In January 2023, we began working with 85 of the players on the Lord’s Youth Programme. We visited the Home of Cricket indoor centre before any of the players started their Cricfit S&C programme to carry out a series of performance tests. We returned 12 weeks later to track their development and the results were fantastic!

What we tested

This testing battery is a culmination of our experience running testing sessions like this and getting the most bang for buck in a short time frame with a large group. The goal was to paint a rounded picture of the players’ physical attributes for Cricket.

Jump testing

For the jump testing, we recorded two different measures using the MyJump app.

1. Countermovement jump

This is simply a jump and shows the power capabilities of the lower body. The lower body is our engine, so the more power we are able to produce, the more powerful our cricketing actions are going to be.

2. Reactive Strength Index

The players stepped off a 30cm box, hit the floor, jumped and landed again. The goal was to spend as little time on the floor as possible and jump as high as possible. The index shows us a player's reactive strength which is essentially how well they can absorb force and reproduce it. A good example of this is for bowlers when landing at the crease following their run up. Good reactive strength allows them to not leak energy so they can maintain maximum momentum towards the batter. Athletes who score well on this are very explosive which obviously also translates well to batting, fielding & keeping.

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Speed testing

1. 20 metre sprint

The straight line sprint was measured using a Freelap timing system. This simply shows us a player's speed. Speed is vital as a cricketer because it shows we have a high rate of force development. Hit that link to learn more about this and why it's important.

2. Run a 3

This takes into account both agility (turning) and about as much endurance as we are interested in for cricket testing (at this level). This is more cricket specific then as generic 5-0-5 or T-Test for agility so makes complete sense to include.

We had a superb question from one of the players about why we weren't doing a bleep test. Our first answer was if we had all the time in the world, we would. But, with the time available, these measures give us a much better picture of physical fitness that actually relates to cricket. How often is a cricketer running non-stop for more than 50 metres? Compare this to short bursts of high intensity movement. Here is your answer!

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Strength testing

1. 60 second side plank

This is a tick box exercise, e.g. pass/fail. A max hold on this exercise is more a mental battle than physical so we aren't overly interested in that. We are however interested in those who can't hold a side plank for a minute. This is an obvious area to improve as a strong core is vital to bringing together the lower & upper body as one.

2. Max push ups in a minute

Upper body strength is a tough one to measure reliably without a gym & training experience (Ideally we would do bench press and pull up tests). But, for this group, push ups is an adequate measure and one that we are sure, should the players stick to their programmes, they will see improvements in.

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Cricket specific measures

These ones don't need explaining as to how they benefit cricket, but we also recorded the below.

1. Bowling speed

2. Bat speed

3. Throwing speed

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Results

Of the 33 players who could make both testing sessions, we saw an average of 10% improvement across all the performance measures in just 12 weeks. Players' compliance was positively correlated with their average improvement e.g. the more workouts they did, the better the results! Whatsmore, a linear regression analysis showed compliance to have a significant positive effect on overall improvement (R² = .48, F(1, 31) = 9.07, p = 0.005).

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Jump testing

1. Countermovement jump

Throughout the group there was an average improvement of 10% with a maximum improvement of 9cm showing that lower body strength & power development from the group. Despite this, a T-test showed this wasn’t a significant difference. However, a linear regression showed compliance score to have a significant positive effect on jump height score.

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2. Reactive Strength Index

The group also recorded a 10% improvement in their RSI showing their power and reactive strength improved over the 12 weeks. A T-test showed a significant increase from pre to post. 

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Speed testing

1. 20 metre sprint

The group got quicker with 3% improvement which equates to 0.11 seconds and could make the difference between getting run out and not. The maximum improvement for a player was over half a second. A T-test showed a significant decrease in 20 metre sprint times.

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2. Run a 3

We also saw a 3% improvement in run-a-3 time, equating to 0.29 seconds. Truly turning two’s into threes! A T-test showed a significant improvement for this performance measure also.

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Strength testing

1. 60 second side plank

We saw at least a 9% improvement in side plank times throughout the group. We say “at least” because we capped each side at 60 seconds, meaning the maximum score a player could get was 120. When we first visited, 64% maxed out on both sides and when we returned, 94% completed a 60 second side plank on both sides. Once again, a T-test showed this to be a significant increase over 12 weeks.

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2. Max push ups in a minute

It wasn’t just lower body strength that developed with a 16% improvement in the number of push ups the group could complete in a minute. Whilst a T-test showed no significant improvement, a multiple regression analysis showed improvement in push up performance had a significant positive effect on overall improvement.

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Cricket specific measures

1. Bowling speed

The results translate into the cricket specific measures with an average of 3% improvement in bowling speed and some bowlers recording an increase in bowling speed of up to 9mph. A T-test showed this to be a significant improvement.

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2. Bat speed

Bat speed also improved with a development of 16% equating to an extra 7mph of bat speed. Whilst a T-test showed no significant difference for this measure a multiple regression analysis showed that improvement in bat speed had a significant positive effect on overall improvement.

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3. Throwing speed

Throwing speed also increased by 4% which a T-test showed to be a significant increase.

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What these results show

These results ultimately show that the programmes we deliver work. Whatsmore, they work quickly. If we look a bit more deeply at the results, we can see the biggest improvement in the jumping and strength measures. This is to be expected with the first 3 months of these programmes focusing on movement quality and building a base level of strength. Speed gains have to be built on solid foundations. However, what we can see from the improvements in speed is although the magnitude isn’t as great, the results are already coming through. Unfortunately, we won’t be heading back to Lord’s at 6 months into this programme as the players disperse over the summer, but if we did, we would expect to see the speed gains catch up with the jumping and strength measures.

Special mention

Joseph completed every single workout in the 12 weeks, and it showed. Check out these results!

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