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Everything you need to know about the health benefits of Cricket
Also known as the beautiful game or the gentleman’s game, cricket is one of the most popular sports in the world. The game isn’t bound to a specific age, gender, or culture but can be played by any individual who has a passion for sports.
The game originally initiated from England and is now played in different countries from Asia, Europe, and other parts of the world as well. Countries like England, Australia, New Zealand, India, and Pakistan are some of the popular cricketing nations at the moment.
One of the good things about cricket is that it can be played both competitively and informally as well. All you need is a pair of stumps, a bat and a suitable cricket ball to get started in the game. Furthermore, you may require a good group of players and a place to play which could be a street, a park, or even your own backyard.
However, to play competitively or professionally, you may need to join a cricket club or a cricket academy.
Health Benefits of Playing Cricket
Keeping its entertainment nature aside, cricket has some really good physical and mental health benefits that you might be unaware of.
A regular cricket match requires you to be fit, mentally present, and also be strong in your hand-eye synchronization skills. Moreover, it requires good speed, patience, and basic ball-handling skills so that you can run between the wickets as well as catch or throw the ball.
Here are some physical cricket health benefits that you must know:
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Increase in stamina and motor skills
Whether you are on the batting side or on the fielding side, you are always required to run. This naturally increases your stamina and also adds more to your physical strength.
Cricket consists of activities such as bowling, batting, and fielding that ensure that a person’s larger muscles are running constantly. Such actions give a big boost to one’s motor skills.
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Body flexibility and balance
The game requires movement from your core body muscles. There is plenty of abdominal function in terms of playing strokes or fielding the ball. With such movements involved, our body develops stability and rhythm that enables us to move fast.
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Mastering Hand-Eye Coordination
One of the best cricket health benefits is that you get to enhance your hand-eye coordination. Imagine getting a Yorker straight on your toes or a quick catch on the cover position, you need to react quickly. For this, an individual requires excellent hand-eye coordination skills which are automatically developed by playing cricket.
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Physical Fitness Enhanced
A sport that requires you to run and stretch your muscles is bound to speed up your physical fitness levels.
Let’s take a look at some of the mental health benefits of cricket:
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Elementary Social Skills
A game of cricket involves communication, cooperation, and a lot of concentration from each player. When a certain player starts to get his/her head in the game, the mind automatically sharpens. The individual learns how to perform under pressure and to analyze any stressful situation during a match.
Moreover, there is a significant increase in the mental capability of the player. This helps in coping with both winning and losing circumstances.
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Team Building
Cricket is a team sport. Each team has 11 players that are constantly coordinating over strategies and important decisions on the cricket field. This develops trust, unity, and fluidity between each player of the team, leading them to learn important teamwork skills.
A player individually isn’t that confident and motivated without the support of his/her teammates. When playing as a group, players generally feel more accomplished and motivated to win.
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Collective Interaction
One of the best things about cricket is that it helps you make new friends in the field. Any individual playing the game gets to meet new people and interact with them even outside the game premises.
Precautions to take
To make the best of out of cricket health benefits, it is important for you to follow some precautionary measures given below:
- Always take a warm-up session before playing.
- Apply protective sunglasses, sunscreen, and other medications when needed.
- Wear protective equipment such as gloves, guards, pads, and, a helmet.
- Keep hydrated and don’t overexert your body on the field.
If you follow the guidelines given above, you can certainly enjoy the health benefits of playing cricket.