Stiffness in your back will increase your power output.

Flexibility, range of movement are two very common buzz words in cricket fitness and conditioning circles. But I believe to gain more power from your cricket you need to get some serious stiffness. Whether it be bowling or batting your power is generated from your core and if there isn't enough stiffness in your back then you will be leaking some serious energy.

Don't get me wrong we still need as full a range of movement as possible but it must be accompanied by the ability to stop yourself at a certain point in the movement. Without possessing this skill not only will energy be lost during your athletic exploits but maximum timing will never be fully optimised. Bear with me here as I try and explain why you must include torso stiffness training in your cricket fitness preparation. I will use the batting example as I couldn't bowl a ball to save my life.

When playing an attacking front foot drive there is a great amount of force originated from the core via arms and legs to get you to the ball, hit the ball with force and hopefully get it to the boundary. This is where stability is needed in the spine or torso to transmit force through to the arms and legs. If the spine moves during the explosion of force through the ball this is where power or energy is lost and won't be directed through the ball. One glaring example of this is when a batsman turns their back foot in the act of contacting the ball to open up the hips or pelvic region and in so doing un stabilises the spine and creates a big power leak. The alternative is to keep the back foot in a side on position and keep the hips locked into a side on position stabilising the pelvic platform the spine sits on. If the torso is then strong enough to hold its own position timing of the ball will be greatly improved with the use of less energy. Sounds too good to be true doesn't it.

As a kid I can always remember coaches like Norm O'Neil constantly barking instructions of stay still, you're moving around too much. They obviously were on to it years ago whether they new it or not who knows.

Why do some cricketers play better under pressure?

You probably know someone that springs to mind immediately. That solid as a rock cricketer that everyone turns to to win or even save a game. They are the ones that perform better under pressure, but why? Because they control pressure, pressure doesn't control them.

Firstly pressure isn't real. You can't physically reach out and grab it can you. It is make believe so to speak, a perception. In real terms we manufacture pressure in our minds and either let it build and build until it breaks us or control it by following a plan or a process of some sort. I'm convinced that silly shots or bowling gone horribly wrong is a result of perceived pressure. The focus may be on winning at all costs and when the game gets to that make or break stage you naturally start creating pressure. Muscles tighten, stomach starts knotting up and the heart starts racing. We have all been there haven't we.

This is when bad cricket decisions are made. All because you aren't allowing your mind to free itself up to play on instinct or habit. I am probably going to go against the grain a bit here and suggest if this sounds familiar and bad decisions are robbing you of performing better try this on for size. Don't focus on winning or losing. Create a focus on what you are aiming to achieve that day. If it's batting it may be a run rate, the amount of singles scored or the amount of time batted. If it's bowling it may be how many dot balls you bowl, how many balls the batter has to play or areas you bowl to. Fielding can be the same by focusing on such things as singles against you, runs saved by you and so on. It is limitless what you can set yourself but I would suggest the team goal or direction should go towards influencing what your focus is on.

By doing this when the time comes to win or lose the game you are focusing on the processes not the result. So you don't get that pressure build up the others do. Try it and see if it works. Better still get your side to try it. This is why you see the great cricketers playing the same game under any conditions. They don't allow pressure to control their environment.