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From left: Podiatry Dr. Nicholas Sprenger, Sri Lanka Cricket High Performance Training and Rehabilitation Manager Nirmalan Thanabalasingam, Sri Lanka Cricket CEO Ashley de Silva and High Performance Manager Simon Willis – Pic byLasantha Kumara
By Madushka Balasuriya
Sri Lanka Cricket has turned to the assistance of Australian Podiatrist Dr. Nicholas Sprenger in a bid to help reduce the “unusually high” number of injuries suffered by members of the national team recently, the national cricket body announced yesterday.
“Identifying an unusually high incidence of injuries plaguing the national performance squads (NPS) of Sri Lanka, the Executive Committee of SLC contracted the services of Sprenger, who has in sessions spanning over 30 minutes each, assessed individual players through passive, active & dynamic testing,” SLC said in a press release.
Sprenger, who is one of the Gold Coast’s most respected Podiatrists practising in all aspects of conservative care of the foot and ankle, believes some Sri Lankan cricketers are more prone to leg injuries due to their genetic makeup. This problem is possibly exacerbated by the regular use of flip-flops, commonly used in warmer climates such as Sri Lanka, he added.
“When it comes to my home country of Australia, where their legs are quite straight, they do have flat feet but predominantly when we see the Sri Lankan cricketers they’re bow legged (meaning your knees stay wide apart even when your ankles are together). As a result of this, as well as their flat feet, a lot of stress fractures in their shins are noted,” stated Sprenger at a media briefing yesterday.
“One of the big things when we’re trying to control people’s behaviour of feet is that you have got to wear shoes, so a starting point when it comes to rehabilitation is to start getting players to wear shoes more regularly.
“Number two with orthotics is though that helps with players who have flat feet - which a big percentage of them do - and we’re seeing a lot of stress and bone stress in the lower limb that can be and should be largely preventable.”
Among the recent high profile injuries, Kusal Perera and Chamara Kapugedera both left the recently concluded Champions Trophy early after picking up hamstring and knee injuries respectively, while Captain Angelo Mathews has long been dogged by hamstring and calf issues. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s fast bowling contingent is only just regaining match fitness, most of them having long been sidelined by various leg and lower back related niggles.
Sprenger’s solution to this issue is the use of customised Orthotics, which are devices that are worn to correct foot and ankle problems without surgery, that are moulded using the shape of players feet and then inserted into their shoes to be used as a flexible yet firm insole. SLC hope that by paying closer attention to the foot and ankle, any problems arising further up, from the leg to the lower back, can be mitigated.
“One of the things with Podiatry is that we’re a small part of the body, but in saying that it does have quite significant effects on the body. The foot and ankle leads to the leg, and that of course leads to your thigh, and up to your hips. So at the end of the day you have got to realise that if your foot is not working that well it can have lot of effects,” added Sprenger.
Long-term benefits
Despite Sprenger being brought on as a consultant, SLC repeatedly refused to divulge the exact cost of his involvement, only revealing that it was a “worth the expense”.
The use of podiatry is common among cricketing nations, with SLC High Performance Manager revealing the extent of its use during his time in England. SLC also released a quote from Sri Lanka fast bowling consultant Chaminda Vaas supporting its use.
“I experienced firsthand the value of corrective orthotics and am very happy to see SLC investing once again in these important areas, that had been neglected for so long, as they will reap immense benefit to the players not only in the short term, but in the long run as well,” said the former Sri Lankan fast bowler.
However, it was made clear that the complete benefits of the use of Orthotics and podiatry would only be reaped in the long-term.
“It is a big investment, and it is an investment that will show us results - not tomorrow, and it would be really be hard to put it in numbers as to what that investments going to do for our players - but that is, I think, our key going forward - to look forward, than to look for quick fixes,” explained SLC High Performance Training and Rehabilitation Manager Nirmalan Thanabalasingam.
“[Sprenger’s] expertise is going to help us improve the high performance culture in Sri Lanka Cricket, which is the big thing we’re trying to do here. The high performance culture is addressing all those little factors we may have glossed over in the past, in order to improve our performance, reduce our injury risk, and give our players the best chance of putting consistent performances together.”
Mahela Jayawardene has moved to distance himself from reports linking him to the vacant India head coach position despite admitting to being “flattered” by the speculation.
Taking to social media site Twitter, the former Sri Lanka Captain fell short of completely ruling out a move in the future, but stated that he was “completely focused” on his part-time coaching posts at this point in time.
“Flattered by speculation linking me to India coaching job but I am not looking at full-time positions right now,” tweeted the former Sri Lanka Captain.
“I am completely focused on current commitments with MI and Khulna,” he added in a subsequent tweet.
Jayawardene’s stock in the coaching arena has risen considerably in the past few months after he led the Mumbai Indians to the 2017 IPL title in his debut season coaching the franchise. That result led to him signing on as head coach of BPL franchise Khulna Titans for the next two seasons.
