Dad's Army not on the run

November 25, 2006

Scientists say Warne and co are good until age 40 at least, writes Andrew Stevenson.

ASHES cricket has often been cast in the image of the two nations - youthful, vibrant Australia against the silver-topped experience of England. This summer it could not be less true with Australia fielding its oldest XI since 1929.

More than half the team are in what's been considered - until now - cricket's veteran class, with Matthew Hayden, Damien Martyn and Adam Gilchrist all 35, Justin Langer and Glenn McGrath 36 and Shane Warne, 37.

Retirement is urged upon them from most quarters, with the expectation that age will call time on their careers if they don't do so first. But not from the scientists. Quite the contrary - those who have studied the body and mind of cricketers find no reason for this legion of champions to pack away their whites.

"Middle age to me is probably 10 years older than the Australian cricket team," said Damian Farrow, who holds a doctorate in motor expertise and works on skills acquisition at the Australian Institute of Sport. He sees no reason why 40-year-olds can't hold sway in the Test team.

"From my point of view, from the skills side, there's not really any reason to suggest they will decline to a point where they can't do what they've got to do - make runs and take wickets."

Farrow acknowledges reaction times do decline from about age 20. "But it's not noticeable until your hit your fifties, when your nervous system is starting to slow," he explained.

The thing is, however, that batsmen - whatever their age - don't have enough time to rely on their reflexes anyway. A fast bowler, such as England's Steve Harmison delivering the ball at nearly 150 kmh, allows a batsman only 0.4 seconds to play a shot. But a batsman needs 0.9 seconds to get his feet, his mind and his bat working in proper organisation.

The only way to make the equation work is by utilising the sharpest powers of intuition.

"If you look at a batsman, it's their ability to anticipate where the quick is going to put the delivery. They're looking at clues from the bowler, probabilities - and the fact they've got extensive past experience is almost certainly an advantage," said Farrow.

Sean Muller, a sports scientist at Melbourne's RMIT University, has designed a system to identify how batsman make their decisions in time to play the ball.

Time is of the essence and youth won't help you get it. In fact, it takes several years to develop the enhanced perceptual skills that separate elite cricketers from the backyard variety.

"What they need to do is gain time, and to do that you need to read what the bowler is doing before the ball is in flight," Muller said. "Certainly, their reaction time is not an issue, and my guess is these players may actually be improving."

Eyes won't pull up your career, said David Southgate, an optometrist who has worked with cricketers. "You hear stories of guys saying their eyes are gone, but I don't believe that's the case," he said. "Anyway, it's more than eyesight - it's your perception that's most important, and that should actually improve as time goes on."

His only query is of the body's ability to respond. "Whether they're as able to do what they need to do about what they see, that could be a different story," Southgate said.

But the man who knows the bodies of this crop of cricketing greats better than they do themselves - former long-time Cricket Australia physiotherapist Errol Alcott - says the older batsmen, in particular, are still "cruising around".

Wear and tear on soft tissue and joints is an inevitable consequence of years of playing and practice, but this can be managed, he suggested, with bowlers shouldering a much heavier load. "Theoretically, batsmen should be able to be around a lot longer. As the bowlers say, it's a batsman's game," said Alcott.

"Any man in the street will tell you it's harder to get up in the morning when you're 40 than when you're 22. Your body undergoes change - even if you keep yourself in exemplary physical condition. People know. They get up in the morning and they go, 'I don't want to go through this grind anymore'."

Alcott is convinced 40 is no barrier to Warne. "I could see him doing it quite easily. He's an extraordinary example of survival," he said. "I know Glenn McGrath would love to bowl when he's 40, whether he can I don't know. Shane Warne, if he's got the desire, the ambition, I would think he could definitely do it."

As to the batsmen, Alcott is convinced the mind is the final frontier. "If they can keep their eye in, I don't think their bodies are going to plague them at all. It's just mentally, if they want it, if they can keep that burning desire going."

Former AIS senior psychologist Gavin Freeman acknowledges age as a debilitating factor in most other sports, but says the ability to be patient and to work to a game plan should work in the older cricketer's favour.

"The longer you've done something, the better you do it and the more of an expert you become at the task. You've [already] seen most situations that present themselves," he said.

"If you needed five runs off the last over and you had the choice between the oldest player, provided he had the skill level, or the youngest, you'd take the oldest any day - even if he had a pot belly and a few grey hairs."

Mark Waugh, who played his last Test at 37, batted on for NSW for two more seasons.

"Only in the last year or two was there a bit of a slow-down in my speed in the field, my flexibility - but nothing too major," he said. "Age is irrelevant, to a certain degree - it's how your mind is, what your attitude is, if you're still keen and fresh, still have the desire to churn out the runs day-in, day-out."

This summer should answer a few questions. If they could survive England, the ageing blades might make a couple more summers yet, Waugh suggested.

"It's a fine line between being at the top of your game and just below and, depending on the opposition, it can make a bit of a difference," he said.

The man at the crease may spot that himself and walk. The pull of family may finally become too strong. Or, as Waugh - like countless other players before have found - the gang of four might load the pistol. You can argue with father time; with selectors, it's pointless.

