Training

Training is the work a squad does between matches to improve or maintain its skills, and the lever a manager pulls to develop players.

Real squads split sessions between batting in the nets, bowling, fielding drills, strength and conditioning, and rest. What a player works on shapes what he becomes: a batter drilled against the short ball gets better at it; a bowler who spends the week on his yorker lands more of them on Saturday. How hard the squad trains matters as much. Heavy sessions produce bigger gains but they also tire players out, and a tired fast bowler is the one who breaks down. The sports scientists who manage this talk about acute and chronic load, and the principle is simple: build fitness gradually and back off before a big match.

The manager's decision is therefore two-dimensional: what to focus on, and how hard to push. Young players with potential respond most to training; veterans train mainly to hold their level. During a crowded run of fixtures, the right call is often to train light and rotate instead.

In Masterstroke: pick a focus and an intensity for each session. Hard weeks lift ratings and drain the legs, and tired players get hurt.