Cricket is a sport, commonly called the gentlemen’s game that has not got a long history of gruelling training for its players as they typically used to practice short periods a week. It has however become a far more competitive sport with much larger pay packages and with short forms like the 20/20, players have kicked up their training to more intense levels.
Cricketers have to be prepared for quick burst of speed between the wickets and have the ability to bowl the balls at high speed. Cricket fitness is therefore quite important and players must keep up with their training to ensure they stay in good health and have powerful performance abilities.
Being a strong player is important within a team because victory is the main aim for professional cricket. Fans admire the greatest cricket performers and teams, and even bet money on them through online cricket betting.
Adopting a Good Training Regime
Cricket training should reflect an individual player’s position on the cricket field. Each position, whether a wicketkeeper, a bowler or a batsman, needs to hone their strength and conditioning programme to fit their position so their bodies are prepared.
Cricket is essentially a sport largely driven by technique so players must train through practice too to develop and maintain excellent skills in their position.
Training regimes are therefore designed around whether a player is a batsman, a bowler or a wicketkeeper because each position used different muscles and has different body movement.
The Importance of Strength and Speed
Professional cricketers spend much time travelling which alone can be quite taxing. Cricket may not seem like a high impact, fast action sport but it is gruelling nonetheless and players must maintain good strength to keep up with the demands of their schedule, to stay healthy on all accounts and to prevent any injuries.
Bowlers especially need good upper body and lower body strength to deliver fast and powerful bowls. This will prevent them from injury to areas like hamstrings and glutes when bowling.
Running may appear minimal because of the short distances the players travel at any one time but these short sprints need to be lightning fast in order to perform well. Short bursts of speed can also be harder at times because there is less time to build momentum.
Cricket training for speed typically involves players having regular sessions involving agility drills with short and intense sprints.
Warming Up and Cooling Off
Cricket matches can turn into long days of quick sprints, working certain muscles to the bone and even standing around with mental focus on what’s going on. Whatever the match holds for any cricketer, warming up is the key to enduring.
Good warm up techniques, along with good cooling off techniques is vital to stay in shape and prepared for the next match. It is also a vital aspect for players to prevent any injuries that may see them off the field for a long recovery period.