Some batters fiddle with their gloves.
Others get down the pitch and do some gardening.
Dale Phillips chews gum.
Cricket can be such a tortuous game that you need something to help you reset before the next delivery.
The Otago top-order player’s circuit-breaker is to gnaw away at a "mixture of polymers, plasticisers and resin ... mixed together with food-grade softeners, preservatives, sweeteners, colours and flavourings".
Yum, and yes, we goggled what gum is made out of.
It comes in a handy stick, though. You just pop it in your mouth and start chewing your problems away.
That is the attraction for Phillips. It is a way to release tension.
There was tension last season too. Otago’s season did not go too well at all. The Volts finished last in the Super Smash, fifth in the Ford Trophy and fourth in the Plunket Shield.
They open this season’s campaign with an away four-dayer against Auckland beginning on Tuesday.
The 23-year-old had a breakthrough season in red-ball cricket. Phillips scored a match-winning century against Wellington at the University Oval late in the summer and followed up that effort with — not out against Canterbury in the next game.
He was denied a shot at what would have been his third century of the season when wet weather moved in at Rangiora.
He notched his earlier hundred against a strong Central Districts attack which included Doug Bracewell, Ben Wheeler and Blair Tickner. That was a gutsy knock at Saxton Oval which helped set up a 161-run win.
Otago needs Phillips to rediscover that form again this season if the side is going to claw its way into contention.
Experienced opener Hamish Rutherford will be expected to carry a heavy load. And Dean Foxcroft’s return from a two-year Covid-imposed exile will bolster the batting line-up.
Dale’s older brother Glenn Phillips was expected to come to the rescue as well. He helped shift the narrative from one of doom to hope when he signed for the Volts towards the end of the last season.
He was a staple in the Black Caps T20 side at the time, but has since cracked the one-day team as well and is a much stronger contender for the test side.
That is great news for Glenn and even better news for the Black Caps — he is such a lovely ball-striker.
But the down side of that success is Otago might have to wait a lot longer to see their star signing take the field.
That leaves Phillips junior leading the charge for a younger brigade which includes the likes of Jacob Cumming, Thorn Parkes and Llew Johnson.
"Obviously we’ve got quite a young and inexperienced team this year which has its positives.
"Often when you get fresh people in they can go whooshka," Phillips said.
Whooshka?
"Yeah. Whooshka. In that first season when no-one knows the players, they can come in and do really well.
"Something like that would be nice. But, yeah, I like to believe that I’m one of the key batsmen.
"I try not to let it get the best of me. But if I can do well then maybe the team can do well.
"I just have to change the framing of it into a positive."
Keeping a positive mindset is a key focus for Phillips. Doubt can easily creep in. Nerves can rattle confidence. Everyone has their own way of coping.
"For me I like to chew gum. That is what breaks the nerves for me for whatever reason.
"So I’ll always have gum with me. It just gives you something else to think about.
"You are chewing your gum and you kind of forget about your nerves.
"In four-day cricket I try to stick to the same mental routines every ball. Generally, when you go away from that you make a mistake.
"Every season is different but I try to find a key thing I’m fighting for and the better the reason the more want I have to keep going.
"It is all about finding that and having that in the back of my mind."
Phillips spent part of the off-season playing T20 cricket in the United States. His wife Bianca and baby daughter Elaine accompanied him.
He played for SoCal Lashings in minor league cricket and was based in Los Angeles.
Northern Districts batter Katene Clarke was in his team, and Central Districts stalwart Greg Hay and former Black Caps all-rounder Corey Anderson played in the competition as well.
The cricket was not too challenging and he was able to work on his off-spin.
Whether he gets much opportunity for the Volts at the bowling crease this season or not remains to be seen.
That might be biting off more than he can chew.
