When a coach with the reputation of Ian Pont comes up with a new training product you listen to what he has to say. In this case it's the Dura-band Cricket trainer. So is it any good?

To find out I'm going to review it in two parts. This first part will be based on my opnions on what I think the product is capable of. The second part is to put it to the test with a real cricketer.

But before that, let's look at Dura-band Cricket in more detail.

The product arrived in a mesh bag with an array of implements that look like they might have been used in medieval times to torture prisoners. In fact it's a set of large rubber bands that have a variety of attachments for different ways to train.

Two of those attachments include a familiar looking cricket ball and something that is quite similar to a cricket bat handle that has no bat attached to it: More on those later. You also get a neat instruction book with all the usual warnings about seeing your doctor before starting an exercise program, as well as some suggestions for how to use it.

The whole thing is small and portable enough to be carried around and stored easily. It could easily go into a cricket bag stuffed with kit or be taken to the gym with your towel.

The basic idea works on progressive overload. The bands offer increasing resistance so you can gradually make the exercise harder as your body adapts to it. You can use the bands in two ways:

1. General exercises to improve strength and flexibility.
2. Copying the movements of bowling and batting but with added resistance to make the exercises specific. So for example you can attach the bat handle

The benefits of increased strength and power (either general or specific) mean that the bands will directly help you to reduce your chance of injury, play at full intensity for longer and produce more power for fast bowling or batting.

I've not used these bands as part of a training plan before. I do have reservations about whether using band can directly improve cricket performance.

Bands have become popular in recent years in gyms but before that they were used as rehabilitation tools by physiotherapists. They work well in this area because people coming back from injury are very weak so the bands have a chance to have a training effect. Now imagine a young bowler who is injury free using the same band. Their muscles are stronger so the training effect is greatly reduced right away. Even the strongest band would become too easy quite quickly when used for general training.

You could say that's not a problem, just use standard resistance training for general work and the bands for 'sport specific' style movements such as the bowling action or batting shots.

However, there is a risk in doing this. Cricket movements are not balanced. We don't bowl or throw with both hands. We bat with one hand dominating the other. Over time this movement imbalance leads to differences in strength and mobility between the left and right hand sides of our body.

For cricket this is no problem. It's just our body adapting, as it always does, to the stress we are putting on it. For injury prevention this is a disaster. Research has shown that as little a 15% difference between left and right sides can dramatically increase your chances of injury.

On top of this, the added resistance to these movements may not be enough to improve strength but might be enough to alter technique. If you have ever thrown a heavy object you know you have to 'heave' it whereas a cricket shot is more of a smooth swing.

The take home point is this: applying resistance to cricket movements is risky.

The fact is these bands have not been tested in a live cricket environment means that before we can decide either way on the product we need to test it.

The good news is that, with the PitchVision system, we can test a player's performance before and after using Duraband Cricket. If the performance improves we have a winning product.

Stay tuned to miCricketCoach to find out more.

I was recently lucky enough to meet former Test umpire Ken Palmer and hear about the games he was in charge of. One common thread to his tales was that the best bowlers always knew how to work with the umpire.

Bowling is tough and I can imagine that sometimes you think the umpire is out to get you. Umpires don't cheat though. They just want to be fair. They much prefer a bowler who is prepared to work with them because it makes their job easier. The good news is that if you make their job easier, they tend to do the same for you.

Of course, the man in white is not going to cheat for you, but if he trusts and likes you then you may be able to gain a small advantage. Here are some ways you can do that:

Appealing only when you think it's out is a good general rule of thumb. Umpires soon get fed up with bowler's who appeal for everything, even when it's pitched outside leg stump.

If you do appeal and the umpire gives it not out you might get upset or want to grumble. Complaining get you nowhere though. Keep quiet and make a polite enquiry at the end of the over. The umpire doesn't have to justify himself, but the better ones will tell you briefly what they thought. You might even offer an explanation yourself to show you understand the umpires position.

It might seem obvious to say, but we can forget to be polite to umpires, especially in the heat of battle. However, taking a moment to say 'please or 'thank you' can go a long way with an umpire.

Also, no matter how poor you think an umpires decision making is, never try to get them into a discussion. Umpires are there to decide and once the decision is made there is no going back. The only thing arguing can bring is a penalty from an overly-officious umpire.

As you play more with certain umpires they will get to know your reputation. If you are a bowler who bowls a lot of no-ball the umpire will probably be extra aware of your front foot. If you bowl straight and from close the stumps he will know you are more likely to get LBW shouts.

If you know your strengths and weaknesses you know how much you can appeal based on the umpires view of you.

Really, it's just advanced common sense to do these things, but at the very least you will enjoy your cricket more if you are working with an umpire instead of against him.

image credit: bored@work