Yo-Yo test has changed Pakistan's fitness standards

Ever since Mickey Arthur became Pakistan’s head coach, he has strictly maintained his stance on fitness. He cleared to the board and the players that only the cricketers with full and required fitness will stay in the team. Yo-Yo test was also introduced then and the system was set-up to clear the same. Ahead of the Champions Trophy, a few of their players were out of shape and they were sent back home before the tournament.

The Men in Green had somehow managed to qualify for CT 2017 and also lost their first match against the arch-rivals India badly. Many had ruled them out but the ‘fit’ team thrived under different circumstances to storm into the final. A re-match against India witnessed the revival of Pakistan cricket as they famously defeat the Men in Blue to win the title literally from nowhere.

With the World Cup only a few days away from getting underway, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) posted a video on its official Twitter handle showing how Yo-Yo test changed the dynamics of their cricket.

It started with 17.1

Pakistan team’s strength and conditioning coach, Grant Luden, in the video, informed that the standard score set at the start was 17.1. However, it went high slowly with the players even achieving a score of around 18.1 at one stage. “As a team, we’ve gone from 17.1 to 17.4, which is our bare minimum standard.

“But from a team point of view, our team average has gone from 17.4 to 18.1. We’ve got some guys, like Mohammad Rizwan [the wicket-keeper batsman], that run 21 on our yo-yo test,” he said. He also recalled how a few hard decisions led them to win the Champions Trophy two years ago and termed it a watershed moment.

“Coming into the Champions Trophy, we had a few players out of shape. We had to make a hard decision and we had to send those players home. And thank goodness! We had the results … It was a watershed moment for us,” he further added.

While the coach Arthur admitted that the fitness is not the end of the road but also added that being fit gives the players an opportunity to give their best. “[Fitness] is not the be all and end all. [But] it gives the guys a better opportunity of performing. And that, for us, is important in terms of how many matches we play, so recovery becomes a part of that,” Arthur said.

Catch our head coach Mickey Arthur, batting coach Grant Flower, and strength & conditioning coach @grantluden having a candid conversation about the upcoming World Cup and a look back on #CT17

Full Episode: https://t.co/uacALStNOn #CWC19 #WeHaveWeWill pic.twitter.com/c8i7HDm86V

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) May 12, 2019

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