Sydney: Ahead of the upcoming five-match Ashes rubber, a group of Australia batsmen have turned to Jamaican sprint legend Usain Bolt to improve their running between the wickets.
The just-retired Jamaican athlete is said to have passed on tips to improve their “explosiveness” off the mark.
“It’s all about explosiveness, and that’s one thing I’ve noticed with cricket — they don’t really have a lot of explosiveness when they’re running,” Bolt was quoted as saying by the Herald Sun newspaper.
“They seem to always take off at a slow rate. Getting that right will definitely help people.”
Batsman Peter Handscomb, who is preparing hard for the opening Test at the Gabba in Brisbane from November 23, said Bolt gave them a few pointers on running a bit faster.
“He was giving us a few pointers on how to get a little bit faster,” Handscomb said.
“We’ll give it a crack. He was trying to get us nice and low in the turn and in and out. The first couple of steps are key and if we can get them right, we’ll be fast.
“Obviously he’s the fastest man ever so if we can have the title with him, that’d be cool,” Handscomb added.
Handscomb was the only member of the Ashes squad present at the promotional event.
While the first Ashes Test begins on Thursday in Brisbane, subsequent games will be played in Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne and Sydney.
Bolt, 31, retired after this year’s World Championships, where he suffered a hamstring injury. The Jamaican has eight Olympic medals to his credit.
