“Carrying too much weight”: Are Aussie cricketers unfit?

While viewing the Ashes over the summer, Kane Cornes noticed something peculiar about the Australian Test squad – they are unfit!

He explained that he had this realisation multiple times throughout series, causing him to question the conditioning of the Aussies.

“I was watching the Aussie cricketers throughout the summer and thinking they're not that fit,” Cornes admitted on SEN Breakfast.

“I had that thought a number of times.”

Cornes continued by going into detail on the players who he believed weren’t up to standard.

“Nathan Lyon's not fit enough - he's carrying too much weight, and he's at a point in his career where if he wants to play until he’s 40, he’s got to get himself in shape,” Cornes said.

“Travis Head’s out of shape, there’s no doubt about that - we can sweep that under the rug when you're in form, but when you're not, you start to look at everything.

“Steve Smith – he doesn't look like he's in shape at all.

The former AFL player did admit however, that “the bowlers look magnificent.”

When trying to reason why this noticeable level of unfitness is the case in the Australian Test squad, Cornes stated that he believes it is because there is an “old school mentality about cricket”, leaving the physical side of the sport lacking compared to other codes.

“It tells me that there's still an old school mentality about cricket, that the physical side of it hasn't caught up yet… It will at some point,” Cornes reasoned.

“There will be a new generation of cricketer that comes through that takes this stuff so seriously and they get themselves in ripping shape - it'll definitely add to their durability and their ability to play all formats.

“I still think they're miles away from catching up to other sports in terms of the way that they physically prepare themselves.”

Cornes continued by reassuring that he wasn't fat shaming anyone but was simply advising the cricketers on the risks of not looking after your body.

“We're not fat shaming at all, we love everything about Travis Head, and there's almost a legendary factor about that,” Cornes admitted.

“But if I were advising him, as he gets older, I think he's gonna have to start taking that stuff just a little bit more seriously.

“It'll catch up with you, like it's catching up with Nathan Lyon - pops his calf, pops his hammy - there's definitely a lack of conditioning there.

“I don't want the same to happen to Travis, and I think he'll start to learn that as he gets a bit older.”