Fitness for Cricket – Training Routines and Exercises

While cricket is not as physically demanding as some other sports, it is still important to maintain a good level of fitness if you want to perform at your best on the field.

Cricket is less about endurance and more about fast and powerful movements.

Batters need the strength to hit hard, bowlers need the speed and full-body movement to bowl fast and fielders need to be quick and agile on their feet to chase after the ball.

Here are some training routines and exercises that you can try to improve your fitness for cricket.

Building Strength

All of the best cricketers in the world possess great strength and power – but where should you build that depends a little on what your primary role is in the team.

For batters, building upper-body strength should be a key focus.

This includes working on your back, shoulders and biceps.

Bicep curls, pull-ups, rows, tricep dips and tricep extensions are all good options.

Fast bowlers should look at strengthening their rotator cuffs and adding power through their legs.

Cable rotations and dumbbell flys are both ideal exercises for the rotator cuffs, while squats, lunges, box jumps and deadlifts can assist in building the legs.

Both batters and bowlers can also benefit from medicine ball throws and slams, which develop core strength and improve power through the shoulders.

Core strength is important no matter what your role in the cricket team, with planks and crunches being other good exercises for that.

Building Endurance

Given cricket matches can span many hours across a day, some level of endurance is required.

Bowling long spells, running between wickets during big partnerships and chasing after the ball for hours on end when fielding all require a certain amount of stamina.

You can improve your endurance with activities like running, swimming and cycling.

Building Speed and Agility

There are a lot of movements in cricket which require speed and agility.

Running in when fast bowling, running between wickets when batting and chasing after the ball when fielding are just some examples of these.

You also need to quickly change direction when running between wickets and fielding.

Exercises like box jumps, jump squats and lunges with jumps can help add some explosiveness to your cricket game.

Interval training and agility drills are also beneficial.

You can set up two cones – or any similar objects – 20 metres apart and run at speed between.

When you reach each cone, practice quickly changing direction and heading back towards the other cone.

This type of drill will help you both at the cease when batting and also when fielding.

Other Tips

In addition to strength training, it is also vital to do some stretching and mobility exercises to help with injury prevention.
This is especially important for fast bowlers, whose bowling actions require good flexibility.

As with any exercise program, you should listen to your body and not push yourself too hard.

A balanced diet with good nutrition will help better fuel your workouts and improve recovery.

Looking For More Cricket Tips?

Whether you are just starting out in cricket or have some experience behind you and want to take your game to another level, we can help.

We are an Adelaide-based cricket centre with an experienced team of nationally-accredited coaches who can assist in developing all aspects of your game.
We offer one-on-one coaching, as well as Academy programs for children.