I'm increasingly becoming a fan of core training. Not as some odd gimmick for gyms to use their Swiss balls, but as a way of teaching yourself to generate more speed and power for cricket.

That means doing core (or trunk or pillar) training in the right way: A way that allows you to transfer power from the "toes to the fingertips".

It's a way that we as cricketers can learn from the world of baseball.

In this excellent article on core training for baseball, John Doyle debunks the myths around core fitness. Replace baseball with cricket and the principles are almost identical.

Read the article in full for the explanations:

1. Only Training The Rectus Abdominals
2. Not Having Constant Variety
3. Staying On The Floor
4. Not Focusing On Specific Movement Patterns, Not Muscles.
5. Lack of Torso Flexibility
6. Not Including Rotation Work
7. Never Using Low Rep Work

As a cricketer, if you are not ensuring you have core training as part of your plan then you are missing a large part of the jigsaw for power, speed and coordination.

So in your next warm up make sure you are ready to get your core activated and strong in the right way.

If you want a more comprehensive guide to reducing injury risk and increasing cricket specific fitness, check out county strength coach Rob Ahmun's guide on PitchVision Academy.