How does Cricket stack up in terms of Fitness?

[Turbinator]

Ranked penultimate in the world (165th), one ahead of Pakistan (166th) IIRC

Lol don't lie. India is ranked 158th, and Pakistan is at 179th.

FIFA.com - The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking - Ranking Table

 

[Arachnodouche]

I think explosive weight training can definitely help certain aspects of fast bowling like propulsion through the crease. Fielding as well, obviously.

 

[G.I.Joe]

Lol don't lie. India is ranked 158th, and Pakistan is at 179th.

FIFA.com - The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking - Ranking Table

In your face, Pakistan!

 

[Tricia McMillan]

As it's been said, depends mainly on role. I've been really interested in the physical demands of cricket personally. I struggle to justify calling it "lower intensity" since there are a lot of rest periods for individual players, but when they do things, they tend to go with pretty high intensity, i.e. a fielder chasing down a ball, batsmen sneaking a quick single, etc. Fast bowlers who aren't fit won't succeed, but other roles can "get away with" being less fit, so to speak, though it'll affect the match in certain ways, for example a batsman who's too tired to run a single, or a fielder who's winded and can't chase down a ball in the gap so it goes for a boundary instead of being cut off for fewer runs.

 

[Agent Nationaux]

Damn it Joe! It's a conspiracy against Pakistan that it's ranked below India in football.

On Topic:

If the likes of Ranatunga can play at the highest level, it does say something about the general level of fitness in the sport. However having said that, you need incredible levels of fitness to be able to bowl in a test match. It's more about stamina and endurance.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Must be said several of the world's best ever footballers were lard arses tho.

Puskas, Uwe Seeler, Gerd Muller, Maradona, Gascoigne and Ronaldo all had weight issues at various points in their careers.

 

[Furball]

Must be said several of the world's best ever footballers were lard arses tho.

Puskas, Uwe Seeler, Gerd Muller, Maradona, Gascoigne and Ronaldo all had weight issues at various points in their careers.

Puskas played in a different era where there was nowhere near the emphasis on fitness that there is today.

Gascoigne got a bit of stick in his Newcastle days for being fat but I don't remember him being particularly out of shape up until his injury in January 1997. He returned from that an absolute embarassment.

Ronaldo had his weight issues late in his career when he was no longer one of the best around.

 

[Tricia McMillan]

funniest hockey commercial - YouTube

 

[NasserFan207]

Fast bowlers require high fitness, the rest not so much, though it always helps obviously.

 

[slowfinger]

Cricket needs something that increases the amount of fitness required, I swear...

 

[SteveNZ]

Fitness is vastly underrated in cricket. Whether it is charging in for a long spell in the heat, needing to be at your peak every delivery, batting session after session and maintaining concentration, running between the wickets at the death of a limited overs match and being able to maintain strength/concentration etc etc.

Yes you can get by without it, and a few have. And it's hardly the demands of an ironman. But to perform at your peak a high level of both aerobic and muscular fitness is essential.

 

[silentstriker]

I don't know about essential. It helps sure, and helps a lot. But lard-ass laden teams win matches at the top level in cricket whereas they wouldn't be able to in most other sports.

Obviously this is relative - we're talking about unfit compared to others sportsmen not unfit compared to a regular guy on the street (though sometimes I'm not even sure about that ).

 

[Prince EWS]

Cricket needs something that increases the amount of fitness required, I swear...

Nah, I like it the way it is, personally.

It's primary a specialist skill and technique based sport, which is why I love it. Good fitness is a big asset and it helps those who want to work harder and make themselves more selectable but it's not an absolute requirement like it is in other sports, which ensures the game still remains primarily skill-based. It's a good balance.

 

[Prince EWS]

I don't know about essential. It helps sure, and helps a lot. But lard-ass laden teams win matches at the top level in cricket whereas they wouldn't be able to in most other sports.

Obviously this is relative - we're talking about unfit compared to others sportsmen not unfit compared to a regular guy on the street (though sometimes I'm not even sure about that ).

Despite being an elite sportsman, I reckon Mark Cosgrove would fall into the bottom 40% or so of the public when it came to fitness. Lots of tubby blokes have played Test cricket even in the modern era but they've generally been reasonably fit anyway in terms of their endurance, strength etc even if they were slow runners, but Mark Cosgrove is a genuinely unfit bloke I reckon. I don't know if it ever made its way onto youtube but the footage of him "doing pushups" with the team before the start of a one day domestic game just takes the piss.

 

[SteveNZ]

Mark Cosgrove would be a perfect case study for what I was talking about. The bloke has played for Australia, sure. But he's made little impact over a longer period of time and I believe fitness plays a big part in that. His level of talent should have produced more.

Same goes for Jesse Ryder, who is freakishly talented and yeah sure, got away with it for a long period of time because his skills were so far and above his peers. But his numbers would be as well if he was fitter, and in fact was able to stay on the field for long periods of time. But he hasn't.

These 'lard-ass' performers I would suggest, by and large, got by on a portion of their talent which just happened to keep them at a level similar to those below them.

That shouldn't be confused with max bench press, ability to do 1000 crunches etc.

Agreed on the above, it's not an absolute requirement but I don't think there's any question peak fitness is certainly a very handy tool.

 

[Top_Cat]

Despite being an elite sportsman, I reckon Mark Cosgrove would fall into the bottom 40% or so of the public when it came to fitness. Lots of tubby blokes have played Test cricket even in the modern era but they've generally been reasonably fit anyway in terms of their endurance, strength etc even if they were slow runners, but Mark Cosgrove is a genuinely unfit bloke I reckon. I don't know if it ever made its way onto youtube but the footage of him "doing pushups" with the team before the start of a one day domestic game just takes the piss.

Nah, no way. That's just because he's a lazy **** and pushups are no fun. The guy will happily bowl 20 overs in a day at sharp pace and is quicker over the ground than the majority of Indian Test players with 30Kg less on them. For pace and athleticism, he'd blitz most of the general public.

Cosgrove's fit/fatness is a convenient cover for attitude problems (i.e. he's not as good as he thinks he is). If he honestly thought it mattered, he'd fix it like Lehmann did. He should drop some weight for many good reasons (health, performance, etc.) but, in his mind, it'd largely (heh) be for political/image reasons, hence why he resists. Doesn't see the point.

Great example (and I've heard nothing to suggest this has changed much); my mate was his captain at Northern Districts and opened the batting with him, they ran a quick 3 early on and he was blowing hard.

"Time to lay off the Maccas, Cos."
*puff* *wheeze* "Yeah? How many Tests you going to play, ****?"

Hit a run-a-ball ton that day, to be fair....

 

[Pup Clarke]

But lard-ass laden teams win matches at the top level in cricket whereas they wouldn't be able to in most other sports.

 

[SteveNZ]

Cosgrove's fit/fatness is a convenient cover for attitude problems (i.e. he's not as good as he thinks he is). If he honestly thought it mattered, he'd fix it like Lehmann did. He should drop some weight for many good reasons (health, performance, etc.) but, in his mind, it'd largely (heh) be for political/image reasons, hence why he resists. Doesn't see the point.

Great example (and I've heard nothing to suggest this has changed much); my mate was his captain at Northern Districts and opened the batting with him, they ran a quick 3 early on and he was blowing hard.

"Time to lay off the Maccas, Cos."
*puff* *wheeze* "Yeah? How many Tests you going to play, ****?"

Hit a run-a-ball ton that day, to be fair....

That's your opinion, and fair play to you, but I disagree that it's a political/image thing.

Question I'd pose: What do you think the odds of him playing a rash shot/being dismissed the ball after running that three? Would you agree his decision making/footwork etc would be compromised by the fact he's gasping for air?

Add to that how he'd shape up on day 3-4-5 of the longer versions and other instances that come up in the course of a day's play.

And I'd also suggest your mate has the last laugh seeing he's going to play exactly the same amount of Tests Cosgrove is.

 

[Top_Cat]

You're talking about something slightly different than I am. I'm not claiming he's not unfit (he is, by professional standards) nor that he'd gain a lot from losing a lot (of weight). Of course he would. Just saying that problem isn't just that he's unfit and because he's definitely fit and athletic enough to outpace the blokes he has drinks with, he doesn't see it as a problem. It's not my opinion, he's said so.

 

[SteveNZ]

Undoubtedly there's other factors. I do however think it's sad that he sees losing weight as merely something that would appease people rather than a way to make himself better.