Training

We don’t like cricket, we love it!

After England’s stunning World Cup victory, here are my top tips to building the sort of cricket athleticism required to hit huge sixes, take stunning catches and bowl with express pace. I hope that if you watched some of the great games during the World Cup, the level of athleticism on display helped shake off the ‘tea and scones’ cricketing perception that often proceeds such a traditional sport. These days most cricketers are seriously athletic and have the same outlook on physical preparation as any high-performance athlete. With such small margins between winning and losing, one stunning catch or run out can flip a game on its head. But I would say that as I am a cricket Strength and Conditioning Coach. Just watch this clip rather than taking my word for it.

Here are 4 steps to becoming a cricketing super athlete:

1. You can’t go wrong with strong. Strength underpins all physical qualities and if you play a sport that requires speed, agility and power then this should be high on your priority list. I am a big advocate of working generally and specifically when it comes to strength qualities. I believe a large part of your strength work will look like anybody else who is trying to get globally strong. A whole-body approach with lots of multi-joint lifts such as squats, deadlifts, lunges, chins, bench press. To compliment this general strength, you need to think about what specific strength you require. If you are a bowler, you may want to think about some eccentric work to help absorb the high forces when bowling at speed. 5-7 times your bodyweight, each delivery research suggests. Batters may want to add some rotational work to compliment powerful shots and wicket keepers target single leg strength to help rapid sideways movement to take catches.

2. Speed and power is a game changer. Like a lot of sports, the difference between the good and the very good is speed and power. Admittedly cricket requires some standing around, but the intermittent bursts of play can be spectacular and explosive. Powerful cricket shots often disappear into the stands which requires great timing and rotational power. Running between the wickets when batting requires acceleration and an ability to turn quickly. Agility to take diving catches and throwing power in the field are also speed power movements. And then we have the fast bowlers…what a sight to see bowlers running in and bowling 90+ miles per hour! A great way to optimise your own power is to make sure you are lean. Carrying as little non-functional mass as possible will maximise your power-to-weight ratio, so you may have to swerve a few cream scones at the tea interval. This is where PhD can really help you!

3. Don’t forget conditioning and all-round work capacity. Cricket is a long game, lasting 6 or 7 hours for a 50 over game. If you are an all-rounder you could have very active days, so making sure you can perform all day is vital. GPS tracking of cricketers suggest 20km of movement each game is fairly standard for bowlers and all-rounders. Some of this will be at low intensity moving around the field so I suggest preparing yourself for the higher intensity portion of this distance with interval training. I like to use interval timings of 15 to 90 seconds of work with equal or less rest and mix it up between running, biking and circuits. Increasing your work capacity will also allow you to practise harder for longer. Some of the deft skills on show during the World Cup take many hours of practice, so make sure you give yourself enough fuel in the tank to get things right.

4. The little things are the big things. England’s successful World Cup campaign no doubt will have taken a great deal of attention to detail. I believe that getting the little things right will take care of the big things. Everything from good hydration, warming up thoroughly, getting nutrition right, knowing your opposition, sleep and recovery, the list could go on. Sometimes things that nobody sees makes the biggest difference. My advice would be stick to things you feel will have the biggest impact on your performance that you can do consistently. Be great at the basics. The foundations of recovery are sleep, rest, hydration and good quality nutrition. Warming up with structure and progressive intensity is very achievable and controllable. Practising specifically to your role in the game only takes a little discipline.

I will sign off with a well done to the England cricket team and leave you with this video filled with drama and inspiration. World Cup Final drama

Good Luck,
Fish

Ian D Fisher
Lead Strength and Conditioning Coach
Yorkshire County Cricket Club