Physiological requirements of cricket

Abstract

Despite its long history and global appeal, relatively little is known about the physiological and other requirements of cricket. It has been suggested that the physiological demands of cricket are relatively mild, except in fast bowlers during prolonged bowling spells in warm conditions. However, the physiological demands of cricket may be underestimated because of the intermittent nature of the activity and the generally inadequate understanding of the physiological demands of intermittent activity. Here, we review published studies of the physiology of cricket. We propose that no current model used to analyse the nature of exercise fatigue (i.e. the cardiovascular-anaerobic model, the energy supply-energy depletion model, the muscle power-muscle recruitment model) can adequately explain the fatigue experienced during cricket. A study of players in the South African national cricket team competing in the 1999 Cricket World Cup revealed that, in a variety of measures of explosive ('anaerobic') power and aerobic endurance capacity, they were as 'fit' as South African national rugby players competing in the 1999 Rugby World Cup. Yet, outwardly, the physiological demands of rugby would seem to be far greater than those of cricket. This poses the question: 'Why are these international cricketers so fit if the physiological demands of cricket are apparently so mild?' One possibility is that this specific group of athletes are unusually proficient in a variety of sports; many achieved high standards of performance in other sports, including rugby, before choosing to specialize in cricket. Hence their apparently high fitness may simply reflect a superior genetic physical endowment, necessary to achieve success in modern international sports, including cricket. Alternatively, it could be hypothesized that superior power and endurance fitness may be required to cope with the repeated eccentric muscle contractions required in turning and in bowling and which may account for fatigue and risk of injury in cricket. If this is the case, the fitness of cricketers may be increased and their risk of injury reduced by more specific eccentric exercise training programmes.

Physiological responses of batsmen during a simulated One Day International century

“…It was 38 years later when it was reported that during an ODI game, batsmen had sweat rates, heart rates and rectal temperatures of up to 6 L.h -1 , 120 beats.min -1 and 38.5 o C respectively. [6] This led to the conclusion that cricket was more physically demanding than previously thought, a statement that was further validated by Noakes and Durandt [3] in 2000. Since then other studies have been conducted in these authors' laboratory.…”

“…Furthermore, a batsman scoring a century runs 40 singles, eight twos, three threes and hits an average of seven fours and two sixes after spending approximately 136 minutes at the crease. [2,3] Thus it is evident that both the physical and psychological load placed on the players is increasing. However, these demands have not received much attention, most likely because the game is intermittent in nature and therefore difficult to study.…”

A review of cricket Fielding requirements

“…[1,19,27] e multi-stage tness test is recommended to test aerobic power as it is inexpensive, easy to administer and applicable to many team sports with respect to the stop, start and change-of-direction movement patterns. [24] One study [14] showed that cricketers had a higher shuttle run number when compared with rugby union players, with a VO 2max of ~6 0 ml/kg / min. Johnstone and Ford [21] established physical fitness profiles of cricketers grouped into bowlers and batsmen (n=15) using this test.…”

“…[14] For example, there is little logic in using only a vertical jump test when research and observation show that elders need to move in all directions and consequently need multi-directional lower-leg strength and power. Correctly assessing the multi-planar movement ability of elders should lead to better training programmes.…”

“…[14] Fielders have to concentrate on every ball of the innings, regardless of their positions. ey have to be able to maintain concentration for the entire duration of an innings (ranging from approximately 90 minutes in a T20 innings to a total of 6 hours per day in a Test match), through changing conditions as play progresses through the day.…”