Matthew Theunissen: Don't discount the power of special undies

Black Caps batsmen Grant Elliot. Photo / NZ Herald

Duck won't be on the menu ahead of the Black Caps' World Cup quarter-final clash on Saturday, all-rounder Grant Elliott says.

"Cricket's a game where you don't have a lot of control over things when you're on the field," he told the Herald on Sunday. "You have to play with instinct and a clear mind. Cricketers tend to hang on to a few superstitions to make them feel they have a little bit of control."

Cricketing superstitions generally arose from when players did something different, followed by a good performance.

"Let's say they have something for breakfast or they put a certain piece of tape on their bat or whatever and it works, they might stick with it, just to try to get as much control out of the game as they can."

Elliott wasn't too superstitious any more, but he didn't like eating duck before a big game, and he had lucky underwear.

"But if they blew out I wouldn't be worried," he said.

Cricketers often kept their superstitions to themselves, but Elliott had come across players who had some strange habits:

• One player insisted his bat must never be turned upside down because runs could fall out of the handle.

• One batsman would always avoid walking on the crease line, much like people who refuse to walk over cracks in the sidewalk.

• Other players had to have all the dressing room toilet seats either up or down before they went in to bat.

• Ross Taylor has admitted he always wears his "special batting socks" and undergarments.