England lose the NAC, and end up being NAF

Following England's inability to make something happen, it is good to see that Flintoff has been brought into the squad for the 2nd test, although I do worry that we seem to be putting all our eggs in one basket.

The amount of pressure Freddie must be feeling about now can't be fun!

He has just come back from a career-threatening injury, has put in some decent performances for his county, and already he has to make the step up back to test cricket.

But the thing is, you know he will make a difference, because he is such a talisman for the team.

It all comes down to the fact that Flintoff is pretty much all NAC, and not NAF, which in sports psychology refers to a player's Need to Achieve against the Need to Avoid Failure.

You can divide every sportsman as either NAC or NAF. It comes down to their very core, about what drives them. Next time you're playing sport, take a moment to think which you are.

Are you one of those people who has the belief (whether at football, darts, crown green bowls etc) that when you play you can change the game, win it for your teammates, or do something spectacular?

Or are you a person who is more concerned about not letting people down, and wanting to make sure you don't do something stupid?

You need a balance between both types in any side.

Having 11 NAC players in a football team would mean you wouldn't really have that many solid dependable defenders or hard-working midfielders. Having 11 NAF players would mean no one would be willing to take risks and try something different.

Just look at the England football team. How many of those guys actually run out and play just for the love of the game?

Obviously there is a huge amount of pressure on them, but you get the feeling that they are more concerned about doing something silly and being vilified for it in the press than they are about actually going out and trying to make a difference.

It's that self-confidence in your own ability, and the belief that you can go out there and change a game that marks out the truly exceptional sportsmen and women, and it's often mislabelled as arrogance.

Look at Lewis Hamilton, Ian Botham, Tiger Woods, Roger Federer etc. You would find that if you broke them down psychologically, they would all be driven by the same desire to win and perform.

That's why we need Flintoff back in the England side. When Vaughan throws him the ball, he truly feels (and so does everyone else) that he is going to make something happen!

Of course it's very easy to write this down as someone who doesn't have to play his sport in front of the world's media, and 15,000 fans, although we did have a huge crowd of about 10 at our game on Sunday.

Yes that's right, I'm going to talk about the mighty Harborne CC Sunday 2's, who made it three wins in a row this week (after finally getting some sun!).

Our captain not only took 5 wickets, but managed to get a hat-trick as well, and I must say we gave a great performance. For me personally it was nice to be given the new ball and be able to tear in and bowl fast a la Flintoff.

Even if the 13 year-old at the other end proceeded to hit me out the ground!

This week at Kerrang towers we welcome Welsh rockers The Automatic in to do a live session on Wednesday, and I'm keen to hear their new material after their massive selling debut album Not Accepted Anywhere.

First I have to get through the first session of preseason rugby training tonight (it's a mad month of fitness work to get your base levels up before the season starts - imagine bleep tests, circuits until you're sick and other un-fun times ahead!).

I'm sure the last couple of months of no fitness work and general debauchery will come back and haunt me, so if you don't see a blog update for a while it's probably because I'm lying in a field somewhere, trying to get my lungs to start working again!

Oh, and I'm on Drive on Friday filling in for Kate Lawler, so in addition to the amazing Offside (sport and rock music - its good, trust me!) show on Saturday from 2pm-6pm, you get me coming in your ears from 4pm-7pm, too.