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With focus on fitness, Pakistan Yo-Yo test average is 18:1

CricketWith focus on fitness, Pakistan Yo-Yo test average is 18:1
File pic of Pakistan team during training. Pic PCB

With the arrival of foreign coaches and support staff lead by Mickey Arthur Pakistan cricket team has gone from one of the weak in fitness department to one of the best.

As per Pakistan coaching staff it was ICC Champions Trophy 2017 moment that changed the Pakistan team’s approach to fitness.

Mickey Arthur has constantly stressed on the importance of fitness ahead of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019. He has been vocal in pulling up the team when he sees them lacking in this area – as he did during their recent 5-0 loss to Australia in the United Arab Emirates. The players’ performance in fitness tests was a big part of what decided World Cup selection.

According to Grant Luden, the Pakistan strength and conditioning coach, the yo-yo test became a part of their preparation a few years ago, and the team has been constantly improving the numbers.

He began with a standard of 17:1, keeping in mind that the players would be expected to turn out in matches twice or thrice a week. “As a team, we’ve gone from 17:1 to 17:4, which is our bare minimum standard,” he said in a video posted by the PCB. “But from a team point of view, our team average has gone from 17:4 to 18:1. We’ve got some guys, like Mohammad Rizwan [the wicket-keeper batsman], that run 21 on our yo-yo test.”

The Champions Trophy, which Pakistan won, was a valuable reminder of the importance of maintaining high standards. “Coming into the Champions Trophy, we had a few players out of shape,” said Luden. “We had to make a hard decision and we had to send those players home. And thank goodness! We had the results … It was a watershed moment for us.”

“[Fitness] is not the be all and end all,” Arthur insisted. “[But] it gives the guys a better opportunity of performing. And that, for us, is important in terms of how many matches we play, so recovery becomes a part of that.”

Arthur further said that a team’s fitness is a reflection on the coaching staff, while Grant Flower, the batting coach, added: “It shows how much they want to play for their country. If they arrive out of nick, and not fit or overweight, it shows they are not willing to make the sacrifices required to play for their country.”

With excerpts from ICC Official Website

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