How do you get fast bowling fit?
Steffan Jones | August 09, 2023
During his record-breaking Ranji trophy year, Jaydev Unadkat said it perfectly
Heart of Bowling relies on the skill of running.
Running is key
You have to reverse engineer the game and train specifically for it.
Here are the metrics for an IPL game . You need to respect the volume and the intensity you run at.
Let's not fool ourselves as players and coaches. Cricket is pretty sedentary compared to other sports.
Like I said, it's about time of feet and building the base of aerobic fitness.
REVERSE ENGINEERING FAST BOWLING
Summary:
Key running metrics for quicks
- Cover total of 7-8K (7000m) per IPL game in the field
- 5K (5000m) of it is below 5m/s (20kph). Equivalent to slow jogging & walking. This is the oxidative system that doesn’t require carbohydrates and relies on FAT for fuel.
- 1.5-2K (2000m) of it is a faster jogging pace or the equivalent to tempo running at 70% running speed of around 5-7ms (25kph). This is between the oxidative and glycolysis system. Requires some carbohydrates.
- 400-500m of the game is covered at around 8ms (25kph), which would be a good striding pace and the speed of the run up. So this works out 24 balls of 20m. This would be the ATP-CP system. Doesn’t require carbs for fuel
- Only 100-120m is covered in what’s regarded as high velocity zones of 9ms (32kph) or more. This would be sprinting in the outfield, for example. Only happens 2-3 x per game, and only if they can run this quickly. Not many fast bowlers can run this fast. Doesn’t require carbs for fuel
Key points
- Fast bowling is about mileage in the legs in the lower zones. Time on feet is the fitness challenge
- Bowling itself takes care of the middle band. There is no need to do shuttle runs or anaerobic runs unless the volume of bowling on the day is low. So it replaces bowling, not adding to it
- Very few run fast, but high speed work is essential for hamstring health and deceleration qualities.
Just my view based on @catapultsports data
