National team’s strength and conditioning coach Nathan Kiely heaped praise on the Bangladesh cricketers’ passion for improving their fitness, saying that they are committed and doing hard work to take the fitness level to world standard.
“I’m really pleased with the progress, especially from the younger group. They’re committed to improving — not just as cricketers, but as athletes,” Kiely told the reporters on Tuesday.
“Our boys worked extremely hard. I think evidence today-if you saw some of the conditioning that we did-there were some really challenging drills,” he added.
“If you didn’t think they were challenging, I’d welcome you to come and do them with us one day,” Kiely said.
“You’ll find out. Their attitude and their effort are outstanding. They push themselves extremely hard,” he noted.
He is confident that Bangladesh team will be physically ready to cope with the UAE heat next September when they take part in the Asia Cup T20.
But Kiely pointed out the challenges he faces regarding scheduling.
“The biggest challenge for us is finding opportunities to do big chunks of physical work, which we don’t have the benefit of-like in England or in Australia, where they have a big sort of 15-week pre-season for their players, regardless of whether they are domestic or international,” he informed.
However, Kiely said he tries to find out a way to keep the players fit even in small window.
“So we only get little small windows, so we’re constantly fighting that battle of trying to get physical work in wherever we get those opportunities,” he said.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) earlier used the yo-yo and beep tests to assess players’ fitness. Kiely, however, prompted them to shift away from those tests and instead introduced the more traditional and straightforward 1600m time trial.
Explaining the reason, he said: “It’s often debated what the best fitness test is. I prefer the time trial because it’s simple and doesn’t require any equipment. You can do it anywhere — a cricket ground or an athletics track.”
He cited the time trial tests ideal for both national and domestic players.
“It’s accessible, and there’s less debate over the results. In yo-yo or beep tests, players may narrowly miss the mark, and it’s hard to determine when they’re truly done. But with the time trial, the clock doesn’t lie,” he said.
According to him, the players who excelled in yo-yo and beep test would do well in time trial test also.
“The players who excel in yo-yo and beep tests also do well in the time trial. And those who struggle show similar results across all tests. So, we still get a clear picture of who’s fit and who needs more work.” �”BSS