BBC SPORT | ENGLAND ON TOUR | The appliance of science

England's cricketers have been given strict guidelines on avoiding dehydration in India. BBC Sport Online's Thrasy Petropoulos reports.

They weigh themselves at every opportunity, walk about with handkerchiefs on their heads and bathe in ice where possible.

They even have "pee charts" where they record the colour, odour and quantity of their urine throughout the day.

It is no wonder that people are saying that the sun has got to England's cricketers.

But whatever quirky habits they might have - and these include having trained in England wearing gloves and woolly hats - the 45 degrees heat they endured in Bombay has highlighted the importance of sticking to the guidelines on hydration issued by Nigel Stockill, the team's physiologist.

If the body temperature rises by two degrees Centigrade, there is, Stockill says, a proven reduction in performance during physical exercise.

England physiologist Nigel Stockill
Stockill: In charge of England's well-being

For those interested in the science bit, this is because the blood is directed away from the working muscles to maintain essential functioning.

And from sweat loss alone an adult can lose as much as 1 - 3.5 litres of water per hour.

Players are therefore being told to watch out for signs of dehydration - headaches, nausea, dizziness, and lack of co-ordination.

And especially humid locations, such as Madras, possess an added danger as high humidity reduces the cooling effect of sweating and raises the risks of heat exhaustion.

Stockill, who has been working as part of Team England since the England A tour to Zimbabwe and South Africa in 1999/2000 has, therefore, supplied players with a personal hygiene check that they are being urged to follow to the letter:

CHECK 1
Using your pee chart, look at your urine colour and compare it to the chart. Also record frequency and volume.

ACTION
Clear, copious, and odour free indicates a positive state of hydration. If you are dehydrated it will be darker and you will pass less urine. If this is the case increase your volume of fluid and/or drink more often.

England batsman Marcus Trescothick
Marcus Trescothick takes on extra liquid

CHECK 2
Weigh yourself each morning.

ACTION
Check you are not progressively losing weight. This could be through dehydration and you need to increase your intake of fluids.

CHECK 3
Check during training and competition how much water you are losing as sweat. Weigh yourself immediately before and after each session. Do this without clothes both times as sweaty kit will hide water loss.

ACTION
Decrease in body weight indicates how much water you have lost from your body as sweat. Replace this loss with one and a half litres of fluid for every 1 kg lost.

Additionally, players are being told to drink 100-150ml of water - bottled, of course - every 20 minutes during play and to re-hydrate progressively in the recovery period, with tea, coffee and alcohol being expressly forbidden.

And it is in here that we get to the real struggle of England's brave men out in India.

No tea? How un-English!

No alcohol? No comment!


	^^ Back to top
	Front Page \| Football \| Cricket \| Rugby Union \| Rugby League \| Tennis \| Golf \| Motorsport \| Boxing \| Athletics \| Other Sports \| Sports Talk \| In Depth \| Photo Galleries \| Audio/Video \| TV & Radio \| BBC Pundits \| Question of Sport \| Funny Old Game ------------------------------------------------------------ BBC News >> \| BBC Weather >> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- © MMII\|News Sources\|Privacy