Thinking is sport is a complicated thing.
Elite batsmen are not “thinking” when playing a ball at 90 mile per hour, but they can still play the ball. Things happens too fast when the ball is rushing at you as a batsman or fielder, or you’re trying to adjust to a soft surface as a bowler.
Yet its not all instinct either. Cricketers become better the more they learn to focus on the right thing at the right time. That is where thinking comes in: learning to direct attention.
How do you do that?
As a player, imagine you are in nets playing a game like 21s and the coach calls you in, saying “what did you notice?”
Don’t say the first thing that comes into your head in a panic. The coach who asks what you noticed is not likely to to be one looking for a specific answer. So don’t shout “communication” and pray it’s right.
Also, don’t worry if you can’t think of anything. The coach will likely try to guide you to an answer from your perspective. You can’t be wrong if you’re honest.
Instead take a moment to consider what you were focusing on, and answer honestly. It will open a discussion between you and the opponent (batsman or bowlers).
You might also hear the coach say “what else?”.
Maybe the coach will call on you when you haven’t volunteered an answer. Have your thinking done just in case. It’s unlikely the coach is trying to catch you out.
What about if you’re the coach?
As a coach, we all remember times when players look at you like you just landed from Mars. So nip that in the bud:
Ask players to get into small groups and discuss the answer before it’s given
Tell players not to give the first answer, but instead think about it.
Tell players it’s OK not to know and that you will work it out together.
Get different people to answer the question first.
As follow up questions like “what else?” of others, especially those who don’t speak much.
The key is, both players and the coach need to work to use thinking time to actually think. Then we can all quickly get back to playing.
Thanks to Doug Lemov for some of these ideas, taken from the excellent The Coach’s Guide to Teaching.