As a World Cup-winner, an MVP of the IPL and Australia’s all-rounder for a generation, Shane Watson is the right candidate to write a book called The Winner’s Mindset. And in this new role as writer, the veteran zeroes in on an aspect of the game he feels is not talked about enough―the mental side. Sure, physical fitness and skills are prerequisites to making it big in cricket, but so is evaluating where your mind is when you take the field.
The writing is simple and effective, and he uses instances from his own career―like failing in the 2016 IPL final and redeeming himself in the 2018 one with CSK, or going from struggling in the latter days of Test cricket to finding his feet and dominance again with franchise leagues―to explain his concepts. For example, he talks about the mind, like your biceps, being another muscle in the body that also has a certain amount of energy each day. Wear it out by over-thinking, and you lose your ability to summon your skills at the moment you need them.
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This is not a book about how great Watson was as a player (as some cricketers’ accounts tend to be), but an honest attempt at trying to help the younger cricketers coming through. Former South African captain Faf du Plessis, for instance, writes that he uses the book every time he goes out to play.
It is written in the style of a self-help guide, with charts, graphs and activities―as well as bullet points at the end summarising each chapter―but it is more sincere than many books in that genre.
It breaks the image that many cricket fans may have of Watson―a chiselled hunk who was good at most things in the sport―and puts the focus on a nerd who takes notes every day of his life to improve himself, even if marginally.
What sticks with you after reading The Winner’s Mindset is the earnestness of the pursuit, and the genuine joy at finding a solution to a problem he had been struggling with for years. Do not expect a heroic saga of felling opponents and claiming glory, but rather a reflective thesis, or even a therapy session, of what it takes to be a champion in cricket.
This is not a book to improve the aesthetic of your shelf, but one that you should actually read and put into practice. In cricket, or otherwise.
THE WINNER’S MINDSET
By Shane Watson
Published by HarperCollins
Price Rs499; pages 288