Sunny Saturday afternoons playing cricket wouldn't be the same without the weak orange cordial served up halfway through an innings.

But it should be different.

You see, while squash is a great way to get fluids and sugar into your body it's certainly not going to give you the edge.

Getting the edge

Cricket is a sport based on power through hitting, sprinting or throwing/bowling. That means you can't waste time building up your endurance through fitness training. However, you do need endurance and fast recovery (especially if you are playing more than once a week) to perform at your best to the last ball.

You can get this through what you drink before, during and after the game.

Dr. John Berardi also believes that the right drink during the match can also improve your reactions, sprint speed and accuracy both batting and bowling. And he knows his stuff.

Avoiding drinking or sticking to the supplied orange flavoured water just doesn't cut it if you are serious about improving your game.

What is in the ideal cricket performance drink?

I have searched long and hard for the answer to that question and tried quite a few different drinks to see what gives the best results. I have found the ideal drink must:

1. Contain water for hydration.
2. Be able to sit in the sunshine and not go off.
3. Contain fast acting carbohydrates for recovery and endurance.
4. Taste good or you won't drink it.
5. Contain fast acting protein for recovery, retention of power and performance enhancement.

There are plenty of ways to get this balance. You could make it yourself or even compromise a little with chocolate milk. But I wanted something that hit the mark. For me that's a workout drink called Cytofuse.

Why Cytofuse for cricketers?

• It fits the profile above perfectly for optimum cricket performance.
• American coach Mike Boyle personally recommended the product as he uses for his teams. Mike loves it so much he has it as a spray drink in his training facility for elite athletes.
• Carl from Myonova explains Cytofuse in detail on the FitCast (take a listen yourself).
• You can also use it as a post workout or training drink too.
• It's easy to mix with water and go.
• I recommend it to all senior teams and players I coach (including the North Gear Select XI) as I can see the results when combined with quality training.

How to get Cytofuse

After trying to get it in the UK I decided to contact the makers of Cytofuse.

Myonova don't sell directly but I'll be ordering in large quantities to supply myself and the people I am involved with.

As a harrowdrive reader who wants to get the best from your cricket I want to offer you the chance to get the cricket performance drink for the first time.

Would you like to give Cytofuse a try and boost your performance this season? I will add some to my order for you. contact me for pricing and flavour choices. I'll be buying in bulk so will be able to get it to you for a great rate.