Ben Cutting has spent months working on the mental side of his game in a bid to return to the form that made him one of Australia's most damaging allrounders
Cutting eyes mental edge to return to form
Big-hitting allrounder Ben Cutting has revealed how he spent months working with a sports psychologist in a bid to return to his best form.
A revitalised Cutting confirmed on Thursday he had inked a new one-year deal with the Sydney Thunder, staying with the KFC BBL club for a third straight season.
A peripheral member of Australia's white-ball side between 2013 and 2017, Cutting now plies his trade solely on the T20 circuit but has not played a competitive match since February.
The 35-year-old has spent recent months working with sports psychologist Noel Blundell, whose list of past clients includes the likes of Ash Barty, Minjee Lee and Mark Skaife.
"I feel mentally and physically refreshed after not playing cricket over the last few months," Cutting said.
"I've used that time to work on the mental side of cricket as much as I have the physical side.
"One of the big things I've gained from working with Noel was the desire to get back to playing my natural game.
"That means playing without the handbrake on; playing without the worry about results or the decisions that are made on the field."
Cutting scored just 153 runs at an average of 17 in last summer's BBL, fulfilling different roles both at the top of the order and late in the innings.
Once renowned for his bowling, he also took just one wicket throughout the Thunder's campaign as he was limited to only 10 overs.
As well as working with Blundell, the Queenslander has also spent time training under fellow former Queensland Bulls quick Joe Dawes after his exit from the PNG coaching position.
"I believe it is a matter of going out and playing with the same freedom I did as a kid 20-odd years ago," he said.
"What I've realised is my role has fluctuated over the last 15 or so years from being a guy who just bowled fast and wanted to take wickets to becoming more of a batter in T20.
"I'm aiming this summer to fuse together my batting and bowling games for Thunder. I want to get them firing."
The Melbourne Renegades have also added emerging West Australian off-spinner Corey Rocchiccioli to their squad on a one-year deal, continuing their spin heavy emphasis for BBL|12.
The Renegades drafted overseas tweakers Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Akeal Hosein and big-hitting England allrounder Liam Livingstone in August, with former Sri Lankan first-class spinner Ruwantha Kellapotha also signed as an overseas replacement player.
The WA-contracted spinner was part of his state's breakthrough Marsh Sheffield Shield title last summer and has previously been on the Perth Scorchers' roster but is yet to make his BBL debut.
Sydney Thunder BBL|12 squad (so far): Ben Cutting, Ollie Davies, Brendan Doggett, Matthew Gilkes, Chris Green, Alex Hales (England), Baxter Holt, Nathan McAndrew, Alex Ross, Rilee Rossouw (South Africa), Daniel Sams, Jason Sangha, Tanveer Sangha, David Warner, David Willey (England)
Melbourne Renegades BBL|12 squad (so far): Zak Evans, Aaron Finch, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Sam Harper, Mackenzie Harvey, Akeal Hosein (West Indies), Ruwantha Kellapotha (Sri Lanka), Liam Livingstone (England), Nic Maddinson (c), Shaun Marsh, Jack Prestwidge, Kane Richardson, Corey Rocchiccioli, Tom Rogers, Will Sutherland, Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Afghanistan), Jon Wells
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