ECB visits Florida

The quartet watched the Jacksonville Jaguars during a training session

Four members of the England Cricket department spent eight days in Florida comparing their own working practices with a number of sports such as tennis, baseball and American Football.

Performance Director David Parsons, Chief Medical Officer Nick Pierce, Head of Sports Science and Medicine Simon Timson and Craig Ranson, National Lead for Physiotherapy, visited five organisations to see how their own methods differ and to note down any potential improvements.

Starting at the University of Florida, the home of some of America's top track and field stars, the four then travelled to the International Performance Institute which houses the famous Bollettieri Academy where Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi learnt their trade.

Next stop was NFL outfit Jacksonville Jaguars, then Florida State University before concluding their fact-finding mission at the Andrews Institute which specialises in sports medicine.

"It was undoubtedly a worthwhile trip," said Ranson. "It showed what can be achieved if you combine time and talent with good practitioners and facilities - you will produce good athletes."

While American Football and tennis differ hugely from cricket, there are isolated incidents in those two sports where comparisons can be drawn with our summer game.

For example, a quarterback launching a pass or a tennis player performing an overhead smash is similar to a cricketer throwing the ball. All three can cause shoulder injuries which was another reason for the ECB's visit.

"The ECB’s objective is to minimise the impact of injury on availability for selection by improving players’ fitness, so we wanted to learn as much as possible about the prevention and management of shoulder injuries," added Ranson.

"We also wanted to see how we compare. The skill is to identify the risk which should prevent injuries."

This process, known as 'screening', is something the ECB prides itself on. It is also a practice the quartet felt compared favourably with the Floridians and reinforced their belief that the ECB has built a team that delivers world class science and medicine services in an integrated manner.

The group visited the Bollettieri Academy

Other ECB practices that eclipsed those in the Sunshine State included working in partnership with feeder groups, such as the first-class counties. This means the ECB have an input into potential international players compared to the Jacksonville Jaguars who have little insight into players prior to them joining the NFL.

The foursome noted that their policy of 'integration', where a physio, doctor and strength and conditioning coach all have an input on an injured player, stood up well against the NFL team whose specialists often work in isolation.

The group also felt their strength and conditioning programmes, which are specific to cricket, were on a par with their American counterparts.

"We did learn a number of things too though," added Ranson.

"They believe you cannot be world-class without at least 20 hours a week of training. Every element of their training has to be competitive. They want to see the ones who have a winning attitude."

The group felt this confirmed the need for England's most talented young players to commit more time to practice and fitness. Most county academy players are doing less than half the number of practice hours per week than their counterparts in baseball and tennis in the USA.