Player Development
Cricket is a deceivingly demanding sport; players spend a long time on their feet, there are periodic fast sprints when batting, chasing down a ball, and bowling, plus various dynamic movements such as leaping, throwing, and turning quickly. Plus, you don't want to be tired when facing a fast bowler!!
Endurance fitness is the cornerstone of your cricket fitness; it helps you generate energy and resist fatigue, so you can perform effectively for the duration of the game. The benefits of endurance fitness are:-
- It enhances your capacity to repeat short bursts of activity over an extended period of time
- It fuels your skill set so you have the energy to bat, bowl and field to your potential
- It reduces your chances of injury as muscles do not fatigue so quickly
- It enables you to maintain mental focus throughout a game.
Cricket is not a continuous steady state sport - there are frequent changes in running speed and intensity of effort, plus various strength and power movements like batting, bowling and fielding the ball at pace. Players, therefore, require a 'fuel mix' of aerobic and anaerobic energy to sustain performance.
It is important for every player to attend regular ZCCC training sessions, in both winter and summer sessions, to ensure not only their cricket fitness but to develop a bond with their fellow team members. They should not only attempt to learn the techniques of cricket but also the rules and the strategies of the game.