IS WICKETKEEPING PRACTICE WEIGHING YOU DOWN, JONNY?

ENGLAND wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow has been practising for the first Test against Pakistan by wearing a water-filled contraption across his shoulders to strengthen his core (above). Bairstow — who will bat at No 5 against Pakistan — was on the Lord’s outfield with England’s wicketkeeping coach Bruce French, who came up with the idea of asking him to wear the container for what is known as ‘instability training’. The sloshing water acts as an unstable presence, which Bairstow has to counter with his core muscles. When the apparatus is removed, mobility seems easier than before. It is the first time England have used the contraption in training.