@Rugby Players: doesn’t it hurt to wear it so tight? For that matter, T20 stars too!

I have had this question run randomly through my head earlier too. This was when watching one of the many T20 leagues in Australia. For some reason, it seemed that cricketing gear had become too tight for 20-something people to fit-in while everyone seemed so muscular, as if biceps are responsible for bowling quick. 

Later, when I changed to other sports channels, there were some rugby matches being broadcast and the story was very similar here but with some major differences—the RBS is among the most loyal of ruby tournament sponsors. I was watching an RBS tournament featuring England and France. I have always adored the physique of these guys. They are built like warriors. It seems like they are pounding each other all the time or the green ground beneath them. The scars on their faces seem so genuine, almost like embellishments for the trade that employs them.

Unlike people who have cosmetic muscles gained through pills and supplements, rugby workouts are all about strength and endurance conditioning. However, I still don’t understand their obsessions with wearing their uniforms so tight. I understand that it helps to keep the protective organs between the thighs always cocooned but seriously, when you have run so hard and constantly wrestle out of hurdles, do you have to wear so gravely suffocating shorts and uppers?

Now, back to the cricketers. These bat-swinging superstars don’t seem to realize that cricket is a very different sport no matter what T20 purists say about the game’s future. Fast bowlers need to be nimble, spinners need to have some guile while a wicket-keeper cannot afford to have huge shoulders or squat-perfected thighs. Cricket is not about brute strength. You might have exceptions like Chris Cairns and Andrew Symonds but look what happened to their cricketing careers – both seem lost forever, with the cause of their highly interrupted career never given an impetus by gym training. 

Both had imposing physiques but unlike Matthew Hayden who was more into endurance training, they did not have what it takes to last in the game for a decade. Athletically progressive sports and those that thrive on muscle power can afford just tightly fitted apparels but you don’t want a Federer in tees so tight that every volley seems to make his body maneuver the bones and joints!