Cricket
training program
Built on a semi-pro framework: lower-body endurance circuit, plyo-primed speed & strength, then a sprint-running day.
One month free, then A$24.99/month. Cancel any time. iPhone and iPad.
Why this program exists
Bowling is the highest-load repetitive action in Australian sport and almost nobody trains for the load, only for the skill. Then the back goes in December.
Fast bowling punishes the lumbar spine laterally, the lead hip, and the bowling shoulder’s internal rotation. So the prehab is a loaded side plank, hip rotation and a sleeper stretch — not a generic mobility flow. Batting and fielding get rotational power, and the conditioning is built around holding your action together for a full spell.
A default cricket week
This is the sport’s own template — the starting point before it is fitted to your days, your equipment and your season. Team nights and game day are protected; everything else moves to the days you are free.
What cricket is won with
These are the qualities the program is built to develop, in priority order. They come from the sport, not from a generic template.
- Rotational power for batting + throwing
- Bowler durability (lumbar + shoulder)
- Speed-endurance over a long day in the field
- Sprint repeatability for run-up and fielding
| Session | Type | Duration | Focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Endurance Day | Gym | 60–75 min | Lower-body strength base + bowler-spec endurance circuit |
| Speed & Strength | Gym | 55–70 min | Plyo-primed Olympic lift + posterior-chain pull + 12-min AMRAP finisher |
| Run Day | Conditioning | 35–55 min | Sprint mechanics + speed-endurance + repeat-effort |
| Skills + Nets | Skills | — | Sport practice |
The season changes the program
A summer sport, so the build happens through the back half of winter — exactly when most cricketers do nothing.
- Pre-season
- August – September — set volume ×1.2. Build the engine and the strength base.
- In-season
- October – March — set volume ×0.7, prescribed weights hold. Maintain, don’t drain.
- Off-season
- April – July — baseline volume. Rebuild general strength and fix the niggles.
- Block structure
- Four-week blocks: three weeks accumulating, one week deload. The block’s character changes across the year rather than repeating.
- Game day
- Protected. The day before gets a 20-minute explosive primer with no running, no heavy legs and no prehab block bolted on.
The cricket testing battery
Five numbers, re-run every eight weeks. Chosen to match what cricket programs actually measure — and the results re-price your training weights and reset your conditioning paces.
| Test | Measures | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| 2km time trial | The aerobic benchmark your program is built around. | mm:ss |
| Bench press 1RM | Upper-body pressing strength: the fend, the tackle, holding a bigger body off. | kg |
| Max pull-ups | Relative pulling strength — the best upper-body number there is for a field athlete. | reps |
| Trap-bar deadlift 1RM | Whole-body pulling strength — the lift that carries over to acceleration. | kg |
| Standing vertical jump | Lower-body power in its purest form, and the cheapest fatigue check you own. | cm |
Staying available
The prehab block is matched to the region of the session it sits in and to the tissue this sport actually punishes — not a generic mobility flow bolted to the front.
Prehab only works if it happens, and the reason it usually does not is that it has nothing to do with the session it is attached to. Rotating a pool by session number puts shoulder work before a squat day and Copenhagen planks before a bench press. Technically covered; nobody does it.
In Train Smart each movement is classified by the region it protects and matched to the session, and the pool rotates across the week so you cover all of it rather than doing the same three moves three times.
More on prehab that people actually do →
Cricket training questions
What does the Train Smart cricket program include?
When is cricket pre-season?
Can I follow this program if I only train twice a week?
What tests does the cricket program use?
Do I need a full gym?
Get your cricket program
Pick cricket, answer eight questions, and your week is built — around your team nights, your game and the days you can actually train.
One month free, then A$24.99/month. Cancel any time. iPhone and iPad.