A tennis book from 1974 is still the thing cricket coaches argue about, and the reason is that Gallwey asked a question nobody had asked in cricket: what happens when you try to hit a ball by telling your body what to do? The answer he landed on – that instruction mostly gets in the way – runs through almost every modern piece of cricket coaching language.
Below: what the audio edition covers, how it is read, how long it takes, and three books that take the idea onto a cricket field.
The facts
| Audiobook | Who it is for | Length | Read by |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Inner Game of Tennis W. Timothy Gallwey with Pete Carroll – introduction | The source of most modern cricket coaching language | Dan Woren | |
| The Art of Mental Training D. C. Gonzalez | The practical companion | D. C. Gonzalez | |
| The Fighter's Mind Sam Sheridan | The modern research version | Nicholas Techosky | |
| The Mindful Athlete Audio Companion George Mumford | A two-hour attention reset | George Mumford |
What it covers
The Inner Game of Tennis — W. Timothy Gallwey with Pete Carroll – introduction
Timothy Gallwey wrote this about tennis in 1974 and it has been argued over by performance coaches ever since. The core claim – that the conscious mind is poor at hitting a ball and that most self-inflicted trouble comes from trying to control the swing with instructions – transfers to cricket directly.
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Read by Dan Woren, and in under five hours it is the shortest book here with the longest reach.
Read by Dan Woren · Random House Audio. Listen on Audible
The Art of Mental Training — D. C. Gonzalez
D. C. Gonzalez on training attention and arousal as skills, read by the author, with exercises that fit into a net session.
Where Gallwey supplies the idea, Gonzalez supplies the drills.
Read by D. C. Gonzalez · GonzoLane Media. Listen on Audible
The Fighter's Mind — Sam Sheridan
Sam Sheridan on what elite performers do differently, with case studies from sport.
It is the book to read if you want the evidence rather than the theory.
Read by Nicholas Techosky · Audible Studios. Listen on Audible
The Mindful Athlete Audio Companion — George Mumford
George Mumford on focus training for athletes, read by Mumford.
Short enough to try tonight and keep if it works.
Read by George Mumford · BetterListen. Listen on Audible
Who it is for, and who it is not
**Buy it if** you bat.** The transfer to cricket is direct, and the chapter on self-talk alone is worth the five hours.
**Expect it to be more philosophical than instructional.** It asks you to notice things rather than giving you drills.
**Then read a practical book.** Gonzalez and Mumford are the ones with exercises you can use.
How to get the most from it
Try the self-talk chapter in a net session, deliberately: notice what you say to yourself between deliveries.
The imagery material needs a quiet setting and repetition. Do it away from the nets first.
Common questions
Is the Inner Game of Tennis audiobook worth it? Yes, especially if you bat. It is the shortest and most influential book on this page.
How long is it? Just under five hours, read by Dan Woren.
Is it about tennis rather than cricket? Entirely – and that is the point. The transfer is what makes it useful here.
What does it actually change? Mostly your self-talk and your imagery. Both are trainable, and both are usually untrained.
What else should I listen to? The Art of Mental Training for exercises, The Mindful Athlete for attention, and The Fighter's Mind for the evidence.
Written by the CricketGearGuru editorial team. Links above are affiliate links, which means we may earn a commission if you buy through them. It does not change the price, and it does not change the opinion.
