The Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 was recently being played on Australian soil and cricket fans all over the world were overjoyed. Cricket is one of the most popular sports around the planet; almost every cricket lover has heard the legendary tales of Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar, and many other brilliant players that showed their extraordinary bowling and batting skills on the pitch.
As much as it’s fun to play, it also has more benefits than you can imagine!
Here are some physical and psychological health benefits of playing cricket that everyone needs to know.
Builds Better Hand-Eye Coordination
Well, it’s no secret that almost every life task requires hand-eye coordination. Whether you’re typing on a laptop or cutting vegetables while cooking, you have to have good hand eye coordination to ensure you don’t hurt yourself. However, some people find it difficult to coordinate their hand eye movements. Are you one of those people? Try playing cricket!
Cricket is truly an all-in-one sport as it offers many health benefits and develops multiple skills. One of the most significant benefits of playing cricket regularly is that it allows you to build better hand-eye coordination. Batsmen are required to keep an eye on the fielders and the ball to play a well-timed shot. In the same way, keepers and fielders have to move constantly while keeping an eye on the ball to catch the ball.
Cricket is all about multi-tasking which allows cricketers to develop better hand-eye coordination.
Improves Stamina and Endurance
Even though cricket has some shorter formats like T20 cricket matches, which include 20 overs per inning, cricketers still have to play plenty of ODIs and Test matches. An ODI match, also called a one-day match, has 50 overs per innings. As the name suggests, this match lasts almost a whole day. On the other hand, a test match lasts for 5 continuous days, with nighttime breaks. These numbers are enough to indicate that cricket players have loads of stamina and endurance to play the game.
During the match, players, especially fielders, are constantly moving, which builds stamina. This stamina prevents cricket players from getting tired easily during the match. In addition, running on the field, diving to stop the opposing team from hitting boundaries, and sprinting to bowl a Yorker to the batsman builds their endurance. Most cricket players are used to minor injuries and endure them easily.
Burns Calories
Are you looking for a quick yet fun exercise that can help you get back in shape quickly? If yes, you need to wear your helmet and grab a bat or ball and start playing cricket. Cricket is the ideal full-body workout for beginners. Since you’re moving constantly, your body burns a lot of calories, allowing you to reach your desired fitness level in no time. Just one hour of bowling and batting can help you burn around 350 calories.
In addition, you might be surprised to know that professional cricket players stick to an even stricter diet and exercise regime to stay in shape. Besides regular practice, county or country-level cricket players have to eat healthily and train with exercise equipment, even when they aren’t playing matches. In the cricket world, coaches and selectors choose fit players to be on squads, which encourages players to stay active and in shape.
Strengthens Muscles
Another health benefit of playing cricket is that it will help you build mass and strengthen many core muscles. Cricket players have to exercise during practice sessions which allows them to have stronger muscles. In addition, during a cricket match, players are constantly running and crouching behind the wickets, working various leg muscles.
In the same way, throwing the ball to the batsman or other fielders works the arm muscles. Batsmen are supposed to put a lot of strength into hitting the ball beyond the boundary, which strengthens their arms, elbows, and shoulders. Having a good grip on the ball and bat is also essential for a decent cricket player, and the grip works the hand muscles and fingers.
In addition, with constant and flexible movement, the muscle mass length also increases. This prevents multiple major injuries.
Improves Cardiovascular Health
Since playing cricket gives players a full-body workout, it shouldn’t be surprising that playing this sport can improve your cardiovascular health. However, unlike other physical activities and some extreme sports that can increase your heart rate manifold and can negatively affect your heart health, playing the sport regulates your heart rate.
Playing cricket means that you experience evenly-distanced heart rate-increasing peaks. These peaks are followed by a small recouping duration that positively impacts your heart health. Also, the timely heart spike prevents your arteries and veins from being blocked in the long run, which leads to good heart health.
Helps You Stay Active and Mentally Healthy
In this digital era where people stick to a working schedule or spend a lot of time on electronic gadgets, it’s essential to participate in activities that allow you to step out and move your body as much as possible. Playing cricket allows you to be physically active, which improves your mental health.
In addition, constant activity reduces your risk of getting different diseases like type 2 diabetes and lowers your cholesterol level. It also improves your ability to do different daily life activities more efficiently. Participating in physical activities like cricket also lowers stress and anxiety.
Learn About High-Quality Cricket Gear
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