The neuroscience behind Pakistan's downfall in recent years

[CricketingMinds]

In order to understand the real reason behind our cricket's downfall you have to study the human brain, it's development and cultural impact on the brain.

Growing up in poor communities
I think it is fair to say that majority of the cricketers in the domestic and international team come from a poor background.

0-6 years old
An infant growing up in a household where there are not enough books to read, museums or libraries to visit, where parents are struggling to make ends meet for a large number of children, it is highly likely that an infant growing up in these adverse circumstances faces a lot of "stress" or "turbulence" or "unstable environments"

On top of that, there is lack of clean water and adequate nutritious food for this infant.

0 - 6 years is the prime time for the brain and neural activies to develop. And neuroscients and pedreatrics conclude that two major factors contributing to a healthy brain development for a 0-6 yr old are:
- Attachment & Stress Management
- Nutrition.

So how does adversity impacts the brain development for a 0-6 year old?

Adversity, especially in early childhood, has a powerful effect on the development of the intricate stressresponse network within each of us that links together the brain, the immune system, and the endocrine system (the glands that produce and release stress hormones, including cortisol). Especially in early childhood, this complex network is highly sensitive to environmental cues; it is constantly looking for signals
from the environment to tell it what to expect in the days and years ahead. When those signals suggest that life is going to be hard, the network reacts by preparing for trouble: raising blood pressure, increasing the production of adrenaline, heightening vigilance.

In the short term, this may have benefits, especially in a dangerous environment: When your threat-detection system — sometimes referred to as your fight-or-flight response — is on high alert, you are always prepared for trouble, and you can react to it quickly.

But experienced over the longer term, these adaptations also cause an array of physiological problems: They tend to lead to a compromised immune system, metabolic shifts and brain development.

High levels of stress, especially in early childhood, hinder the development of a child’s prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that
controls our subtlest and most complex intellectual functions, as well as our ability to regulate ourselves both emotionally and cognitively.

On an emotional level, chronic early stress — what many researchers now call toxic stress — can make it difficult for children to moderate their responses to disappointments and provocations. Small setbacks feel like crushing defeats; tiny slights turn into serious confrontations. In school, a highly sensitive stress-response system constantly on the lookout for threats can produce patterns of behavior that are self-defeating:
fighting, talking back, acting up in class, and also, more subtly, going through each day perpetually wary of connection with peers and resistant to outreach from teachers and other adults.

On a cognitive level, growing up in a chaotic and unstable environment — and experiencing the chronic elevated stress that such an environment produces —disrupts the development of a set of skills, controlled
by the prefrontal cortex, known as executive functions.
Executive functions, which include working memory, self-regulation,
and cognitive flexibility, are the developmental building blocks — the neurological infrastructure — underpinning noncognitive abilities like resilience and perseverance. They are exceptionally helpful in navigating
unfamiliar situations and processing new information, which is exactly what we ask children to do at school every day. When a child’s executive functions aren’t fully developed, those school days, with their complicated
directions and constant distractions, become a never-ending exercise in frustration.


7 to Teenage years

So what happens in later years when the child's Executive Function have not developed?

Well, let's examine what do we as a society ask of these young children as they move into a more complex and complicated life:

Child starts schooling, playing sports, working outside.

All the above 3 activities require the child to "learn quickly". And learning requires a healthy executive function...So that in cases where the child faces obstacles, he/she is able to manage his/her frustrations well and self-regulate his/her feelings and thoughts in those moments of 'stress' (when things aren't going well).

However, due to poor functions Executive Function, the child is unable to manage his/her frustrations well and is more likely to give up more easily.

THIS "COULD" BE THE REASON WHY WE SEE EXCELLENT PERFORMANCES IN THE BEGINNING FROM A CRICKETER (BECAUSE WE DO HAVE THE TALENT IN PAKISTAN) BUT THOSE TALENTED CRICKETERS QUICKLY FADE AWAY WHEN FACED WITH FAILURES AND OBSTACLES...THEY DON'T HAVE THE MENTAL CAPACITY (WITH NO FAULT OF THEIR OWN) TO DEAL WITH OBSTACLES AND FAILURES - E.G. AMIR, JUNAID KHAN, UMAR AKMAL, AHMAD SHAHZAD, ETC.

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So what can be done to improve the players' ability to deal with setbacks and failures?

First and foremost it is important for these kids or cricketers to understand the neuroscience behind why they are unable to cope with failure. Then there are three (3) ways in which the situation can be addressed:

1. Cultural Impact
2. Early Childhood Interventions
3. Late Interventions

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1. Culture Impact

These players need 1 - 2 strong leaders in the team environment who understand the psychology of failure and setbacks and help their teammates deal with these situations.

In 1980s and 1990s we had strong leadership in Imran Khan and Miandad who created and cultivated an environment of hard-work and fighting-back. Luckily for Wasim, Waqar and Inzi, they grew up in that environment that helped them succeed in their careers.

But because these guys weren't the authentic leaders like Imran who brought this culture of "never give up, fight-back, get-back-up-after-failures" it was hard for them to pass on this culture of grit and dealing with failure to the next generation.

And this could potentially be another reason why our cricket has seen a huge downfall since the departure of superstars like Imran, Miandad, Wasim, Waqar, etc.

So what is needed now?
We need 1-2 strong personalities in the dressing room, whether its the captain or the coach or the physiotherapist or a mental-skills-coach...doesn't matter...but there must be 1-2 people in the dressing room who understand the psychology of failure and help others deal with failures

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2. Early Childhood Interventions

In North America, there are tons of programs that focus on improving the brain development of a child (0-6y) through:
a) Relationship Improvment: Training parents on better parenting techniques that fosters a healthy brain development
b) Health Improvment: Educating the parents and caregivers on better nutrition and providing access to better quality food
c) Cognitive Skills: Social workers spend time with the infants by reading them books, playing with them and talking to them that helps improve the infants cognitive skills.

Given the lack of financial resources in Pakistan, I hardly doubt this can ever be implemented by the govt.

But since Pakistan is one of the largest charity giving nations, you never know if an NGO props up providing the above services for the poor.

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3. Late Interventions

In sports, #1. Culture Impact, is an example of Late Intervention, where a leader in the environment intervenes to help build stronger grit and mental capabilities of young cricketers.

Outside of sports, there can be programs for the youth where they are provided with:

- Mentors: To create a bond with youngsters. Someone who the youth can trust. Someone who can guide and advice the youth on the right path, streering him/her away from the evil.

- Skill Building Workshops: Teaching them hard skills and soft skills (e.g. Computer Programming, Financial Literacy, Public Speaking, etc.) that are required for the job market of the future.

- Field Trips: To museums, leadership conferences, tech incubators, etc. to showcase the poor kids the possibilities and realities of life that they usually don't get access to. This would potentially raise their aspirations.

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What are your thoughts?

 

[Energy]

Good thread, And true to an extent. However, I don't believe it is all down to childhood and teenage uncertainties that make our players incapable of performing. Coming from poor backgrounds, with strong determination is a good thing for motivation.

I actually think it is the opposite effect. It is complacency. And a mindset that I've done enough. Add to that the celeb atmosphere, and a sense of entitlement and you are bound to regress.

 

[Titan24]

For the players we have been producing in last couple of decades its true as they are mostly form pretty humble backgrounds. This is where the importance of school cricket comes in, where young children who develop their minds with studies and adapt cricket too as their profession.

One cant produce cricket personalities like Imran Khan which are important to not only be able to control players who are young and havent seen such lifestyles but rather groom them.

While Indian school cricket is producing players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma etc who arent only great cricketers but also know how to handle themselves and the team with their exposure.

 

[CricketingMinds]

Good thread, And true to an extent. However, I don't believe it is all down to childhood and teenage uncertainties that make our players incapable of performing. Coming from poor backgrounds, with strong determination is a good thing for motivation.

I actually think it is the opposite effect. It is complacency. And a mindset that I've done enough. Add to that the celeb atmosphere, and a sense of entitlement and you are bound to regress.

You actually bring forward a great point that the well-off kids have the opposite problem. Because they are usually (not always) so pampered and protected from the get-go they never exercise this muscle called 'failure'.

Psychologists say that failure is like a muscle, the more you exercise it, the more you learn on how to cope with it.

So the well-off protected ones do not succeed because they are not used to risk-taking and when they don't take risks, they don't learn new skills....and when they don't learn new skills, they regress and are unable to remain competitive at the top-level.

 

[CricketingMinds]

My point of creating this thread is to showcase:

1) The science behind mental-capabilities / mental-strength

2) That when the commentators, analysts, etc. keep saying "Pakistani players are not mentally strong", they are mostly correct in their analysis. However, it is important to consider why Pakistani players are not mentally strong. And the reason for that are ingrained in the environment they were brough up in which are at no fault of their own. That's just the cards they were dealt with in life.

So expecting Fakhar Zaman or Ahmad Shahzad to magically turn into Virat or Smith is an unrealistic expectation to have. So whether you bring in Misbah or Waqar or Mickey or Sarfaraz, things will not change.

3) That despite all this bad news, all is not lost. We can still invest heavily in hiring renowned psychologists and honest leaders who can groom youngsters to make them mentally stronger (see solution # 1 and 3 - Culture and Late Interventions in the OP)

4) Where we are failing these cricketeres and kids is not just at cricket but as a nation we are failing to provide a long-term sustainable healthy model for them to grow up in where they can be role-models and leaders for others. We are failing them at a systematic and psychlogical level.

There is an urgent need for our nation to do some self-reflection into what kind of leaders do we want to produce in this country? How do we want to raise our most valuable assets: children?

 

[MenInG]

I would say that given the adversities that our players face in personal and professional lives from a young age, they should be very tough mentally by the time they get to the top level?

 

[Boiz Played Well]

I like what you’ve brought up here. I think a lot of problems that people point out in our cricket teams are actually just a microcosm of the country at large. Like those who go on about a lack of education in the team have to realize that this team is drawn from a pool where literacy rates are unacceptably low. It’s not that people who play cricket are largely uneducated, it’s that most people in our country are uneducated and that reflects in the team. This is not a criticism, it’s just a perspective to look at the problem.

Do you think our current teams can benefit from sports psychologists and/or mental conditioning coaches as part of late intervention? Give them new ways to think about failure, success etc similar to CBT?

 

[Boiz Played Well]

I would say that given the adversities that our players face in personal and professional lives from a young age, they should be very tough mentally by the time they get to the top level?

Adversities at a young age don’t always teach mental toughness. It often teaches coping mechanism which might or might not be healthy. A mentor or specialist can help them cope properly. But if they have to work it out themselves, they might learn to shut down as a defense response rather than respond positively when things get hard. That’s just one example.

 

[CricketingMinds]

I would say that given the adversities that our players face in personal and professional lives from a young age, they should be very tough mentally by the time they get to the top level?

I'd think so too. However, science tells us a little bit of a different story here:

Adversity at a young age (0-6y) does not build resilience. Instead, what it does is that it impairs your ability in the future to deal with stress/setbacks/ failures.

Adversity at a young age (0-6y) develops what neuroscience calls "fight-or-flight" response system. You can also call this as your Threat Detection System.
When you experience severe adversity in childhood, you develop this "fight-or-flight" system on high alert by default. And when this system is on high alert, you are always prepared for trouble, and you can react to it quickly. There are, in other words, some solid evolutionary reasons for these adaptations. But experienced over the longer term, these adaptations also cause an array of physiological problems: They tend to lead to a compromised immune system, metabolic shifts and affect brain development.

The way to get to through to the Pakistan International Team may come through little effort and few and/or no failures (relative to the effort required to maintain high standards in Intl cricket) ... all courtesy the dreaded word: Talent.

But to remain competitive in International cricket, I think we all can agree that talent alone is not sufficient.

According to Harvard and Oxford Psychologist Angela Duckworth:

1. Talent x Effort = Skill
2. Skill x Effort = Achievement and Greatness.

Most of our cricketers are successful in equation 1 above (Akmal, Shahzad, Sarfaraz etc. included). And equation 1 leads you to the entry point of your international career. But what happens next is:
Complacency + Stardom + Lack of mental ability to deal with failures at International Level == Little further effort being put in future == Inability to achieve greatness or in other words unfulfilled potential

Some of you may argue that Akmal or Sarafarz or Shahzad do put in the effort in equation 2 above. But for whatever reason they fail to achieve Greatness.

Why?

Because the effort in equation 1 is different than equation 2.

Effort in equation 1 is what we commonly know as effort: hard work, practice, etc.

Effort in equation 2 is actually what psychologists call DELIBERATE PRACTICE.

Deliberate Practice is very different from regular practice. In deliberate practise you work with a personal coach to
1) analyze your weaknesses in your skills
2) Set a stretch goal based on the weakness you found in your game
3) Strive to reach for the stretch goal through extra efforts and undivided attention (Kevin Durrant says that he spends almost 70% of his time working on his weak areas with his personal coach in an environment with NO distractions almost every day of the off-season).
4) Repeat the above with reflection and refinement until conscious incompetence becomes unconscious competence.

Deliberate practice is designed to be more challenging that your current skill (Challenge level > Skill level). Hence, when doing deliberate practice you feel that "this is really difficult!!"

Hence, another reason why Pakistan has not been able to produce world-class beaters is perhaps because our players haven't been taught Deliberate Practice.

 

[Hyperion66]

Amazing read. The amount of research OP has done on the subject is especially praiseworthy.

 

[unemployedgm]

Great Thread. Can you add more context on the implications of uncertainty and the culture of self-preservation? I feel the latter is a natural instinct in Pakistani Society.

 

[CricketingMinds]

Great Thread. Can you add more context on the implications of uncertainty and the culture of self-preservation? I feel the latter is a natural instinct in Pakistani Society.

I am no expert in psychology by any means. But the little that I've read about this dangerous culture of self-preservation - which you are right is very prevalent in Pakistan and India (poor cities) - I can tell you that there are two angles to look at it.

1) 1st angle stems from the two extremes: Extreme Poverty and Extreme Wealth.

Pakistan is a country where the majority are extremely poor and the few rich ones are filthy rich. The middle-class is marginal and as helpless (when it comes to authority and power) as the poor.

This creates a social imbalance. When there is a social imbalance like this the gap between poor and rich is huge, it is unimaginable that the rich would communicate and develop any kind of connection with the poor. And vice-versa: The poor never develop any connection with the rich.

As a result of this imbalance, large gap and lack of connection between rich and poor, both demographics fail to develop any empathy for each other.

Empathy is a fantastic tool to narrow that ever-widening gap between rich and poor. Sadly, I have never heard any politician or leader or activist in Pakistan talk about using empathy to bring the rich and poor closer. What empathy does is that it helps the poor see the perspective of the rich and vice-versa so that the two parties can better understand each other.
I agree that the benefits of empathy aren't reaped instantly, it is a slow process but the results are enormous.
The other reason why empathy as a solution may not work in Pakistan is because of another phenomenon which some of you may have experienced: "I am right. You are wrong".
A pre-requisite for empathy is open-mindedness which sadly isn't very prevalent in certain parts of the country.

So what happens as a result? The poor only cares for the poor and the rich only care for the rich....Leading to a vicious cycle of self-preservation. Why does this happen? Because they haven't seen or understood the perspectives of the other side ever since they have never given each other the chance to develop empathy for each other!


2) For the 2nd angle you have to trace back to the time when men were hunters (and also got hunted by other animals). The natural instinct in humans is 'self-protection' which has always stayed with us through evolution. No matter the circumstance, the most natural instinct for a man and woman is to first protect his/her family then care for the rest of the society.

And this is what we are now observing in Pakistan where it seems like the rule of thumb is self-preservation. It is again, not by choice, but by natural design as well as lack of creative solutions and awareness about the dangers of this culture.

 

[Salma_T]

I would say that given the adversities that our players face in personal and professional lives from a young age, they should be very tough mentally by the time they get to the top level?

Yes they should but I think their general fitness, physical conditioning, outlook in life are clouded by the harsh start in life.

 

[Captain caveman]

I have tried for the last 30 mins to stop myself from posting on this thread, but ultimately i have failed.
I am going to keep it brief as there is so much wrong with what the op has stated and i dont have the time or energy to debate this, but making excuses for our failing players, really gets my goat!
Firstly, what the OP has posted looks like a left wing , liberal explanation for why poor people struggle in academia and the workplace, but is actually a right wing view of poor people being less intelligent that wealthy people due to the lack of development of their BRAIN!
Nothing to do with lackof access to books and top quality teachers and tutors.
OP has mashed up tiny bits of neuroscience and psycology and refers to this as what science says. When in fact, most of this is based on sociology and not psycology, both psycology and sociology are in fact NOT sciences! They are taught in the hummanities departments in schools and colleges.
Then he states some harvard and oxford pseudo intellectual claiming that:
1. Talent x Effort = Skill
2. Skill x Effort = Achievement and Greatness.
But effort in the first equation is not the same effort as in the second equation!
What the first equation basically means is you need to have talent, which comes from hard work and then you need to work hard on this field.
And the second equation means is that you then need to self analyse or better still get a professional to analyse and pin point your weaknesses.
Thanks for that angela whatever your name is, that would not have occurred to poor people who are too lazy to work hard and too dumb to self analyse!
What a load of patronizing rubbish!

Further, poor people's brain.development is stunted by their chaotic life style that their prefrontal cortex is affected and effects their executive functions i.e. memory and cognitive skills.
This is a right wing way of saying poor people are dumb!

I could go on, but i am fuming and i cant be bothered to argue with gullible people!

The only thing that held any truth was the miniscule of science in the OP post, the neuroscience of lack of good quality food for a developing child can effect to some degree a childs brain development. But this would be severe malnutrition and not just from hunger or lack of food. It would also affect the rest of your body, due to a lack of essential vitamins and trace elements which can lead to anaemia, scurvies etc. These illnesses would lead to severe disabilities, blindness and worse case scenario death!
We don't have any disabled or dead people playing for the pakistan cricket team?
Basically, despite what people say, there is nutrition in all foods, even junk food, and most pakistani food would be classified as junk food due to the amount of oil used to cook it, this includes even the vegetarian dishes. Why its refered to as junk food is that it will clog up your arteries due to the high levels of cholesterol and end up giving you a heart attack or stroke later in life.

All in all, this is just right wing propaganda to put down poor people as intellectually inferior and lazy!
What is needed by poor people is a better diet(less oil rich and more fruit and veg, i know this can be expensive for poor people but lentils are a very good source of nutrition, if you don't use oil i.e. toorka) and free access to a good qualty education.

I'm done!

 

[Danyaalr01]

I would say that given the adversities that our players face in personal and professional lives from a young age, they should be very tough mentally by the time they get to the top level?

Sometimes when players from such backrounds do make it to the top it can be quite overwhelming and they take some time to get used to it. They had nothing and now they are household names in Pakistan and other countries too.

 

[trickyone]

Potw

 

[Jsaleem123]

I have tried for the last 30 mins to stop myself from posting on this thread, but ultimately i have failed.
I am going to keep it brief as there is so much wrong with what the op has stated and i dont have the time or energy to debate this, but making excuses for our failing players, really gets my goat!
Firstly, what the OP has posted looks like a left wing , liberal explanation for why poor people struggle in academia and the workplace, but is actually a right wing view of poor people being less intelligent that wealthy people due to the lack of development of their BRAIN!
Nothing to do with lackof access to books and top quality teachers and tutors.
OP has mashed up tiny bits of neuroscience and psycology and refers to this as what science says. When in fact, most of this is based on sociology and not psycology, both psycology and sociology are in fact NOT sciences! They are taught in the hummanities departments in schools and colleges.
Then he states some harvard and oxford pseudo intellectual claiming that:
1. Talent x Effort = Skill
2. Skill x Effort = Achievement and Greatness.
But effort in the first equation is not the same effort as in the second equation!
What the first equation basically means is you need to have talent, which comes from hard work and then you need to work hard on this field.
And the second equation means is that you then need to self analyse or better still get a professional to analyse and pin point your weaknesses.
Thanks for that angela whatever your name is, that would not have occurred to poor people who are too lazy to work hard and too dumb to self analyse!
What a load of patronizing rubbish!

Further, poor people's brain.development is stunted by their chaotic life style that their prefrontal cortex is affected and effects their executive functions i.e. memory and cognitive skills.
This is a right wing way of saying poor people are dumb!

I could go on, but i am fuming and i cant be bothered to argue with gullible people!

The only thing that held any truth was the miniscule of science in the OP post, the neuroscience of lack of good quality food for a developing child can effect to some degree a childs brain development. But this would be severe malnutrition and not just from hunger or lack of food. It would also affect the rest of your body, due to a lack of essential vitamins and trace elements which can lead to anaemia, scurvies etc. These illnesses would lead to severe disabilities, blindness and worse case scenario death!
We don't have any disabled or dead people playing for the pakistan cricket team?
Basically, despite what people say, there is nutrition in all foods, even junk food, and most pakistani food would be classified as junk food due to the amount of oil used to cook it, this includes even the vegetarian dishes. Why its refered to as junk food is that it will clog up your arteries due to the high levels of cholesterol and end up giving you a heart attack or stroke later in life.

All in all, this is just right wing propaganda to put down poor people as intellectually inferior and lazy!
What is needed by poor people is a better diet(less oil rich and more fruit and veg, i know this can be expensive for poor people but lentils are a very good source of nutrition, if you don't use oil i.e. toorka) and free access to a good qualty education.

I'm done!

The part where he talks deliberate practice is true. That's the part that maintains and improves your form consistently. Seems Babar Azam understands this intuitively hence why the opposition can't figure him out as easily.

What you say about diet Is also true. But it ties in to the wider environment which the players are brought up in. Basically solid parenting, teaching the value of failure etc. Basically instilling a practical, productive mindset. For example let's just say Harris Sohail (this isn't a legitimate observation so don't take it seriously). He has a solid technical base with the bat and is a decent slip catcher. Let's say he's in a situation with the bat where he needs to increase the run rate, let's say he gets run out and that it has been happening for a long time. And maybe when he's chasing the ball he runs out of gas constantly. Let's say he recognises these faults, he goes onto working out a regimen to increase his running speed and stamina with a fitness coach who tracks his progress, this means better diet, HIIT (High Intensity Cardio) etc. Eventually he improves to the point those weaknesses have been minimised and the opposition can't exploit his previous weakness of strike rotation and at the same time has become a better fielder (I'm making this all up remember). He eventually finds another niggle in his game then sets out a similar path of improvement.

Of course, Desi parents don't usually get the idea so when their child does actually perform they just simplify it to naturally gifted, good genes, talents and the like to the point where the child themselves get caught up in the admiration and don't learn the cycle of failure and success. So when they do eventually fall, they're clueless as to how to pick themselves out of a rut.

I guess the OP has simplified a lot of issues but I don't believe it was to say that poor people are somehow thick or something. I agree, it isn't true. Rich people still get depressed, stressed, aren't always naturally gifted etc. They just happen to know the right people to cultivate and groom themselves and their offspring to thrive within their own bubble.

It's more about who you surround yourself with that you pick up habits and mindsets from than anything else. Wealth just makes it easier, not impossible but harder for poorer people to do.

 

[Canistani Hero]

Intriguing perspective. Not a fan of generalization or painting all with the same brush, each individual responds to adversity differently. Some of our cricketers, Shan Masood and Wahab Riaz for example come from, relatively wealthy backgrounds, who can one explain their prowess or lack there of

 

[MenInG]

Nothing can explain our decline in cricket.

 

[Pete Rose]

Nothing can explain our decline in cricket.

They are mentally weak and have no role models from Pakistan in the last 15 minutes to aspire towards.

 

[shah_1]

Nothing can explain our decline in cricket.

Money dictates everything these days

Top three teams right now in all formats are India, Australia and England, also they are the richest boards as well. Cricketers from these countries earn the best in domestic and international cricket, they get the best cricket infrastructure possible to flourish.

Please don't expect Kohlis or Rohits playiig for Pakistan with Rs50,000 monthly retainer in domestic cricket. PCB don't have the cash to hire best coaches at NCA, U19 and national level, we still have malis(gardeners) curating the pitches and our infrastructure is so poor that a little session of rain results in washout of international match. There is so much more wrong with our cricket that I can mention. It all needs $$$$$$ to fix it

 

[unemployedgm]

Nothing can explain our decline in cricket.

People should look back to the 90s.

 

[DeadBall]

Do we only perform when there is no pressure or expectation?

Are we just a really bad team or just mental midgets? When things are going for us we are invincible yet a slight dent in confidence and we are the worst team in the world and this switch can happen in a surprisingly short period of time.

People say it is "mercurial" but it is really frustrating for the fans, the highs are very high and the lows are very low.

 

[hadi123]

Really? This thread based on a tour match against Aus A.