Miles Hammond | Beating the 'Yips' and Re-Invention

Giving The Game Away

Miles Hammond started off his career as a promising young bowler, travelling the world with the England U-19 side, and taking wickets for his county. However, a potential battle with the ‘yips’ followed, and Miles had to adapt and change his game entirely.

The ‘yips’ was coined by golfer Tommy Armour in the 1920s to describe his sudden inability to hole short putts, and it has since become one of the most fascinating areas of sport. Psychologists still know little about the cause of the yips, which can come on suddenly and cause an athlete to have a complete mental block – unable to perform a skill they have practised thousands of time before.

Miles’ case meant that he was unable to bowl, and resultantly he was left out of the Gloucestershire side for three years, left questioning whether he had a future in cricket at all. However, Miles demonstrated immense resilience to adapt his game and focus his energy into becoming a batsman instead. He bounced back from the yips and ended up returning to the Gloucestershire team three years later, scoring a hundred on his comeback match. His journey is another example of an athlete reframing a setback into an opportunity.

We’re grateful to Miles for opening up on his experiences and providing his insight into the psychology of cricket – which is probably one of the most mentally demanding games in the world. We learned a lot from this episode, and hopefully those listening will be able to pick up some techniques for dealing with the pressures of sport too.