Cricket:Ireland coach Adrian Birrell has asked a sports psychologist to talk to his bowlers ahead of their crunch ICC World Cricket League Division One match against Kenya today.
The International Cricket Council has brought in psychologist Jeremy Snape to assist coaches during this tournament in getting the most out of their players, with a particular emphasis on preparing them for the ICC Cricket World Cup, which gets underway in the West Indies in March.
Birrell is the first of the coaches to make use of Snape's services.
"It can't do any harm," said Birrell, who has been disappointed by the performances of most of his quicker bowlers in the tournament so far.
"They were all in good form in Port Elizabeth (where they were at a training camp preparing for the World Cricket League Division One) but since getting here they have not been consistent, particularly when the pressure is on," he said.
"I hope what Jeremy has told them will have an effect. This is a must-win game for us."
Snape (33) played county cricket for Northamptonshire (where he won the NatWest Trophy), Gloucestershire and Leicestershire, where he was made captain in 2006. He was part of the Leicestershire side that won the Twenty20 Cup in August 2004. He also won 10 ODI caps for England between 2001 and 2002.
He studied psychology at Loughborough University and although he is still playing, he is also moving into this area of the game. He has worked with the former England rugby captain Martin Johnson, the England and Wales Cricket Board, the ECC European Academy and now the ICC, among others.
With or without a sports psychologist, today is not going to be an easy game for Ireland. Kenya are the form team of the tournament, having easily won both their games to date, against Bermuda (by 10 wickets) and the Netherlands (by seven wickets) and also having come top in a recent ODI tri-series with Scotland and Canada in Mombasa.
By contrast to Ireland, it has been Kenya's opening attack that has made all the difference. Thomas Odoyo and Peter Ongondo have been steaming in and bowling really impressive lines at a good pace, making life very difficult for the batsmen.
Opening batsmen Maurice Ouma and David Obuya have also been impressing, quick to latch on to anything loose while also giving a fine lesson in running between the wickets.
"I am very happy with how we are playing at the moment," said Ouma, the wicketkeeper-batsman who is currently top of the "player of the tournament" table, level after two games with Obuya.
"David and I have been batting well at the start of the innings and it is a great feeling as I have not been in good form recently," he said.
"Our bowlers have been fantastic, though. It makes our life as batsmen much easier when we have a small total to chase."
If Ireland win the toss it's likely they will choose to bowl first - one of the good parts of their performances here has been the batting and they would be confident of chasing almost any total.
But this is high-pressure stuff. If they lose today, it is almost certain they won't make the final on February 7th and thus will not qualify for the ICC Twenty20 World Championships in South Africa later on this year.
If Ireland have genuine aspirations to become the top Associate team and make a credible contribution to the World Cup, these are the games they must win.
