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Lahore tests have no bearing on contracts

Players’ performance at boot camp in Abbottabad will determine future incentives

Our Correspondent May 12, 2016

As per information shared by PCB, several players were either below standards or just on the line, while only a few impressed. PHOTO: AFP

KARACHI: The recently concluded fitness tests in Lahore will have no effect on the players’ new central contracts as they were just a precursor to the main fitness boot camp which begins in Abbottabad from tomorrow under the army’s supervision.

As per the information shared by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), several players were either below standards or just on the line, while only a few — such as Shan Masood, Younus Khan, Fawad Alam and Mohammad Rizwan — impressed.

“If the players know that a certain fitness test is just to have a check over the players and will have no bearing on anything else, they may not give a hundred per cent and that’s what happened in Lahore,” a senior member of the national team told The Express Tribune.

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He admitted that the players are aiming to do well in the upcoming camp. “Pakistan have an important tour of England coming up so these camps will not only help us earn incentives in our central contracts but also perform better there.”

However, he warned that any improvements shown by the players should be taken with a pinch of salt. “We all know that the Abbottabad camp is important for us and thus the players are focusing on showing improvement there [as compared to the recently concluded Lahore camp],” he admitted. “When these two tests will be compared, obviously the improvements will be very visible.”

Meanwhile, trainer Grant Luden revealed that the players underwent only three tests before the boot camp so he could gauge where the players stand.

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Luden added that fitness is important in today’s game because of the amount of cricket being played and for the players to perform consistently over the years, it is important that they maintain a certain level of fitness.

“We’ve conducted three simple tests,” said Luden. “The first was to determine body fat percentage, which needs to be less than 10%. The second was a yoyo where the guys were required to run multiple shuttles that get quicker every minute, helping in speed endurance, while the third was a 2km time trial.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 12^th, 2016.

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