England players take the Yo-Yo Test; who is the fittest England cricketer?
What’s the story?
Ahead of the big Test series against India, the England cricketers took up the grueling Yo-Yo Test. To everyone’s surprise, 33-year-old Alastair Cook passed the test with flying colours and after the test, he also ran for more than 3 kilometres during the much-hyped Yo-Yo Test while the others opted to take a break.
In case you didn’t know…
The Yo-Yo Test has been introduced in Indian cricket recently and while it has created headlines in India with players being axed if they fail the test, countries like England, Australia and a few others have been practising it for quite some time now. It has become a part and parcel of almost every cricketing nation in recent times.
England and New Zealand have a benchmark of 19 which was the same for Australia a couple of years back before they dropped the test. Sri Lanka and Pakistan have kept it at 17.4 while India have the lowest benchmark score of 16.1.
The Details
While players like Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Jason Roy and a few others seem to be in great shape and are among the most athletic men on the field, Alastair Cook has gone past them easily and beat them in the Yo-Yo Test. Not only this time, the former England skipper has won the test for the last few years and has been among the fittest English cricketers going around.
In a video published by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), Cook is seen sprinting hard and Jonny Bairstow revealed that Cook is the best when it comes to the grueling Yo-Yo Test and has been beating everyone for many years now.
What’s next?
Alastair Cook will be a vital member in England’s quest to win back the Pataudi Trophy after they lost it in India in 2016. He will play a key role at the top of the order and look to give England some solid starts. The first Test begins on August 1 at Edgbaston.