Runs and scores
CHANGING TIMES With cricket becoming increasingly physical, the emphasis is now on performance than mere skill. Technology and data analysis play a bigger role here
RAJKOT: Soon after taking over as India coach in 2000, John Wright was in for a shock. He saw tea and snacks being served to players during nets, and chairs placed all around. In his book, ‘Indian Summers’, Wright described how he removed chairs from the nets and the practice of pampering players with tea and snacks was stopped.
It wasn’t as if Wright disliked what he saw. He wanted to change what denoted comfort. Down the years, the team understood the meaning of fitness. The inclusion of professional trainers, physiotherapists and strict diet regimes is in sync with the changing world of professional athletes. Conventional thinking that cricket is a skill-based game has given way to a performancecentric mindset.
In the era gone by, injuries were assessed without getting to the bottom of the problem as the team management did not have information about bio-mechanics, which can offer accurate assessments. Body load, accelerationdeceleration while bowling fast, body contortion, phases of peak performance, the energy spent while bowling fast were beyond the comprehension of most players.
India players, particularly those from hinterland, were more averse to change as the concepts went against their beliefs. Some argued that it was too much of information and interfered with their natural game.
The initial task of the newly-hired professionals was to win over the players’ faith. Greg Chappell’s support staff, particularly Ian Frazer, the bio-mechanics expert, introduced tools to identify players’ strengths and weaknesses.
“As far as I am concerned, the players embraced the gadgets and saw the benefits. The gadget need not be expensive to be effective. It has to add value to performance and not because it’s in vogue in other countries. Apart from empirical data, gadgets can give a different perspective to physical and mental aspects,” said Ramji Srinivasan, former India trainer.
When the iPod gained popularity, the India team used it to feed clips of opposition batsmen’s weaknesses to the bowlers to analyse at leisure. Even their own performance clips — dismissals and bowling during practice and matches were fed.
To create a culture of fitness, the team management under Gary Kirsten introduced a rewards programme towards the beginning of the 2011 World Cup. A test was carried out on players on a weekly basis, and their body-mass index (BMI) was logged in the team register. Running, endurance and other fitness tests accounted for points and the one with the highest marks was declared the player of the week. Penalties ensured the practice was followed diligently.
“We had a weekly review and winners were announced according to the number of points they logged. There was a sense of competition among the players to get the maximum points. The cooperation of the senior and junior players was terrific,” said Ramji.
When India toured Australia in 201112, the Catapult, an effective tool with a GPS tracking system, was introduced. It was a chip that sent information to a small screen on a player’s movement pattern, helped assess the energy used, distance covered, point of acceleration and deceleration, mapped the bowling load and identified peak performance phases.
“The gadgets have been in vogue for some time, be it from the days of the heart rate monitor to the current GPS tracking device. They have played a crucial role in assessing an individual athlete or a group, be it for bio-mechanics, physiological assessment, fitness testing or any sort of body analysis. They’re like a double-edged sword and have to be used at the right time and place to derive data for desired results,” said Ramji.
Customised information is now being fed into players’ iPads with relevant information on routine training and fitness. It wasn’t long that S Sreesanth showed up in a Nike watch that showed the heart rate, calories spent and distance covered. Now, MS Dhoni sports an Apple watch with customised personal apps that keep track of his body movement and training profile.
“The programme is individualised according to the sport and skill. Any adjustment can be made in tandem with experts. It’s up to them to infer the data correctly and apply it. The data needs to be transparent and has to percolate down MOHAMMED MOOSAJEE, SA team manager
Mohammed Moosajee, South Africa team manager. Earlier, he was the team physician. “Initially, it was frowned upon, but if you look at international teams, they are now using technology in one form or the other. We fortunate that we have a very organised system.”
The player tracking system is structured in a way that synergy is created between the players and support staff.
“It is easier to have a tracking system for practice and training rather than match days. Cricket is a long-format game and it is cumbersome to have a chip attached to the sleeve. During training days, the system helps us understand our bowlers’ load. Useful information about the players is linked to the same source of information,” said Moosajee.
South Africa may have been pioneers in adopting technology, but there is system in place to ensure that players are not burdened with too much information. to the players and others involved for the specific need it is used for,” said Ramji.
In view of the growing need to be techsavvy, there is the temptation to imitate all that looks fancy, and that’s where the risk lies.
“When Team India was introduced to new methodologies of training, everything was Indianised and individualised because there were so many variables like genetic loading, food habits, facilities available, back-up services, etc, which we could not lift from Australia, England or South Africa and apply to our athletes. At the highest level, you cannot cut and paste or copy workouts from other trainers or teams,” cautioned Ramji. MOHAMMED MOOSAJEE, SA team manager
“It has to be individualised, you can’t have one size that fits all. You need to understand the role each player has in the squad. The performance tracker has been used specifically for fast bowlers. It has given enough information to plan fitness regimens and rehabilitation,” said Moosajee.
“We have specific modalities to cater to specific needs. One thing we have to be careful about is not to burden the players with too much information. Our national team players, some of whom are playing 11 months a year, you don’t want to make it a burden for them to punch in information every single day. There are apps available on iPads, smart phones, laptops and our physios and trainers punch in information once they see a trend. One area we are relatively fortunate is our injury incidents. It has played a big role specifically in managing injuries amongst our fast bowlers.” This conditions the lungs by creating pulmonary resistance and strengthening the diaphragm, making the workout seem like its being held in the mountains. It thereby makes the lungs work harder. Stretch rope has the ability to maintain resistance in all directions, resulting in the activating of the flexor and extensor muscles. The flexor is a muscle that decreases the angle between bones. An extensor is a muscle that increases the angle between bones. One of the primary benefits is that it requires multiple muscle systems and encourages the body to react as a whole, instead of one joint or muscle group. Workout balls challenge the body to maintain correct posture and balance. Can also be incorporated with Pilates. Often used for rehabilitation and strength training. Bowlers use 1 or 2 kg hand-held medicine balls to loosen up before going for practice. Higher weight grades are used for sidestretching exercises. Frequently used by physiotherapists to treat injuries such as sprained ankles. Its main use is to improve flexibility, concentration, balance and overall awareness, also known as proprioception (the body’s ability to know where a joint is positioned without having to look at it).
We are only 20-30 years into our democracy but you will find that a lot of major sports scientists have come from South Africa, and a lot of pioneering research has been done. We have specific modalities to cater to specific needs. One thing we have to be careful about is not to burden the players with too much information.
Produces different types of tension through one’s range of motion, more than free weights. It creates more resistance through repetition. When the bands are stretched to the maximum, there is heightened resistance.