Sunday, February 27, 2011

Fitness Testing Descriptions.

The Height, Arm Span and Weight results need no explenation, so I will start with the Sit & Reach test.  This is an easy and simple way to test the flexibility of the lower back and hamstrings, and also to use as a guide to assesing the future risk of injury, because of the apparant link between tension in the lower back & hamstrings, and muscle pain and stiffness. This is relevant to cricket due to the amount bending of the back bowlers do, as well as the strech experienced during the bowling action.
The vertical jump test asseses the explosive power of the quads and lower leg, as well as the coordination of the arms in jumping from a dead start. This helps measure the efficiency of the leap and gather in the delivery stride.
The Illinois Agility test evaluates how well an individual can turn and sprint over a short distance, which helps assess a cricketers ability to turn while batting and their agility in the field.
The 40m Sprint assesses an individual's explosive power in the upper body, harnessing the power of the arm to add power to the movement. Not only does this assess one's sprinting ability, but it also can give an indication of their arm strength. I have included this in my testing program because of the amount of short distance sprinting involved in the game (fielding, pace-bowling, running between the wickets.
The Basketball throw can assess the power of the chest and arms in a short, sharp movement, similar to bowling a cricket ball.
Finally, the standing long jump is another test of the explosive power of the legs, which can help with the leap and gather of the bowling action, in a similar way that the vertical jump also assesses this.

Bibliography:
http://www.topendsports.com/testing/tests/index.htm

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