I received numerous emails in response to my article "Coping with Overload" published on 8th January, requesting to be specific about addressing overload in the popular game of cricket.

We all know that today's busy schedule -- Tests, One-day Internationals, T20Is, league and domestic engagements -- has placed more pressure on players to perform in a variety of formats and under different playing conditions.

This leaves very little time for recovery. That's why modern day cricketers need to be trained differently both on and off the field, under the close eyes of coaches and sport medicine experts to avoid injuries.

Just like any other competitive sport, optimum performance in cricket requires players to possess a number of well-developed physical attributes. These include speed, balance, power, flexibility and endurance.

Cricketers can achieve these by following scientific training principles. To improve fitness a balance needs to be struck so that players are not chronically fatigued. Hence, training should begin slowly and progress gradually. For example, longer, slower running provides a useful endurance fitness foundation for more intensive short interval sprints that are required to prepare for fast bowling or running between wickets.

Coaches and trainers should seek daily subjective feedback from players to gauge their response to the training so that, if necessary, the load can be adjusted. Weekly saliva test must be carried out to evaluate hormone levels of players because it's an indicator of stress level.

Players need adequate protein and carbohydrate and need to promptly replace the fluid lost in sweating. Recovery is also assisted by light exercise, stretching, relaxation techniques, massage, cold water therapy and above all good sleeping habits.

The most appropriate training regime in cricket is the one that closely simulates the movements and energy systems required in the game. The coaches should thus design cricket-related activities such as interval sprints to simulate the approach of fast bowlers and running between wickets for batters.

Justin Langer used a similar interval sprint format with shuttle runs to enhance his batting fitness. He would place cones at the end of the pitch and complete 100 runs while imagining that a series of shots have been played. This might involve running a four after a straight drive, followed by a single for a shot behind square leg and then a two. Thus, the practice is designed to simulate the circumstances likely to be encountered in a match.

Remember that sudden and large increases in volume or intensity can be counterproductive. In the early stages, weekly increases should therefore be kept below 10 percent. It is also important to alternate harder sessions with easier ones. At the elite level of the game, GPS technology is now used to monitor the output of players so that the intensity of training can be adjusted according to their heart rate and response to the workout.

Injuries have also become common in modern cricket due to excessive workload. Recently a number of our elite fast bowlers suffered injuries as a result of the workload imposed on them due to busy national and international playing schedules. Here I must reject the opinion of our ex-cricketers who say that they had more workload because they used to play more Test cricket than modern-day cricketers do. I was going through an injury report compiled by Dr John Orchard of Cricket Australia. According to his report, there has been an overall increase in the number of injuries sustained, mainly due to increase in the number of playing days in domestic cricket and expansion of T20 cricket.

Fast bowlers have the highest incidence of injury. The most common are side and groin strains and ankle impingement injuries from landing on the front leg. Bowlers also frequently experience shoulder tendon injuries and hamstring pulls which mostly occur due to individual's fitness, bowling and warm up routines.

Fielders experience shoulder tendon injuries while throwing off balance. They also experience hamstring and calf strains from sprinting in the outfield.

Alex Kountouris, a famous Australian physio, recommends a multi-factorial approach to injury prevention. This requires screening players at the outset for any predisposition to injury. Alex is a strong advocate for an individualised approach to player preparation.

The training load of bowlers depends on how much work each is required to do in a match. When Dennis Lillee was diagnosed with lumber stress fracture, he wrote an article on use of fast bowlers in the game which was published in Wisden Cricketers Almanack in 1998. He suggested three ways to lengthen bowlers' careers, which I would like to reproduce.

The great bowler suggested that bowlers' workload must be monitored closely by the coaching staff. He suggested that bowlers should specialise in either Test or white-ball cricket. Lillee was a strong voice for restoration of rest day in Test cricket.

He further suggested that fast bowlers need to focus on core body strengthening exercises to ensure injury prevention. Two of his protégés, Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson, provide excellent examples of the value of these exercises.

Players also need to be careful when playing on different surfaces. While playing on soft grounds the muscles have to work harder which increases the risk of soft tissues injuries such as calf and hamstring strains. On hard grounds the likelihood of impact-related injuries to hips, knees and ankle joints is greater.

Injury rehabilitation is a difficult and frustrating experience. Any good rehabilitation programme has to be injury- and player-specific. The programme needs to be constantly modified along with recovery. Changes in the number of repetitions and sets and even the exercise itself will be necessary if the training load is becoming too easy.

In Pakistan, players generally have to play cricket in hot weather and on hard surfaces. On hot days' players need to pay particular attention to fluid recovery because of excessive sweating. This is best done using bottled sport drinks or just adding some salt and lemon with a little bit of sugar if sport drink is not available.

The recovery of players is well assisted by a cool-down period that includes walking and stretching at the end of training session or after a match. For best results this should be followed by rehydration and ideally cold water therapy, massage or both.

I am quite optimistic that Syed Muhammad Asad, Pakistan's men team physio, and Sumrah Fatima, the women team doctor, are doing a good job to keep Pakistan team players fit and free from injuries. The physio must have a big say in rationalising and managing players' workload.

I hope that new management of Pakistan cricket will focus on the fitness of players and raise different sets of players and leadership for different formats so that their playing load is managed properly and players get extended life to participate and perform at optimum level in modern cricket.

sdfsports@gmail.com