No beeps. No shuttle runs. Just 1,600 metres of open track and a ticking watch.
That is how Bangladesh’s cricketers are being tested these days.
Fitness coach Nathan Kelly, in the job for 18 months now, has moved the national squad away from the old Yo-Yo and beep tests.
In their place — a simple, brutal “time trial.” One run, no breaks. This week in Mirpur, the Asia Cup preliminary squad got their turn.
Nahid Rana made it look easy. The quick finished in 5 minutes 31 seconds, the only man rated “elite” by Kelly’s system. Most of the others were filed under “satisfactory.”
Why the change? Kelly shrugged when asked on Tuesday at Mirpur.
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“You don’t need any equipment. A track, or even the grass on a cricket field, will do,” he said. That makes it easier to run for domestic players too, which is why he’s planning the same test before the local season kicks off.
But there’s another reason.
“The clock doesn’t lie,” Kelly said. “With the Yo-Yo or beep, sometimes a guy just falls short, and it’s hard to stop him and say, ‘You’re done.’ Here, you have your time and that’s it. In my experience, the ones who pass those tests pass this too. The ones who don’t, fail here as well.”
Kelly is quick to say it’s not the whole story.
“Some players might not run well but are the strongest in the gym,” he said. “We look at all of it — what they’re good at, what needs work.”