Recent discussions of who should replace David Warner as an opener for Australia have seen suggestions that Cameron Green’s form declined during the Ashes due to tiredness from a heavy workload. This includes two Tests and a few one-dayers in India, followed by a full IPL season.
This has triggered memories of Stuart Broad’s statement that the 2021-22 Ashes should be considered null and void due to the players having to cope with oppressive travel restrictions imposed by COVID. Acting England coach Paul Collingwood also emphasized the heavy workload borne by the England players. The discussion also highlights the workloads of cricketers including Glenn Maxwell, who spent upwards of $30,000 for each day in the field.
Comparisons of Cameron Green’s workload with that of the yesteryear crickets Jacques Kallis and Richard Hadlee were made. Comparing their workloads indicates that Green’s workload was significantly less than that of Kallis and Hadlee.
It was pointed out that cricketers from the southern hemisphere played more games in the past as it was harder to make a living, and they were expected to play full seasons for their domestic provinces alongside and between Tests. For example, Allan Border appeared on the field on 183 days in the year 1986, which nearly doubled Root’s 2021 burden and tripled Green’s last year. He was involved in 11 Tests and 21 ODIs, among other games. When cricket tours and matches needed long travel by sea, cricketers faced absences of six or seven months.
Despite the evolution of cricket and the hardships faced by cricketers in the past, modern players might still succumb to feelings of fatigue.