Do you need to be fit to play cricket? Do the best batsmen in the world
really have the ability to predict the type of ball they will receive
before it even arrives? And is cricket really more of a mental game
than a physical one?
In this rather longer episode, we talk to Dr Rob Duffield from
the School of Human Movement at Charles Sturt University who has found
that indeed you really do not need to be as physically fit to play
cricket as you do other sports such as football. We also have a chat
about the direction of research with regards to sport and cricket in
particular, and how scientific endeavour is reforming the way
cricketers train and prepare for games.
We chat to Dr
Allistair McRobert from Liverpool John Moores University who's work has
shown that the best batsmen can predict to some extent where a bowler
will bowl. This work also encompasses a look into the subconscious
mental game of cricket and how the most successful players are more
mentally prepared for the top level than lesser players.
Finally,
I discuss the role of psychology in cricket and the various measures
that are being put in place to look after the cricketer's brain.
