Cricket Matters

Cricket Matters We help cricketers perform better so that they can score more runs, take more wickets and change games. Cricket coaching, performance & injury — connected.

Progress that goes beyond the nets

12/09/2026

Bad back and tight hips? They go together. Yesterday: the diaphragm, anchored on your spine. Today: the psoas — T12 down to L5, then through the pelvis to the front of your hip. Spine to hip, one muscle. Every back I saw this week had both: breathing issues up top, a tight, gunky psoas underneath. You can't stretch it out. It may need releasing — but not until your breathing's sorted, or the cycle just goes round again. Stability comes from the middle.

11/09/2026

Cricketers with a bad back — the first thing I assess is your breathing. Every back I treated this week had the same problem: breathing mechanics. Why? Your diaphragm doesn't just breathe — it anchors onto the lumbar spine, L1 to L3. Can't control it, can't control stability around the spine. Can't hit bombs, can't bowl rockets, and the back gets caught in the middle. Fix the breathing, then fix the back. Nudge from this morning.

10/09/2026

Recovery app for cricketers: the one I use. Been ill this week — and my watch saw it two days before I did. Resting heart rate up, HRV down. So I dropped my training, and a two-week cold became a two-day one. I use because I'm on an Apple Watch — Whoop, Garmin, Oura show the same numbers. Going into winter, track them: if you can see it coming, you can adjust. That's intelligent training. (Trends, not diagnoses — a watch isn't a doctor.)

08/09/2026

Comment SPINE to get your free copy.

Parents of young fast bowlers — does your child get a grumpy, achy back after bowling? This is our free guide: Back Pain in Junior Fast Bowlers. 83 pages on why it happens, the tests you can do at home, and exactly when to get it looked at properly. Written for parents, not clinicians.

Comment SPINE and I'll send it to you.

07/09/2026

Can you hang from a bar for 60 seconds? One of the first tests I do with every cricketer — and it isn't really a grip test. I'm checking the shoulder. A grumpy, unstable shoulder turns the volume down on your grip — or you over-grip to compensate, one route into tennis and golfer's elbow. Batters: bottom-hand dominance has many causes, but sometimes it's a shoulder problem in disguise. Sixty seconds is my benchmark. Give it a go.

06/09/2026

Cricket season's over. Now what? Most club cricketers stop completely — I'm not a fan. Take a break from bowling, batting and throwing, absolutely. But don't take a break from your body. September is for the low-hanging fruit: that achy hip, that tight ankle, some mobility, a swim, a hike. Training is a twelve-month programme — you just change what you do and why. Get the body ready now. October to December is where the real changes happen.

05/09/2026

Do cricketers need sport-specific training? Not most of them, not yet. Everyone wants the fanciest winter programme. My rule: pass the simple before you're allowed the complex. Can you touch your toes? Bodyweight squat? Push-up? Pull-up? Hang from a bar? If those aren't there, the sport-specific stuff has nothing to stand on — and they're exactly the leaks a good S&C programme is written to find. Human first. Athlete second.

04/09/2026

How do you throw harder in cricket? Look at a 90mph baseball pitcher. Forget what he deadlifts or benches — what matters is what his body can access: ankle dorsiflexion for a braced front leg, hip extension, lumbar extension, shoulder flexion and shoulder external rotation. And he needs all five at once. Fast bowlers, take note — if one link is missing, the arm pays for it. Want a gun arm? First check the body can get there.

03/09/2026

Parents of young fast bowlers with a grumpy back this summer — try this at home. Standing toe touch, knees straight. If they can't get there, it can point to a hip and core control problem, and rest alone rarely fixes that. The pain often comes back next season. Our free guide, Back Pain in Junior Fast Bowlers, walks you through this test, a few more, and when to get proper clinical advice.

Comment SPINE and I'll send it to you.

02/09/2026

Strength and power test for cricketers — the first thing I do with every new athlete. Med ball, 2kg for women, 4kg for men. Rotate and throw as far as you can, both sides. The benchmark I use: 10 metres each way, with less than 10% difference between sides. If you can't get there, it's a strength problem, a power problem, or the top and bottom halves of the body aren't connecting. Now you know what the offseason is for. Give it a go.

Address

Unit A6, Chapel Farm Industrial Estate
Cardiff
NP117BH

Telephone

+447862121776

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Cricket Matters posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Cricket Matters:

Shortcuts

Share

Category