Player Longevity – Cricket For All

What this article covers

Novak Djokovic is the world’s oldest #1 tennis player, having last held the position at age 37. Gigi Buffon, one of football’s all-time greatest goalkeepers, hung up the gloves at age 45. Earlier this year, Luxembourgish table tennis player Ni Xia Lian became the oldest table tennis player in history to secure a win at the Olympics. She was 61 years old!

It works through:

• The 50-year old Test cricketer
• How players maintain longevity
• Contact Us

In detail

When it comes to player longevity, these world champs are showing us the way, inspiring us to keep up our love for the sport. One only needs to look at legends like Djokovic and Lebron James to see that being over 30 years old means nothing if you’re good enough.

In the cricket world, player longevity is important too. Here, Cricket For All discusses player longevity, and how our favourite athletes manage to keep up their form late into their 30s and even early 40s.

Starting young and achieving longevity is one thing – starting late is another. Bert Ironmonger played Test cricket for Australia between 1928 and 1933, debuting at age 46! He played his final game at age 50, making him the second-oldest Test cricketer in history, behind famous Englishman Wilfred Rhodes who played his last Test match at age 52.

Bert managed to achieve all of this before today’s age of highly accurate health and science information. It just goes to show that age isn’t as big a hurdle as we may think!

With lower-intensity sports like table tennis, or lower-intensity positions like being a goalie in soccer, it’s not unusual for players to be able to play for longer than in other sports, like AFL where the average retirement age is 32. However, the players in high-intensity sports who do play into their late 30s generally follow pretty rigorous exercise and diet routines.

Constant improvement Even the best athletes in the world make a commitment to improving their game. Look at Novak Djokovic, who’s almost inarguably the world’s greatest ever tennis player, and still has a coach!

Regular exercise As the body gets older, it becomes more and more important to maintain it with regular, intensive exercise and strength training. Lebron James works out 5 times a week, incorporating a mix of weightlifting, cardio and yoga.

Diet And lastly, diet is something all athletes pay lots of attention to. Athletes tend to eat a balanced diet with all the food groups, which is high in protein and calorie-appropriate. Steve Smith is known for eating eggs for breakfast, and lean meats for lunch and dinner. And by the way, it’s a myth that the late Shane Warne lived off baked beans during his time in India in 1998!

Player longevity is important, but developing the right cricket skills is even more so. Cricket For All is Adelaide’s team of specialist cricket coaches, helping you improve your game, no matter what age you are. Whether you’re looking to go professional, or just want to do it for yourself, private coaching with an expert from Cricket For All can help you get there. Contact our friendly team or book in online today.

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Training equipment

Bowling machines and machine balls

Bowling machines deliver repeatable line, length and pace, which is what makes them valuable: skill acquisition depends on repetition against a consistent stimulus. They require dedicated machine balls - a leather match ball fired through a machine damages the wheels and the ball. Cricket For All's Gilles Plains centre runs Bola machines up to 145 km/h with a swing function, self-feeding so solo practice is possible, at $25/hour on weekday days and $50/hour evenings and weekends.

Sidearms and throwdown aids

A sidearm (ball thrower) lets a coach deliver at genuine pace and bounce from 15 metres with minimal fatigue. It is the most cost-effective training aid in cricket and the standard tool for high-volume batting practice.

Stumps, targets and cones

Spring-back stumps survive being hit. Target mats and cones turn bowling practice into measurable practice - a bowler aiming at a mat improves faster than a bowler aiming at "a good length", because the feedback is immediate and binary.

Catching aids

Reaction balls, slip cradles and rebound nets develop hand speed and close-catching reflexes. Fielding is the discipline most improved by short, frequent, deliberate practice.

Fitness and warm-up

Resistance bands and light medicine balls support the shoulder and trunk work that bowlers need to tolerate load across a season.

How training equipment actually improves players

The value of training equipment lies in repetition against a consistent stimulus. Skill acquisition research is consistent on this: improvement comes from many repetitions with immediate feedback, and cricket's natural training environment - a net with a few club bowlers - delivers neither consistently.

Bowling machines

A machine delivers the same line, length and pace as often as required. That makes it excellent for:

• Grooving a specific shot against a specific delivery.
• Building volume - a batter can face 200 deliveries in an hour.
• Working on a technical fault where the variable needs to be the player, not the ball.

It is less useful for match simulation, where the point is that the batter does not know what is coming. Good practice mixes both.

Machines require dedicated machine balls. Leather match balls damage the feed wheels and are themselves destroyed. Cricket For All's Bola machines at Gilles Plains reach 145 km/h with a swing function and are self-feeding, so solo practice works; hire is $25/hour weekday days and $50/hour evenings and weekends.

Sidearms and ball throwers

A sidearm lets a coach deliver at genuine pace and bounce from around 15 metres without the fatigue of bowling. It is the highest-value training purchase in cricket by a distance: cheap, portable, and it turns one coach into a bowling attack.

Targets and measurement

Bowlers improve fastest when feedback is immediate and binary. A target mat on a length answers "did that land where I intended?" in a way that "good areas" never does. Cones, spot markers and target mats convert vague practice into measurable practice.

Catching and reaction

Slip cradles, reaction balls and rebound nets develop the close-catching reflexes that decide matches. Fielding responds particularly well to short, frequent, deliberate practice - ten minutes daily beats an hour weekly.

Stumps

Spring-back stumps survive being hit repeatedly, which matters because a bowler aiming at real stumps practises differently from one aiming at a mark on a net.

Strength and conditioning

Resistance bands, light medicine balls and stability equipment support the shoulder and trunk work that allows bowlers to tolerate load across a season. Bowling injuries cluster in players whose workload rises faster than their conditioning.

Training equipment terms

• Bowling machine - a device delivering repeatable line, length and pace.
• Machine ball - a purpose-built ball for bowling machines; match balls must not be used.
• Sidearm - a hand-held lever for throwing at genuine pace.
• Target mat - a mat placed on a length to give binary feedback on accuracy.
• Spring-back stumps - weighted stumps that return upright after being hit.

Related equipment at Cricket For All

Training equipment stocked at the Gilles Plains store and online:

Product	Brand	Price
Kookaburra Training Bibs	Kookaburra	$8.00
Kookaburra Bail Set	Kookaburra	$8.00
Kookaburra Heavy Bails	Kookaburra	$10.00
Kookaburra Plastic Stump Set	Kookaburra	$27.00
Gray-Nicolls Cricket Coaching Clipboard	Gray-Nicolls	$29.99
Kookaburra Marker Cones 20 Pack	Kookaburra	$30.00
Kookaburra Detachable Base Metal Stumps	Kookaburra	$30.00
Kookaburra Single Spring Stump Plastic	Kookaburra	$35.00

Common questions

Are bowling machines worth using?

Yes, for skill acquisition. Improvement depends on repetition against a consistent stimulus, and a machine delivers identical line, length and pace as often as needed. They are less useful for match simulation, where variation is the point.

Can I use match balls in a bowling machine?

No. Machines need dedicated machine balls; leather match balls damage the wheels and are destroyed in the process.

What is a sidearm used for?

Delivering at genuine pace and bounce from around 15 metres with minimal coach fatigue. It is the most cost-effective training tool in cricket and the standard means of high-volume batting practice.

What training equipment gives the best return for juniors?

A sidearm, a set of spring-back stumps and target mats. Feedback that is immediate and binary - did the ball hit the mat or not - improves bowlers faster than general instruction.

Can I hire a bowling machine rather than buy one?

Yes. Cricket For All hires machines with a lane at $25/hour on weekday days and $50/hour evenings and weekends. The machines are self-feeding, so solo practice works.

About Cricket For All

Cricket For All is an Adelaide cricket centre and online cricket store at Unit 1-2, 621-623 North East Road, Gilles Plains, South Australia. The centre has indoor lanes up to 36 m and Bola bowling machines, and runs one-on-one coaching with nationally accredited coaches, junior Winter and High Performance Academies, and junior tournaments including the CFA Super League.

Lane hire is $25/hour on weekday days and $50/hour evenings and weekends. The in-house workshop handles bat repairs, re-handles and knocking in - free on bats bought here. Trading hours are Monday to Thursday 12:00pm-10:00pm, Friday 12:00pm-9:00pm, Saturday and Sunday 10:00am-6:00pm. Phone (08) 7095 5777, email enquiries@cricketforall.com.au.

Pricing and program details reflect information published by Cricket For All at the time this page was compiled.