporting competitions for one individual (or even two individuals when batting in a pair) to take on the entire opposition team (with the notable exception being baseball). Thus, the batter will not only compete against the bowler, to whom he/she is trying to score runs against, but they are also competing against the other 10 fielders who will be within varying fielding proximities to them. Thirdly, the batter is likely to have a variety of challenges that they are faced with during their innings, which may include for example, having to play against pace and spin bowling, or, coming in to bat at varying times of an innings without knowing when they will bat. Finally, no matter how many runs a batsman scores, their innings is likely to end on a negative when they are out. Therefore with the varying unique challenges that a batsman may have to confront, it is imperative that practitioners develop their knowledge of the sources of stress and associated coping strategies from the perspectives of professional players. In summary, the primary aim of the study was to examine the sources of stress and coping strategies as reported by professional cricket batsmen. A second aim was to associate the coping strategies to the specific stress sources.
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Methods Participants A total of nine male professional cricket batsmen (M age ¼ 27.5 years, SD ¼ 5.5) agreed to participate in the study. All players were employed as professionals for their batting prowess and at the time of the study, had played a total of 733 First class matches and 802 First team 1-day matches between them. First class matches are defined as 4-day matches in the English County Championship, and First team 1-day matches are defined as limited over games played within the varying limited over tournaments between English counties. Having made initial contact with the participants through their varying county head coaches, the context of the study was explained and subsequent interviews were arranged with each individual. Prior to any data collection, written informed consent was obtained and participants were assured to their anonymity. Interview guide The interview guide was developed having reviewed previous qualitative studies (e.g., Fletcher & Hanton, 2003; Giacobbi, Foore et al., 2004; Gould et al., 1993) that have examined the sources of stress and/or coping strategies. A pilot study of the interview guide was conducted with two professional batters, where minor amendments to the questions were made. As a result, the final interview guide contained four sections: demographic information and other introductory comments; defining and examining the most important sources of batting-related stress; defining and examining coping strategies and; final comments and summary questions. Data collection Throughout the interviews, a semi-structured approach was adopted where a similar set of questions was employed in a similar manner. Although there was a certain element of structure to the interviews, the ordering of questions varied depending on the responses from the participants, where varying issues were explored by the interviewer (in all cases the lead researcher). Although the discussions varied in their content (due to the participant responses), a variety of probe (‘‘what was it about _____ that made it a stressor?’’) and elaboration (‘‘could you explain that in more detail please?’’) questions were employed to ensure that all issues were investigated in depth, for both sources of stress and coping strategies. Finally, at the end of each section, interviewees were asked if all appropriate sources or strategies had been discussed. All interviews were conducted face-to-face in an environment comfortable for the participant. Interviews were also tape-recorded in their entirety (lasting no longer than 75 min) and transcribed verbatim producing a total of 78 pages. Analysis Following the transcription of the interviews, the first and second researchers read and re-read all of the interview text. They then independently identified and coded words, phrases, quotes and
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sayings for each batsman’s stress sources, and associated coping strategies in accord with the recommendations by Coˆte´, Salmela, Baria, and Russell (1993). Having met to agree that the raw data were discussed in the context of either sources of stress or coping, the first two researchers then independently grouped similar themes expressed by the participants into a set of common topics. On meeting to identify how the raw data were placed into meaningful categories of higher generality, the first two researchers also placed the categories of higher generality into general dimensions, where above this, no general meaning could be identified. As with recent qualitative studies (e.g., Hardy, Gammage, & Hall, 2001), both inductive and deductive methods of data analysis were employed towards the latter stages to ensure appropriate placement of raw data into higher-order themes. Thus, as higher-order themes became apparent, prior knowledge of stress and coping literature enabled a more confident interpretation of data for placement into appropriate themes. The final phase of analysis was dependent upon triangular consensus between the first two researchers and the third researcher who was not involved with the data collection and initial analysis of data. Here the third researcher acted as a ‘‘critical friend’’ (Faulkner & Sparkes, 1999) and confirmed, or otherwise, the placement of raw data themes into higher-order categories. In this stage of the analysis, the third researcher was required to thoroughly examine all steps taken by the first two researchers in the inductive, and latterly deductive phase of data analysis.
Results A major aim of the study was to examine the sources of stress and coping strategies as reported by professional cricket batsmen. The sources of stress are illustrated in Fig. 1 where it can be seen that there are a total of 219 raw data themes, placed into 25 higher-order themes, and categorized into eight general dimensions. The coping strategies are presented in Fig. 2 where a total of 228 raw data themes emerged from the transcribed text, which were placed into 23 higher-order themes and 10 general dimensions. Although Figs. 1 and 2 fail to portray the relationship between the sources of stress and coping strategies, this will be discussed via the following narrative and quotations. Relationships between coping strategies and sources of stress The participants used a great deal of general cognitive strategies, mainly in the form of self-talk to overcome some of the sources of stress. In particular, self-talk in the form of positive and constructive reminders was often used to overcome a fear of failure (e.g., perceptions of self) and fears of their current form (e.g., current playing status). Further, they were also employed by individuals to remind themselves that they were capable of playing at a professional level (e.g., views of others, relationships with important others, perceptions of self), with one player saying ‘‘I find at times that I just have to keep reminding myself what I can do, especially if I know the reports aren’t great and when the captain has a few doubts on you at selection’’. Also for some sources of stress (e.g., to overcome technical stress and external influences), general self-talk was employed by batters to enable them to cope. Finally, self-talk via internal rationalization was often employed when sources of stress relating to perceptions of self, match-specific issues, current
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Fig. 1. Sources of stress reported by professional cricket batters (numbers in parentheses illustrate the number of times the stressor was mentioned).
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Fig. 1. (Continued)
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Fig. 2. Coping strategies reported by professional cricket batters (numbers in parentheses illustrate the number of times the stressor was mentioned).
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Fig. 2. (Continued)
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Fig. 2. (Continued)
playing status, relationships with others, and views of others were present. One player commented, ‘‘I realize that I can’t always be in good form y I know what the press will say and how the selectors will see it but I have to rationalize how things go throughout the season y I just ensure that I keep telling myself to be rationale’’. In addition to general cognitive strategies, batters reported the use of cognitive strategies when at the crease. In the main these were in the form of self-talk, but they tended to be associated with sources of stress emanating from within a match, towards the opposition, and with regard to their current playing status. Using motivational self-talk one player said, ‘‘when the form is bad I need to challenge myself y the innings, each ball in fact is a challenge that I have to win especially when the opposition are pumped for it’’. Several batters also commented on their use of focusrelated self-talk when at the crease. One player commented, ‘‘I tend to have to focus myself a lot at the crease, I tell myself to focus y this tends to happen when batting is a struggle mostly because I am struggling for form, stressed about whether my place is secure and my contract. Then at times I will get stressed about who the opposition is going to be y strange really seeing as I have played against the best y but we all get stressed and telling myself to focus helps me’’. In addition to cognitive coping strategies, there were a number of other strategies forwarded to overcome sources of stress. These included a variety of general match strategies (both before a
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game and during a game) that were reported by the batters. The use of systematic, pre-match preparatory strategies were often reported to help overcome stress from self-induced pressure, match-specific issues (conditions of play), and technique. Within this area, one player stated, ‘‘before an innings I try to have proper consistent preparation y I suppose it helps me feel as though I can perform and that I am in more control’’. Similarly, a variety of coping strategies were employed at the crease adopting a free method of play was often related to self-induced pressure, emotional instability, current form, selectors and standard of opposition. Also the use of routines was used to overcome game situation issues and to minimize negative external influences and behavior of the opposition, and finally, appearance was addressed so that the opposition and external others were less aware to how they were feeling. A further coping strategy of interest was the use of external support. While coaches were frequently employed to reduce stress related to perceptions of self, current playing status, contractual issues, and technical aspects, two players discussed the use of a sport psychologist to help them cope with stress. The specific sources discussed related to varying perceptions of self, varied match specific issues, current playing status, communication issues and relationship concerns, external influences and overcoming opponents. The use of specialists was mentioned by one batter where he said, ‘‘I found a sport psychologist who really helped me understand things y I worked at the reasons why I had low confidence and a fear of failure y sometimes the coaches are just too close to you and you need someone outside to work with’’. A final association between the coping strategies and sources of stress was in the form of reflection. Five players commented on their use of reflection as a coping strategy to overcome issues relating to self-induced pressure, current form, and views of others. Additionally one player commented, ‘‘I found that sitting down at the end of a days play, away from the ground mostly, let me just think about what had happened y what had gone on y both good and bad y I tried jotting a few things down, I suppose to help remind me that sometimes I get stressed when there is no need. I find myself feeling insecure, worrying about the future, which I suppose can be pretty unsettling, but when I think about it I can’t do anything about what others think apart from going out there, being tough and doing my job’’. It is possible that the individual in this example not only used reflection as a method of coping, but also to benefit the developments and usage of other coping strategies (e.g., rationale self-talk).
Discussion The study extends previous research that has examined stress sources and associated coping strategies to cricket and in particular cricket batters. The participants reported various sources of stress including personal issues, match specific issues, and external factors (e.g., views of others, opponents). There were also a variety of coping strategies reported by the batters. The findings revealed several consistencies with previous research for both the reported sources of stress and coping strategies. With regard to stress, a variety of sources were reported in previous studies (e.g., Holt & Hogg, 2002; Noblet & Gifford, 2002) such as relationship concerns, performance-related issues, social evaluation worries, and life direction concerns, which resemble many of those presented in the current study. In addition, the present study also revealed sources of stress specific to cricket batsmen (which in many places may also be appropriate to baseball
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hitters). For example, the batters cited stress sources related to current form. Specifically, if their current form was poor, then they were likely to have low scores. With the additional issue that their innings may be completed following one mistake, stress sources related to poor form may influence further negative self-portrayals within the batter themselves. Secondly, the batters reported stress associated with the opposition to be a major cause for concern. In particular, the standard, prior knowledge, and behavior of the opposition were stressors for some players, even though they perceived themselves to have effective methods of coping. Finally, the participants in the present study reported technical issues to be a major concern for them, with many of the individuals reporting batting to be as much a technical as a psychological challenge. Thus, as soon as they started to have stress related to their technique (whether they were highlighted by the opposing bowlers exploiting them, or through a lack of confidence in technique) they began to suffer when playing due to inappropriate focus on technical aspects. As with the sources of stress, the coping strategies reported by the batters reflected many of the cognitive and behavioral methods highlighted in previous research studies (e.g., Giacobbi & Weinberg, 2000; Nicholls et al., 2005). Like previous studies, cognitive approaches were the most frequently employed strategies to the sources of stress. General cognitive strategies relating to their holistic role as a batter were reported, as well as cognitive strategies for when they were at the wicket. Irrespective to the type of cognitive strategy employed, they appeared to promote adaptive strategies by enabling individuals to have positive interpretations of their environment (Scheier & Carver, 1993). There were also additional coping strategies to those reported in previous studies. Firstly, batters reported the use of external support agencies to overcome stress. In accord with Bianco and Eklund’s (2001) findings, the batters used social support (comprising teammates and coaches) for instrumental and emotional purposes. However, they also employed external specialists (e.g., sport psychologists) who helped them understand their current status, which surprisingly has not been identified as a coping response in previous literature. Secondly, reflection was cited as a key method of coping. This not only included the need to reflect on positive experiences, but also to how other sporting performers would have coped with stress sources. While the purposes of reflection relate to some form of vicarious modeling, there is no empirical examination of the impact of reflection strategies within the scientific literature. That said, while the importance of reflection has been well documented (e.g., Anderson, Knowles, & Gilbourne, 2004), performance evaluation sheets (Holder, 1997) and reminder sheets (Bull, Albinson, & Shambrook, 1996), each of which can be linked to the reflection process, have been proposed to influence attribution responses and self-awareness, and focus and self-confidence, respectively. The above findings present some interesting applied issues worthy of consideration. Firstly, the study reinforces the importance of having an understanding of the psychological requirements of specific roles within sports. Given that the role of a cricket batter varies considerably to any role in sport (with the baseball hitter being a possible exception) practitioners need to be aware of the wide-ranging sources of stress that may affect a batter and what the most commonly employed strategies for coping are. Secondly, although not directly examined within the present study there appeared to be many sources of stress that could be deemed as uncontrollable. Examples of this included batters spending a lot of time focusing on factors such as concerns over selection, the
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conditions of play, the umpires for the games, varying external influences, views of others, and the opponents. Acknowledging this, it may be appropriate for practitioners to develop appropriate coping strategies for overcoming stress created from uncontrollable factors. In addition to the applied possibilities reported from the findings and the detailed insight to the sources of stress and associated coping strategies, there remain several issues worthy of future research attention. The first and possibly most important issue relates to the need for a stronger theoretical underpinning to the study of stress and coping (e.g., Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). Although a number of stress sources and coping strategies were identified in the present study, the mechanisms linking them were speculative seeing that the cognitive appraisals of the stress demands, and emotional reactions prior to initiating a coping response, were not explored. Thus future research is required to examine the mechanisms between sources of stress and coping strategies to provide a more comprehensive understanding to the stress and coping process. A further consideration for future research is the distinction between the varying categories of stress sources. The present study adopted a holistic approach to the sources of stress, which although could be perceived as a limitation to the study, provided a very detailed insight to all forms of stress experienced by cricket batters. That said, it would be desirable for future research examining sources of stress in a specific sport, to follow the lead of Hanton et al. (2005) and categorize the sources of stress. Further to this, with the categorization into varying stress sources, researchers would be better placed to examine coping strategies employed in response to varying forms of stress, which to date, has not been provided. Further still, while an identification of the more salient sources of stress and associated coping strategies were examined, to date, little is known with regards to how the coping strategies were acquired by the batters. We therefore suggest that it would be of use to know the process by which such strategies were developed (e.g., Hanton & Jones, 1999), which in turn may provide a useful insight for batters, coaches, researchers and practitioners alike. Also, the present study focused on batters and not their specific roles within the batting unit of their team. Future research may also wish to be focused on the examination of variance between the sources of stress and coping strategies reported by opening batters (who start the innings), a number three or four batter (who may be in very early in the innings if the opening batters are out, or much later in the innings should no wickets fall), and middle-order batters (numbers five and six) who may have to come in to increase the run rate towards the end of an innings, stabilize the innings if the higher order have not scored heavily, or, to help the lower order (typically the bowling members of the team) achieve as many runs as possible. Finally, there was no evidence within the present study to the effectiveness of the coping strategies employed by batters. With recent experimental evidence reporting the proposed effectiveness of varying strategies (e.g., Nicholls et al., 2005), it would seem appropriate for similar investigations across sports to identify the extent to which strategies are effective, which would benefit researchers and sport psychology practitioners alike. In summary, the purpose of the study was to provide a detailed insight to the sources of stress and associated coping strategies for professional cricket batters. A multitude of stressors for batters were reported, with each having a number of associated coping strategies. While a number of important implications are provided, future issues for practitioners and sport psychology researchers have been presented.
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Psychology of Sport and Exercise 8 (2007) 219–232 www.elsevier.com/locate/psychsport
Batting on a sticky wicket: Identifying sources of stress and associated coping strategies for professional cricket batsmen Richard C. Thelwella,, Neil J.V. Westona, Iain A. Greenleesb a
Department of Sport and Exercise Science, University of Portsmouth, Spinnaker Building, Cambridge Road, Portsmouth PO1 2ER, UK b University of Chichester, UK
Received 11 October 2005; received in revised form 21 February 2006; accepted 19 April 2006 Available online 27 June 2006
Abstract Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine the sources of stress and associated coping strategies as reported by professional cricket batters. Methods: Nine male professional cricket batters completed a semi-structured interview to examine their stress sources and associated coping strategies. A combination of inductive and deductive content analyses provided a detailed data analysis for the two areas of investigation. Results: The interviews revealed a total of 25 general dimensions for the sources of stress and 23 general dimensions for the coping strategies. Conclusions: Despite the overlap between stress sources and coping strategies to previous literature, practitioners need to be aware of the specific demands of the sport in which they are working. Future research suggestions are made regarding the study of stress and coping in sport. r 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Analysis; Cognition; Content; Interviews; Inductive
Corresponding author. Tel.: +44 23 92 845164.
E-mail address: [email protected] (R.C. Thelwell). 1469-0292/$ - see front matter r 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.psychsport.2006.04.002
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Introduction Understanding the sources of stress and the mechanisms by which athletes cope continues to be of interest to sport psychology researchers (e.g., Giacobbi, Foore, & Weinberg, 2004; Giacobbi, Lynn et al., 2004). This has primarily stemmed from Gould, Jackson, and Finch (1993), Scanlan, Stein, and Ravizza (1991) who in their early work examining performance-related stress revealed figure skaters’ sources of stress to include, negative aspects of competitive, negative interactions with others, environmental demands, and physical/psychological demands. Although the early work examining competitive stress provided a detailed insight, it provided a somewhat limited view to the types of stress that performers may experience. Thus, athletes have now reported their stress to be influenced by performance-related, intra- and interpersonal, selfpresentational, and organizational issues. While the varying categories of stress have been identified, much of the stress-related literature has employed more of a holistic approach that identifies all stress sources within the environment. An example of this is provided by Noblet and Gifford (2002) who, when interviewing professional Australian Rules Footballers reported sources of stress to exceed those merely associated with the competitive event. In addition to the typical performance-related sources, the participants discussed a variety of intra- and interpersonal issues such as career development, relationship and lifestyle issues, as being significant sources of stress. Similarly, Holt and Hogg (2002) in their work with female soccer players, reported sources of stress to include both performance-related and organizational demands. Although much of the sources of stress literature has been from either a performance-related, or holistic approach, more recently there has been increased interest in the area of organizational stress. Taking Woodman and Hardy’s (2001) theoretical framework, Fletcher and Hanton (2003) interviewed performers from a variety of sports to identify their organizational stressors. Following both inductive and deductive content analysis, four general dimensions for organizational stress were reported that included environmental sources, personal issues, coaches and coaching styles, and communication. Taking their work further, Hanton, Fletcher, and Coughlan (2005) examined the performance and organizational stressors reported by elitelevel performers. From categorizing the stress sources, Hanton et al. were able to report that for their sample of elite performers there were a great deal more organization-related sources of stress compared to performance-related. Further, they suggested the performance-related sources to be similar across the population given the requirements of elite sport, with the organizational stressors being wider ranging. As a result, their study provides some interesting avenues of work for the applied practitioner given that organizational themes were cited more frequently. In addition to the increased attention towards the sources of stress, similar interest has emerged regarding the coping strategies employed by performers (e.g., Giacobbi & Weinberg, 2000; Gould et al., 1993) and the effectiveness of the coping strategies employed (e.g., Nicholls, Holt, Polman, & James, 2005). Despite the useful insight to the varying cognitive, behavioral and affective forms of coping strategies employed by performers, there has been limited information associating coping strategies to specific sources of stress. Of the few studies that have, Gould et al. reported national champion figure skaters to employ mental preparation strategies, self-talk and rational thinking to cope with the physical and psychological demands placed upon them, and time management skills to combat the environmental stressors.
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More recently, attempts have been made to draw some associations between stress sources and coping strategies. Giacobbi, Foore et al., (2004) examined the sources of performance-related stress and associated coping strategies in golfers. Having identified the sources of stress (evaluative others, specific performance challenges, psycho-emotional concerns, and competitive stress) and coping strategies (cognitive strategies, relaxation techniques, off-course efforts, golf-course strategies, avoidance coping and emotion-focused coping), Giacobbi, Foore, et al. reported the associations between stress and coping. For example, they reported the use of cognitive techniques to overcome all major sources of stress, whereas relaxation techniques were used by some performers to overcome evaluative others, and by others to help relieve competitive stress. Also, emotion-focused coping was employed by performers to overcome specific performance challenges such as physical/mechanical concerns and competitive stress. Similarly, Giacobbi, Lynn et al. (2004) using Lazarus and Folkman’s (1992) transactional model of stress and coping, examined the sources of stress and coping strategies reported by first-year swimmers in their transition to university. Although the sources of stress were wide ranging, the employment of coping strategies were mediated by the situational appraisals held by the performers. While there are obvious applied benefits from understanding sources of stress and coping strategies, there is still a need to examine them from alternative sports so that practitioners can be more knowledgeable and precise when intervening with performers. Such knowledge would provide useful information to how, and why some individuals adapt to stressful situations, while others find it difficult, and in some cases impossible to do so. Also, much of the stress and coping research has been directed towards individual and predominantly closed skill sports. Cricket by contrast is an interactive, open skill, team sport where stressful situations frequently occur. Therefore, in terms of the present study, the authors suggest that a greater empirical insight to the varying sources of stress and associated coping strategies within professional cricket, and in particular the cricket batsmen, is necessary. There are several underpinnings to the rationale for studying cricket batsmen. Firstly, previous literature (e.g., Thelwell, Greenlees, & Weston, in press) has reinforced the need to examine the psychological requirements of specific roles within sports. Secondly, it is uncommon in sporting competitions for one individual (or even two individuals when batting in a pair) to take on the entire opposition team (with the notable exception being baseball). Thus, the batter will not only compete against the bowler, to whom he/she is trying to score runs against, but they are also competing against the other 10 fielders who will be within varying fielding proximities to them. Thirdly, the batter is likely to have a variety of challenges that they are faced with during their innings, which may include for example, having to play against pace and spin bowling, or, coming in to bat at varying times of an innings without knowing when they will bat. Finally, no matter how many runs a batsman scores, their innings is likely to end on a negative when they are out. Therefore with the varying unique challenges that a batsman may have to confront, it is imperative that practitioners develop their knowledge of the sources of stress and associated coping strategies from the perspectives of professional players. In summary, the primary aim of the study was to examine the sources of stress and coping strategies as reported by professional cricket batsmen. A second aim was to associate the coping strategies to the specific stress sources.
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Methods Participants A total of nine male professional cricket batsmen (M age ¼ 27.5 years, SD ¼ 5.5) agreed to participate in the study. All players were employed as professionals for their batting prowess and at the time of the study, had played a total of 733 First class matches and 802 First team 1-day matches between them. First class matches are defined as 4-day matches in the English County Championship, and First team 1-day matches are defined as limited over games played within the varying limited over tournaments between English counties. Having made initial contact with the participants through their varying county head coaches, the context of the study was explained and subsequent interviews were arranged with each individual. Prior to any data collection, written informed consent was obtained and participants were assured to their anonymity. Interview guide The interview guide was developed having reviewed previous qualitative studies (e.g., Fletcher & Hanton, 2003; Giacobbi, Foore et al., 2004; Gould et al., 1993) that have examined the sources of stress and/or coping strategies. A pilot study of the interview guide was conducted with two professional batters, where minor amendments to the questions were made. As a result, the final interview guide contained four sections: demographic information and other introductory comments; defining and examining the most important sources of batting-related stress; defining and examining coping strategies and; final comments and summary questions. Data collection Throughout the interviews, a semi-structured approach was adopted where a similar set of questions was employed in a similar manner. Although there was a certain element of structure to the interviews, the ordering of questions varied depending on the responses from the participants, where varying issues were explored by the interviewer (in all cases the lead researcher). Although the discussions varied in their content (due to the participant responses), a variety of probe (‘‘what was it about _____ that made it a stressor?’’) and elaboration (‘‘could you explain that in more detail please?’’) questions were employed to ensure that all issues were investigated in depth, for both sources of stress and coping strategies. Finally, at the end of each section, interviewees were asked if all appropriate sources or strategies had been discussed. All interviews were conducted face-to-face in an environment comfortable for the participant. Interviews were also tape-recorded in their entirety (lasting no longer than 75 min) and transcribed verbatim producing a total of 78 pages. Analysis Following the transcription of the interviews, the first and second researchers read and re-read all of the interview text. They then independently identified and coded words, phrases, quotes and
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sayings for each batsman’s stress sources, and associated coping strategies in accord with the recommendations by Coˆte´, Salmela, Baria, and Russell (1993). Having met to agree that the raw data were discussed in the context of either sources of stress or coping, the first two researchers then independently grouped similar themes expressed by the participants into a set of common topics. On meeting to identify how the raw data were placed into meaningful categories of higher generality, the first two researchers also placed the categories of higher generality into general dimensions, where above this, no general meaning could be identified. As with recent qualitative studies (e.g., Hardy, Gammage, & Hall, 2001), both inductive and deductive methods of data analysis were employed towards the latter stages to ensure appropriate placement of raw data into higher-order themes. Thus, as higher-order themes became apparent, prior knowledge of stress and coping literature enabled a more confident interpretation of data for placement into appropriate themes. The final phase of analysis was dependent upon triangular consensus between the first two researchers and the third researcher who was not involved with the data collection and initial analysis of data. Here the third researcher acted as a ‘‘critical friend’’ (Faulkner & Sparkes, 1999) and confirmed, or otherwise, the placement of raw data themes into higher-order categories. In this stage of the analysis, the third researcher was required to thoroughly examine all steps taken by the first two researchers in the inductive, and latterly deductive phase of data analysis.
Results A major aim of the study was to examine the sources of stress and coping strategies as reported by professional cricket batsmen. The sources of stress are illustrated in Fig. 1 where it can be seen that there are a total of 219 raw data themes, placed into 25 higher-order themes, and categorized into eight general dimensions. The coping strategies are presented in Fig. 2 where a total of 228 raw data themes emerged from the transcribed text, which were placed into 23 higher-order themes and 10 general dimensions. Although Figs. 1 and 2 fail to portray the relationship between the sources of stress and coping strategies, this will be discussed via the following narrative and quotations. Relationships between coping strategies and sources of stress The participants used a great deal of general cognitive strategies, mainly in the form of self-talk to overcome some of the sources of stress. In particular, self-talk in the form of positive and constructive reminders was often used to overcome a fear of failure (e.g., perceptions of self) and fears of their current form (e.g., current playing status). Further, they were also employed by individuals to remind themselves that they were capable of playing at a professional level (e.g., views of others, relationships with important others, perceptions of self), with one player saying ‘‘I find at times that I just have to keep reminding myself what I can do, especially if I know the reports aren’t great and when the captain has a few doubts on you at selection’’. Also for some sources of stress (e.g., to overcome technical stress and external influences), general self-talk was employed by batters to enable them to cope. Finally, self-talk via internal rationalization was often employed when sources of stress relating to perceptions of self, match-specific issues, current
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Fig. 1. Sources of stress reported by professional cricket batters (numbers in parentheses illustrate the number of times the stressor was mentioned).
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Fig. 1. (Continued)
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Fig. 2. Coping strategies reported by professional cricket batters (numbers in parentheses illustrate the number of times the stressor was mentioned).
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Fig. 2. (Continued)
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Fig. 2. (Continued)
playing status, relationships with others, and views of others were present. One player commented, ‘‘I realize that I can’t always be in good form y I know what the press will say and how the selectors will see it but I have to rationalize how things go throughout the season y I just ensure that I keep telling myself to be rationale’’. In addition to general cognitive strategies, batters reported the use of cognitive strategies when at the crease. In the main these were in the form of self-talk, but they tended to be associated with sources of stress emanating from within a match, towards the opposition, and with regard to their current playing status. Using motivational self-talk one player said, ‘‘when the form is bad I need to challenge myself y the innings, each ball in fact is a challenge that I have to win especially when the opposition are pumped for it’’. Several batters also commented on their use of focusrelated self-talk when at the crease. One player commented, ‘‘I tend to have to focus myself a lot at the crease, I tell myself to focus y this tends to happen when batting is a struggle mostly because I am struggling for form, stressed about whether my place is secure and my contract. Then at times I will get stressed about who the opposition is going to be y strange really seeing as I have played against the best y but we all get stressed and telling myself to focus helps me’’. In addition to cognitive coping strategies, there were a number of other strategies forwarded to overcome sources of stress. These included a variety of general match strategies (both before a
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game and during a game) that were reported by the batters. The use of systematic, pre-match preparatory strategies were often reported to help overcome stress from self-induced pressure, match-specific issues (conditions of play), and technique. Within this area, one player stated, ‘‘before an innings I try to have proper consistent preparation y I suppose it helps me feel as though I can perform and that I am in more control’’. Similarly, a variety of coping strategies were employed at the crease adopting a free method of play was often related to self-induced pressure, emotional instability, current form, selectors and standard of opposition. Also the use of routines was used to overcome game situation issues and to minimize negative external influences and behavior of the opposition, and finally, appearance was addressed so that the opposition and external others were less aware to how they were feeling. A further coping strategy of interest was the use of external support. While coaches were frequently employed to reduce stress related to perceptions of self, current playing status, contractual issues, and technical aspects, two players discussed the use of a sport psychologist to help them cope with stress. The specific sources discussed related to varying perceptions of self, varied match specific issues, current playing status, communication issues and relationship concerns, external influences and overcoming opponents. The use of specialists was mentioned by one batter where he said, ‘‘I found a sport psychologist who really helped me understand things y I worked at the reasons why I had low confidence and a fear of failure y sometimes the coaches are just too close to you and you need someone outside to work with’’. A final association between the coping strategies and sources of stress was in the form of reflection. Five players commented on their use of reflection as a coping strategy to overcome issues relating to self-induced pressure, current form, and views of others. Additionally one player commented, ‘‘I found that sitting down at the end of a days play, away from the ground mostly, let me just think about what had happened y what had gone on y both good and bad y I tried jotting a few things down, I suppose to help remind me that sometimes I get stressed when there is no need. I find myself feeling insecure, worrying about the future, which I suppose can be pretty unsettling, but when I think about it I can’t do anything about what others think apart from going out there, being tough and doing my job’’. It is possible that the individual in this example not only used reflection as a method of coping, but also to benefit the developments and usage of other coping strategies (e.g., rationale self-talk).
Discussion The study extends previous research that has examined stress sources and associated coping strategies to cricket and in particular cricket batters. The participants reported various sources of stress including personal issues, match specific issues, and external factors (e.g., views of others, opponents). There were also a variety of coping strategies reported by the batters. The findings revealed several consistencies with previous research for both the reported sources of stress and coping strategies. With regard to stress, a variety of sources were reported in previous studies (e.g., Holt & Hogg, 2002; Noblet & Gifford, 2002) such as relationship concerns, performance-related issues, social evaluation worries, and life direction concerns, which resemble many of those presented in the current study. In addition, the present study also revealed sources of stress specific to cricket batsmen (which in many places may also be appropriate to baseball
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hitters). For example, the batters cited stress sources related to current form. Specifically, if their current form was poor, then they were likely to have low scores. With the additional issue that their innings may be completed following one mistake, stress sources related to poor form may influence further negative self-portrayals within the batter themselves. Secondly, the batters reported stress associated with the opposition to be a major cause for concern. In particular, the standard, prior knowledge, and behavior of the opposition were stressors for some players, even though they perceived themselves to have effective methods of coping. Finally, the participants in the present study reported technical issues to be a major concern for them, with many of the individuals reporting batting to be as much a technical as a psychological challenge. Thus, as soon as they started to have stress related to their technique (whether they were highlighted by the opposing bowlers exploiting them, or through a lack of confidence in technique) they began to suffer when playing due to inappropriate focus on technical aspects. As with the sources of stress, the coping strategies reported by the batters reflected many of the cognitive and behavioral methods highlighted in previous research studies (e.g., Giacobbi & Weinberg, 2000; Nicholls et al., 2005). Like previous studies, cognitive approaches were the most frequently employed strategies to the sources of stress. General cognitive strategies relating to their holistic role as a batter were reported, as well as cognitive strategies for when they were at the wicket. Irrespective to the type of cognitive strategy employed, they appeared to promote adaptive strategies by enabling individuals to have positive interpretations of their environment (Scheier & Carver, 1993). There were also additional coping strategies to those reported in previous studies. Firstly, batters reported the use of external support agencies to overcome stress. In accord with Bianco and Eklund’s (2001) findings, the batters used social support (comprising teammates and coaches) for instrumental and emotional purposes. However, they also employed external specialists (e.g., sport psychologists) who helped them understand their current status, which surprisingly has not been identified as a coping response in previous literature. Secondly, reflection was cited as a key method of coping. This not only included the need to reflect on positive experiences, but also to how other sporting performers would have coped with stress sources. While the purposes of reflection relate to some form of vicarious modeling, there is no empirical examination of the impact of reflection strategies within the scientific literature. That said, while the importance of reflection has been well documented (e.g., Anderson, Knowles, & Gilbourne, 2004), performance evaluation sheets (Holder, 1997) and reminder sheets (Bull, Albinson, & Shambrook, 1996), each of which can be linked to the reflection process, have been proposed to influence attribution responses and self-awareness, and focus and self-confidence, respectively. The above findings present some interesting applied issues worthy of consideration. Firstly, the study reinforces the importance of having an understanding of the psychological requirements of specific roles within sports. Given that the role of a cricket batter varies considerably to any role in sport (with the baseball hitter being a possible exception) practitioners need to be aware of the wide-ranging sources of stress that may affect a batter and what the most commonly employed strategies for coping are. Secondly, although not directly examined within the present study there appeared to be many sources of stress that could be deemed as uncontrollable. Examples of this included batters spending a lot of time focusing on factors such as concerns over selection, the
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conditions of play, the umpires for the games, varying external influences, views of others, and the opponents. Acknowledging this, it may be appropriate for practitioners to develop appropriate coping strategies for overcoming stress created from uncontrollable factors. In addition to the applied possibilities reported from the findings and the detailed insight to the sources of stress and associated coping strategies, there remain several issues worthy of future research attention. The first and possibly most important issue relates to the need for a stronger theoretical underpinning to the study of stress and coping (e.g., Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). Although a number of stress sources and coping strategies were identified in the present study, the mechanisms linking them were speculative seeing that the cognitive appraisals of the stress demands, and emotional reactions prior to initiating a coping response, were not explored. Thus future research is required to examine the mechanisms between sources of stress and coping strategies to provide a more comprehensive understanding to the stress and coping process. A further consideration for future research is the distinction between the varying categories of stress sources. The present study adopted a holistic approach to the sources of stress, which although could be perceived as a limitation to the study, provided a very detailed insight to all forms of stress experienced by cricket batters. That said, it would be desirable for future research examining sources of stress in a specific sport, to follow the lead of Hanton et al. (2005) and categorize the sources of stress. Further to this, with the categorization into varying stress sources, researchers would be better placed to examine coping strategies employed in response to varying forms of stress, which to date, has not been provided. Further still, while an identification of the more salient sources of stress and associated coping strategies were examined, to date, little is known with regards to how the coping strategies were acquired by the batters. We therefore suggest that it would be of use to know the process by which such strategies were developed (e.g., Hanton & Jones, 1999), which in turn may provide a useful insight for batters, coaches, researchers and practitioners alike. Also, the present study focused on batters and not their specific roles within the batting unit of their team. Future research may also wish to be focused on the examination of variance between the sources of stress and coping strategies reported by opening batters (who start the innings), a number three or four batter (who may be in very early in the innings if the opening batters are out, or much later in the innings should no wickets fall), and middle-order batters (numbers five and six) who may have to come in to increase the run rate towards the end of an innings, stabilize the innings if the higher order have not scored heavily, or, to help the lower order (typically the bowling members of the team) achieve as many runs as possible. Finally, there was no evidence within the present study to the effectiveness of the coping strategies employed by batters. With recent experimental evidence reporting the proposed effectiveness of varying strategies (e.g., Nicholls et al., 2005), it would seem appropriate for similar investigations across sports to identify the extent to which strategies are effective, which would benefit researchers and sport psychology practitioners alike. In summary, the purpose of the study was to provide a detailed insight to the sources of stress and associated coping strategies for professional cricket batters. A multitude of stressors for batters were reported, with each having a number of associated coping strategies. While a number of important implications are provided, future issues for practitioners and sport psychology researchers have been presented.
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