As amateur cricketers up and down the land hail the official beginning of spring, minds are turning to that all important first game of the season. It is often a decisive marker to your teams fortunes and personal form.
It is with this in mind that fitness regimes have started in earnest - or slightly more faint heartedly in some cases.
So what is this years training equipment of choice for the amateur cricketer?
In the 80's it was the chest stretch. That incredibly uncomfortable piece of equipment consisting of 3 springs attached to two plastic handles which was impossible to stretch and if you could you were in serious danger of losing a nipple if one of the handles became sweaty and you lost your grip.
More recently we've had the Abdominal curler, used by many a club cricketer to iron out a few of those creases and winter wrinkles - only to then decide it was far too much like hard work and retire to the bar to work on the elbow groove.
Then there was those strange inflatable balls which resemble space hoppers with out handles. In fact i reckon space hoppers should be mandatory training equipment for wicket keepers. Great for leg strength.
And then our Ashes winning all-rounder and subsequently Ashes losing captain had a revelation. Get tanked up two nights before a game and get on a Pedalo! Great for the legs and aerobic exercise and you even get to go for a swim to complete the work out. Great for the club cricketer, but not sure it will take off on the international circuit. Bob Woolmer (RIP) was a great cricketing innovator, but I can't imagine he would have recommended Inzy and the boys try this one.
So remember, if you see one of the Wick boys out on one of Bushy parks' ponds or open stretches of water this season, remember it's all part of the training regime. I can picture the scene now: Goldy and Mackie racing round the fountain, only for Mackie to capsize and blame the size of his head. It's not gonna be easy. Any one got any experience?
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