tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6193495965695124697.post7829354884080689243..comments2024-03-28T03:56:27.275-07:00Comments on The Old Batsman: The drugs do workThe Old Batsmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14376172807195747856noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6193495965695124697.post-79356730741779198372013-10-10T06:22:38.461-07:002013-10-10T06:22:38.461-07:00I blogged about this recently - but you got there ...I blogged about this recently - but you got there three years before me!<br /><br />http://the-doosra.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/t20-six-hitting-sluggers-seem-to-be.htmlBruce Charltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6193495965695124697.post-57548012340943174542010-07-22T01:40:05.142-07:002010-07-22T01:40:05.142-07:00Russ, I think you have a point - when you see spor...Russ, I think you have a point - when you see sports that are at the cutting edge of sports science, legal or illegal, you see how far behind cricket is, and how innocent it is. <br /><br />To a degree the WADA code doesn't work at first, because it just tests established players. Tendulkar and Ponting are unlikely to take anything, but a kid trying for a county contract or an IPL contract is far more vulnerable.The Old Batsmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14376172807195747856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6193495965695124697.post-92103702895280668952010-07-21T23:17:24.262-07:002010-07-21T23:17:24.262-07:00Won't the new anti-doping regime help at all? ...Won't the new anti-doping regime help at all? The ICC recently entered into an agreement with the World Anti-Doping Agency to test a pool of top-ranked bowlers and batsmen. <br /><br />Of course, this wasn't without its share of drama (on account of the IRTP 'disclosure of whereabouts' clause, the BCCI and Indian players).<br /><br />Here's the link: http://www.ecb.co.uk/news/world/icc-agrees-anti-doping-procedure,311137,EN.html <br /><br />Meanwhile, I am falling asleep waiting for Murali to get to his 800th wicket!BottomOfThePyramidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6193495965695124697.post-84761999385961120542010-07-21T20:02:04.207-07:002010-07-21T20:02:04.207-07:00by "modern" I mean whatever doping is be...<i>by "modern" I mean whatever doping is being done now that can't be detected.</i><br /><br />OK, fair enough.<br /><br />I've never ridden competitively, but it doesn't surprise me that amateur cricket lags behind cycling in terms of energy/fluid maintenance. I don't think there's anything in cricket as obviously devastating as a hunger flat in cycling.<br /><br />At the pro level, the 12th man brings out drinks at every fall of a wicket, even in the first over....<br /><br /><i>can we find evidence that fat batsmen are more likely to play long innings?</i><br /><br />Ha! Well they might be over-represented in the set of batsmen who've scored 329 or more in a Test innings.David Barryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08378763233797445502noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6193495965695124697.post-29414279061312843532010-07-21T18:44:21.190-07:002010-07-21T18:44:21.190-07:00DB, synthetic EPO has been detectable since the la...DB, synthetic EPO has been detectable since the late 1990s (hence the blood transfusions), so by "modern" I mean whatever doping is being done now that can't be detected. I am sure there is still stuff going on in cycling, but it is less effective (hence the largely slower times, though Contador's tour times last year were far faster than you'd expect for a non-doper).<br /><br />Having done quite a bit of cycling in the past two years, coming back to play cricket is a bit of a shock. Never mind doping, amateur cricket ignores even the most basic forms of hydration and energy maintenance. Given that kinaesthetic sense is one of the first things to decline when the body is under duress, having 3 drinks breaks in 5 hours of play is a bit insane.<br /><br />(Interesting question of study on that issue too DB: given the body uses fat stores to replenish energy when required, can we find evidence that fat batsmen are more likely to play long innings?)Russhttp://idlesummers.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6193495965695124697.post-11745810590743292642010-07-20T20:08:19.332-07:002010-07-20T20:08:19.332-07:00Russ, what do you mean by 'modern doping metho...Russ, what do you mean by 'modern doping methods'? EPO use in cycling (and cross-country skiing too, I think) took off in the early 90's.<br /><br />Testing regimes are usually very easy to beat. Cyclists and their doctors work out the system very quickly - these days they do autologous blood transfusions (ie, take out their own blood, re-inject a month later). Apparently this would be detectable with the biological passport, so they combine the transfusions with microdoses of EPO to 'normalise' various blood parameters. The EPO injected in this way becomes undetectable within hours.<br /><br />It doesn't help that some teams and riders get tip-offs about upcoming 'surprise' tests.<br /><br />It is certainly true, though, that the blood passport means that cyclists can't dope as much as they used to. The Plan de Corones mountain time trial in this year's Giro d'Italia had times 1-2 minutes slower than a couple of years ago. (Lots of other variables go into that, but it's certainly suggestive of less doping.)<br /><br />HGH is also basically undetectable.David Barryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08378763233797445502noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6193495965695124697.post-66797295557378958832010-07-20T18:57:46.572-07:002010-07-20T18:57:46.572-07:00According to Wikipedia, a number of tennis players...According to Wikipedia, a number of tennis players have been done for Nandrolone (and Cocaine, but the tennis circuit is boring), notably Petr Korda, but the timing (late 90s) pre-dates modern doping methods. There isn't a sport, certainly not any Olympic sports, that don't test fairly often, though most probably lack the rigour of cycling, and are therefore relatively easy to manipulate, if the athlete is careful.<br /><br />Incidentally, EPO (or whatever is popular these days) would probably do a lot for a bowler in test cricket, allowing them to bowl longer, faster spells. But given that until a few years ago, there had been almost no work done on reducing energy expenditure in the field, or maintaining hydration, I don't think cricket is at that point yet.Russhttp://idlesummers.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6193495965695124697.post-4417671297189606172010-07-20T18:02:27.725-07:002010-07-20T18:02:27.725-07:00Tim, your friend is at least partially right - the...Tim, your friend is at least partially right - there were several tennis players involved in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operaci%C3%B3n_Puerto_doping_case" rel="nofollow">Operacion Puerto</a>. No names, because the Spanish judiciary don't seem to want to act on the case (there are big football interests in Madrid and Barcelona who also have an interest in keeping things quiet). But there are certainly people speculating about which Spanish tennis players might be using blood doping to achieve very high levels of endurance....David Barryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08378763233797445502noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6193495965695124697.post-61653227820454233392010-07-20T02:22:48.156-07:002010-07-20T02:22:48.156-07:00A mega-keen cyclist, runner, and triathlete who I ...A mega-keen cyclist, runner, and triathlete who I once knew used to think the top professional tennis players must have been using something to sustain performances over such lengthy periods, but the establishment declined to ever suggest such as thing, let alone test for it. It might one day be discovered that cricketers have been using for some time, but in the wake of the gambling scandals nobody wanted to open that particular box.Tim Newmanhttp://www.desertsun.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6193495965695124697.post-60169581119992090832010-07-20T02:11:00.888-07:002010-07-20T02:11:00.888-07:00A gloomy and all-too believable picture you paint ...A gloomy and all-too believable picture you paint this Tuesday morning, OB. <br /><br />I suddenly realise I have no idea at all about how doping tests work in cricket. How lucky were they to catch Shoaib Akhtar and Asif? I suppose the temptation has been there for a while for fast bowlers but, until T20, much less so for batsmen. Makes you wonder...Brithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00390560583798960760noreply@blogger.com