Paul Jarvis goes through a bowling action with England’s Natalie Scivers
in your team because ‘he’ turns it miles, never bowls a bad ball and keeps going all day without a break.” A further system TrackMan uses Hawk-
eye-style missile tracking technology to measure how many revolutions each spinner puts on the ball. It’s a small laser camera mounted on a tripod behind the bowler that detects the ball rotating in flight and sends the results to a laptop. Apparently, England and Northampton-
shire slow bowler Graeme Swann manages around 2,000 revolutions per minute – more than 30 per second – and leg-spin- ner, Adil Rashid, nearer 2,500. “We want to benchmark English spin bowlers,” said David Parsons, the ECB performance direc- tor and former spin bowling coach. “We can then see who spins the ball the most and how much a bowler spins it from one year to the next.” You only need to look at the physical
difference between Swann and his off- spinning predecessors John Emburey, Ray Illingworth and Fred Titmus to see that to- day’s cricket demands more than just skill. Monty Panesar is athletic these days, and even Samit Patel puts in the hard yards. ECB Loughborough staff start their
players’ fitness early. Before cars, TV, computers and the internet, cricketers had an outdoor childhood to build robust bodies that could withstand the rigours of their sport. Unlike Trueman, Close, Botham and the rest, today’s youngsters have to get fit in the gym. Each player has a specific fitness programme. But with injuries always a worry, players need monitoring.
FITNESS MONITORING According to Timson, every player from the development programme to the England team gets a yearly profile. This includes a full physio to check movement range and muscle capacity, a fitness test that measures body composition, speed, flexibility, power, strength and endur- ance. What happened to Fabrice Muamba
Issue 2 2012 © cybertrek 2012
England’s Amy Jones in action during an England Women’s Cricket Squad training session
though, [The Bolton Wanders footballer who suffered a heart attack in March this year] shows that there’s more to a sports star’s health than match fitness. Young England cricketers also get
cardiac screening once a year and an eye- sight and visual acuity screen. The senior side, out in the sun for long periods, get dermatology testing to offset the risk of skin cancer, a full health screening with a doctor, blood testing and a whole body MRI scan to check for signs of injury. EDP players also get a yearly psycho-
logical screen. “We look after players’ personal welfare and help them cope with the pressure of playing cricket at top level,” Timson says.
EXPERT SUPPORT England players only have one set of coaches to answer to and one team to worry about. Developing players, what- ever level they’re at, will most likely have several influences on their development and pulls on their time. County coaches and support staff are
invited to get involved with performance centre programmes from time to time. To make sure youngsters get consis-
tent messages and the right support, Timson has a yearly meeting with each
development programme player, their county coach, school head of year and the player’s parents. “Clear communication is important to make sure the player gets what they need from everyone,” he says. At Loughborough University, specialist
facilities and expertise are at hand. ECB staff collaborate with top groundsmen, sports scientists, nutritionists, physiother- apists and fitness coaches to give every England player the best possible sup- port. The centre’s lead physiotherapist, Mark Young, is currently working with equipment manufacturers to develop the perfect helmet. ECB coach, Ray Baker, who played for Surrey in the 70s, leads a football-style scouting team that works with Loughborough and Bangor Univer- sity researchers to uncover attributes that turn a talented youngster into a world- class performer. There are three other NGBs on site, all
with specialist facilities. Particularly use- ful for cricketers is UK athletics’ specialist running track, with in-built sensors to measure acceleration. “We even taught England and Northampton cricketer Monty Panesar how to run in straight lines!” Jackson says. ●
Crispin Andrews is a freelance journalist Read Sports Management online
sportsmanagement.co.uk/digital 53
PIC: ©
WWW.GETTYIMAGES.CO.UK
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84