Getting fit for cricket doesn't have to be expensive.

You improve your strength by overloading your muscles using weights. Nobody says this weight has to be expensive bars and machines in a gym though.

Consider the humble sandbag.

You can make your own with some freezer bags, sand and a couple of sacks for about a tenner.

There are a lot of ways to get fit. Some, like running and circuit training, are better for cricket than others.

Is Pilates a method that fits the needs of cricketers?

Pilates is a training method developed in the early 20th century that has grown in popularity recently. It's primarily interested in developing core strength and flexibility: Both important requirements for cricketers.

Have you resolved to have a better cricket season this year?

In the UK it's a great time to start working towards that goal as indoor nets start across the country. You have enough time to get stronger, fitter, faster and more skilful before you even face a ball in anger.

But just as 90% of people who resolve to get fit in January give up, you might find yourself overwhelmed and unmotivated.

Cricket is a game of multiple components: strength, power, speed, timing, mobility...

The list goes on and on.

But it's back to Vern Gambetta to shed light on the most important factor in cricket performance:

"Balance is the single most important component of athletic ability because it underlies all movement. It is a component of all movement whether that movement is dominated by strength, speed, flexibility or stamina. Problems that you thought were strength, speed, flexibility or skill-related could in fact be directly balance related and are manifested as a lack of strength, speed, flexibility, skill etc. Poor balance leads to poor technical or skill development which often results in injury."

In the 1960s it was found out that the amount of self-discipline you have at the age of 4 is related to the amount of success you have as an adult.

The simplest explanation behind this is that success is built around your ability to stay in control.

This is especially true in cricket: A game that requires long periods of intense concentration. Here is how to train yourself to improve your discipline.

Boys don't stretch.

That's what a female fitness instructor once told me when I was working in a local gym.

She was right too.

Most men in that gym and every man I have played cricket with have flexibility at the bottom of their list of fitness requirements. Is the benefit of flexibility worth all the time it takes? I think it is, and here's why:

The hoo-haa over the discovery that England plans how to get Australia out has been blow into an outrage.

It's not a suprise to me. After all why shouldn't they?

All players have weaknesses and England have a chap whose job it is to analyse these and come up with strategies and field placings for each man: It increases your chances of getting them out if you know how they are likely to play.

Isn't it great when you find an impressive sounding journal to backup your own cricket training ideas?

In June 2006 the International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance had this to say:

"Research on neural adaptations to resistance training indicates that intermuscular coordination is an important component in achieving transfer to sports skills."

Every now and again I'll update you with my own schedule, just to give you an idea of how a club player can do it. Hopefully it will give you some context to my tips.

After upping my calorie intake slightly last time to get more lean muscle I found all that happened was that my weight went up by 1kg and my body fat up by 3%. This could be to do with missing several 5-a-side and sprint sessions too.