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The Physical Training required for a Cricketer

A sportsperson who participates in an International competition needs to be one hundred percent fit in the following-(1) Physical Training (2) Technical Training (3) Psychological Training (4) Equipment . Let’s talk about the Physical Training aspect in this article.

PHYSICAL TRAINING

In Physical Training there are many types of exercises, generally for the players’ health and specific exercises for sports. Exercises for sports consist of Strengthening, Stamina and Endurance, Flexibility and development of temperament required for different games.

Different games require different strength, stamina, flexibility and temperaments. For instance Wrestling, Boxing, Hammer throw come under one group. Swimming, Jumping, Long and Short distance running come under different group. A swimmer cannot improve stamina through long distance running. Similarly, a Sprinter, short distance runner, long distance runner etc, require different trainings to develop stamina. Jumpers and throwers cannot improve their stamina by doing exercises required for Badminton or Swimming. Every one has to do specific exercises for his/her game.

If a cricketer attempts to improve his muscles like A Javelin thrower, A Footballer, A Weight-Lifter or A Body-Builder, he wont be able to move his body freely in the Cricket field. It will hamper his flexibility required for Cricket. If a cricketer runs long distance to improve his bowling stamina, he is under wrong impression. Long distance running cannot improve a Wicket-Keeper or a batsman’s stamina, either. They have to train themselves in specific exercises for the game.

Most of our training lacks flexibility exercise. Remember, stretching exercises are not flexibility exercises. Stretching exercises are useful for warm up sessions. When muscles are stiff as a result of excess of exercises and load they are prone to injuries. Therefore, flexibility exercises are very much advisable for high grade players to avoid injuries.

The human body is a highly complex organism consisting of billions of cells which perform various specialized functions. A large number of these cells make up the muscle-skeletal or nervous system, they enable the body to move with great efficiency. Efficiency is the result of technique and better efficiency results in good performance.

Energy for activity is provided in the muscles in the form of Adenosine Tri-phosphate(ATP). A small amount of ATP in muscles is sufficient to support single muscle contract required for a throwing event or golf swing. If a sports performance demands repeated muscles contraction like in running, batting, bowling and cycling, the ATP required must be constantly replenished from other fuel sources in the muscles. Short terms supply for sprints may be obtained from the substances already in the muscles without the need for additional oxygen. Such energy supplies are termed An-aerobic and for the long duration are termed Aerobic.

EVENTS PHOSPHATE         LACTIC        AEROBIC
100 meters Swim                  20 %                            55%                     25%

1500 meters Swim               10%                             10%                     60%

Fast Bowler                              30%                           20%                      50%

Wicket Keeper                       70%                            15%                        15%

The two psychological characteristics of a sports person are power and endurance. The power is the result of combination of strength and speed of muscles contracts. Endurance is derived from the properties of VO2 max and An-aerobic threshold.

The supply of Oxygen to working muscles depends upon a large number of factors. These includes the movement of air in and out of the lungs, the diffusion of oxygen from the lungs into the blood, the carriage of oxygen in the blood, effective circulation of blood to the muscles, unloading of oxygen within the muscles and ability of muscles to use oxygen so observed.