A randomized controlled trial on the effectiveness of pilates training on physical components in cricketers

Introduction
Cricket is considered as one of the most intense game as it requires several hours of vigorous body movements for which quick reflexes, good strength, speed and power are the main pillars. Pilates is a series of exercises which helps in improvement of core muscle strength that further contribute in controlled movement of extremities, good posture, speed, power and balance. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Pilates training program on physical components in aspiring state level cricket players.

Material and methods
State level aspiring 39 male cricket players aging between 18-30 years were included in this study which were randomly divided into two groups. Participants in control group (n=19) performed only conventional exercises while in experimental group (n=20) participants performed Pilates exercises along with conventional exercises 3 times/week for 6 weeks. The outcome measures for both groups were evaluated at baseline and at the end of 6 weeks which included upper and lower abdominal muscle strength, Speed,Hamstring muscle flexibility, Agility and Power.

Results
Results of the study showed that both groups improved significantly (p<0.05) at the end of the 6th week but experimental group showed more improvement in core muscle strength, hamstring flexibility, agility, speed and power when compared to control group (p<0.05).

Conclusions
The study concluded that pilates training is an effective method for improvement in physical components such as abdominal muscle strength, hamstring muscle flexibility, agility, speed and power in cricket players. This may further enhance the performance of cricket players.