How true does this situation sound?

You are ready for a game. You have prepared hard and long. You are keen to put yourself to the test, have some fun and enjoy the challenge. The anticipation is wonderful.

Then it rains.

Worse, it rains a bit. There is not enough weather to call the game off so you go to the ground. Your excitement has already been downgraded to hope that you don't have to wait too long.

There is a delay.

Covers are on, then off, then on again.

People grumble about passing showers and terrible umpires and how "it's really not that bad anyway so we should just get on with it".

The dark cloud overhead is as much mental as literal. It's depressing, boring and not what you signed up for.

If you do eventually get out, your heart is not in it as much. You perform much worse. Even if you do OK, the day is ruined and you slink off home.

Break the cycle

The biggest problem with a day like this (or in the worst case, weeks of days like this) is not the weather, it's your response to the weather. There is an old saying that life is 10% what happens and 90% how we react to it.

It's always going to rain, you can't control that. When it does rain, you can control how you react. You can break the cycle of rain leading to worse cricket.

This is a simple thing to say but tough to do, especially when others on your team are showing clear signs of letting the weather get them down. Nevertheless, there are three simple things you can do as soon as you realise you are reacting poorly:

1. Be positive. It's unreasonable to expect it to never rain. Instead of complaining (to yourself, or others) focus on what you can do: Try extra nets or gym work for the serious side, or a game of "changing room stump cricket" for the fun side.
2. Be creative. Rain gives you a chance to swap stories and talk tactics. Bring a book and learn new things. Come up with a brand new warm up drill. Invent a joke. Draw a picture. You have plenty of time so get creative. Some of it will help your cricket, some of it will be a time filler, but it's all useful (Even if the joke is rubbish).
3. Be ready. Bad weather upsets your timing and rhythm. Learn how long it takes you to get back to your best. Be ready to start when you have not prepared in your normal way. Remember it's the same for your opponent who may just give you a rank long hop first ball after a rain break.

Reframe bad weather as a chance for you to show your mental strength, positive attitude, ability to play without perfect preparation and skill under pressure.

If you do this, the rain won't get you down. It's just another thing that happens that you need to respond to. Cricketers who think like this play better more often. They do this by simply by understanding what they can control and what is reasonable.