Cricket is the second most popular sport after soccer on the planet with an estimated 2.5 billion following worldwide. Cricket is widely played outside of North America, most notably in the United Kingdom, India, Pakistan and Australia and playing cricket has several surprising health benefits, some of which we’ll go into detail in this article.
Sports are popular for a number of reasons. Recreational purposes or spectator appeal – watching athletes perform inspiring and extraordinary feats – typically make up some of the leading reasons. Another is keeping healthy, for example, which is often cited as one of the main reasons for participating in sports and joining a beer or recreational club league.
Cricket is the second most popular sport after soccer on the planet with an estimated 2.5 billion following worldwide. Hence, it’s also enjoys one of the biggest draws at online sports betting.
Cricket is widely played outside of North America, most notably in the United Kingdom, India, Pakistan and Australia and playing cricket has several surprising health benefits – some of which we’ll go into detail in this article.
Cricket has been established for over a hundred years. It originated in the United Kingdom before spreading to former British colonies. Playing competitive cricket requires a great deal of stamina and mental and physical prowess given that sessions can last for hours. It’s similar to baseball that way which is commonly referred to as America’s national pastime on this side of the Atlantic pond.
Other superficial similarities cricket has to baseball: it involves two teams, a bat, a large field, and scoring runs. That’s as far as the similarities go. The differences involve the type of bat, the field set up and a whole host of rules that make cricket the unique game that it is.
Just like most sports, cricket is played socially and recreationally by both males and females of all ages. Playing cricket can be a lot of fun. Backyards, streets, parks and beaches can serve as a “playing field” for a few friends getting together to play just for fun with only a bat, ball and wickets needed to get the game going. The best bit though, playing cricket can do wonders for your health.
Here we list FOUR benefits that playing cricket can bring to your health.
1. Physical Fitness
Playing cricket can improve physical fitness. Yes, there is a lot of standing around in between bats, but when the action gets going, there’s a lot of movement involved. In fact, the start-stop nature of the game helps burn calories, tone muscles and improve physical fitness. It’s estimated that a person can shed 350 calories per hour when playing cricket, which beats walking aimlessly on the treadmill anytime.
Another benefit is to boost cardiovascular health. Raising the heart beat is the best exercise for the heart as it helps prevent blood vessels from blocking. Also, when the heart pumps extra blood, your lungs pull in even more oxygen which is then supplied to other parts of the body. This leads to improved respiratory system and cognitive health.
2. Endurance, Strength and Stamina
Cricket is a physically demanding sport that involves throwing, pitching, sprinting, running, striking (batting), jumping and catching. Each of these actions requires a person to use different muscle groups in different parts of the body, therefore getting a total body workout that helps build endurance, strength and stamina. Importantly, many of these activities require using some of the biggest muscles in the body or several at one time – such as hamstrings, glutes, back and chest muscles. Working on these main muscle masses in conjunction improves not only endurance, strength and stamina but it also helps to boost one’s metabolic rate.
3. Balance and Coordination
Cricket improves core strength which in turn improves balance and coordination. Throwing, jumping, diving, catching, running, sprinting are all activities that require core strength amongst other physical attributes. Another aspect that is vastly improved with cricket is hand-eye coordination. Being able to react quickly when batting, throwing or catching requires the synchronisation of vision and movement.
4. Mental Health
The benefits of sport to mental health are a topic of great study and debate. Cricket serves to improve mental health in many ways. Whacking a ball – or otherwise referred to as batting – can be a source of cathartic release. Providing a healthy way to destress and get rid of any anger. Playing cricket also provides psychological relief in general from the day-to-day grind, while increasing focus and building self-confidence – all of which are a balm for mental health.