South Africa Must Train Progressively in a Phased System After Forced Break, Says Physio

The South African cricket team physiotherapist Craig Govender on Friday emphasised on the importance of a phased approach to training as the national players hit the ground after the long coronavirus-forced break.

Cricketing activities in South Africa have been suspended since March 15, when the domestic one-day event was in progression. However on Monday, the men’s high performance squad returned to training.

“…We have to put some rope around the guys and make them understand that they can’t go really hard. They still need to make sure they need to have all those muscles activated before activity,” Govender was quoted as saying by Cricket South Africa (CSA).

“They need to build up and get their bodies in tune with the requirements, so it’s about progression and very good warm ups will be essential and that’s something we will be emphasising as training resumes,” he added.

Several former and current players have said it will be more challenging for bowlers to find their rhythm after the lockdown and they will require at least eight weeks to get back to match fitness.

“Everything has to be done progressively. So for instance, with the bowlers we can’t get them to go straight out of the block. We have to do it in a phased system and that’s pretty important,” he said.

Govender was lavish in his praise for the players for the way they maintained their fitness during the lockdown.

“Not being with the players these last few months has been a challenge. I had to trust them to do the activities that had been put in place for them. It was quite nice to see that all of them have done what they were supposed to,” he said

“We’re always communicating, so if there were problems we have been rectifying them but overall, things look extremely good and I am very happy with the shape the players have returned in,”Govender added.

The players will train in small monitored groups with identified coaches from their nearest franchise teams.

The sessions will be held in accordance with the guidelines set out by the CSA COVID-19 steering committee and approved by the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD).