What should cricketers eat on match days? | Cricket coaching, fitness and tips

What should cricketers eat on match days?

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strawberries.jpgOne of the most common questions I get asked about cricket nutrition is: "what should I eat on playing days?"
While there is a simple template, it's a difficult question to answer. Players have different nutritional needs and play longer or shorter versions of the games. That said, there are certain things everyone can do to make sure they are getting the right fuel at the right time.

  1. Don't wait until match day to eat well. Follow the 10 rules of good cricket nutrition all week, not just on Saturdays.
  2. Have access to a steady supply of energy. It's important to keep your body supplied with enough blood glucose. Snack regularly and use energy/recovery drinks through the day.
  3. Don't try to carb load. Stocking up on excess pasta, bread, potatoes and cereal is not needed and can lead to problems.

So what does a typical English club cricket day (assuming a 2pm start with tea around 5pm) look like if you follow these rules? Something like this:

Match Day Nutrition

  BatBatF BwlBatF BatBwlF BwlBwlF
Break Anytime Anytime Anytime Anytime
11am Anytime Anytime Anytime Anytime
1pm Snack Drink Drink Drink
2pm Drink None Drink Drink
4pm Drink Drink Drink Drink
5pm Tea Tea Tea Tea
6pm Drink Drink Drink None
8pm Drink Drink Drink Drink
Dinn PWO PWO PWO PWO


Key:

  • BatBatF - Top 6 batsman with the team batting first.
  • BwlBatF - Front line bowler with the team batting first.
  • BatBwlF - Top 6 batsman with the team bowling first.
  • BwlBwlF - Front line bowler with the team bowling first.
  • Anytime - A whole food meal that follows the 10 rules.
  • Snack - A bar or meal replacement shake that contains protein, good fats and good quality carbs.
  • Drink - A workout/recovery/sports drink that contains carbs, low to zero fat and ideally protein.
  • Tea - A whole food meal or snack that follows the 10 rules and contains good quality carbs.
  • PWO - A whole food meal that follows the 10 rules for after exercise.

You can replace a drink with a snack at any point if you feel you have the time to eat it. Like you have already batted or are unlikely to bat. For an example of a snack take a look here.
Remember this is flexible depending on where you bat and bowl and how much chance you have to eat or drink. This is just a framework to customise rather than a hard and fast rule.
For more snacks and meals that are easy to prepare, pick up a copy of Precision Nutrition.

 

© Copyright miSport Holdings Ltd 2008

 

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Comments

[...] What should cricketers eat on match days?By David HinchliffeBatBatF - Top 6 batsman with the team batting first. BwlBatF - Front line bowler with the team batting first. BatBwlF - Top 6 batsman with the team bowling first. BwlBwlF - Front line bowler with the team bowling first. …Play Better Cricket - Harrowdrive.com - http://www.pitchvision.com [...]

[...] What to eat on match days [...]

Thanks this comment's author. i like also than tea very much. Black tea, gren tea and ETC. But i like more much than turkish tea from turkish glass. really very nice it is. You cant trying it

[...] on an exercise bike might wake your system up in the morning. Otherwise focus on the match. Get the right fuel ready, make sure you have a cougar like warm up and cool down after you have batted or been in the [...]

what do you have to eat in match days??? Laughing out loud

I'm not sure I understand the question friend.

Hi

How do you improve your stamina?

Thanks

Running, Cycling, Rowing for a long period of time?

Although I don't think cricketers need to have a particularly high level of endurance... I think it's much better for cricketers to work on interval training doing sprints... as if you think about it, cricketers sprint alot (sprinting after a ball, running a quick single) more than running for a long period of time?

Agreed Ty, it's more about building an ability to recover quickly. However, eating right can improve stamina too.

hi,
we play T20 matches which start at 7am. I'm only able to have one short meal before the match. What should I eat before the match and during it (if anything)??

7am? eep! I's go for something light first thing like scrambled eggs then top it up with a workout drink just before play.

This is not true, you should eat salan roti and mathai

Hi iam ravi from ajmer we play t20 matches before the match we eat 2 bananas and energy drink and after first innings then we eat again bananas and energy drink . but what can i eat before the match please tell me.