'I think over the last 10 years or so, there's so much more that goes into prepping the body for a five-day Test match' - Ollie Pope
Ollie Pope will be a key member of the England squad that will attempt to win back the Ashes this winter.
The England vice-captain and 4CAST member is heading Down Under for an eagerly-awaited series that begins with the first Test in at the WACA in Perth on Friday, November 21.
Ahead of the series we caught up with Ollie for an exclusive chat on The Edge.
In part one, he reveals how he recovers after Tests and how his post-match routine has evolved in recent years.
Ollie, thanks for your time. Let's start with this question - how do you recover from Test matches?
For me, I think the mental side and the physical side of it always takes at least a day after a Test match for me to recover.
Obviously the main aim generally is that you've got three days, between your two matches, so for the recovery between Tests, I think I try and have a pretty chilled day the day after the Test and try and sort of unwind mentally and physically.
And for me, I like going to the sauna, using the ice baths. I let the bowlers get on the physio beds, really.
But yeah, it's about trying to unwind and so I often play golf the day after a Test, just because that's kind of my time to sort of get the body moving, you get the legs moving and then also, from a mental side too, it's like I can... This is my sort of distraction. This is the main thing that gets my mind away from it for four hours as well.
So yeah, I think from a physical point and a mental side, playing golf for me is really, really beneficial. But then of course you've got the ice bath and the saunas as well, which really help the day after a Test.
Has that changed at all over the years? Have you learned a few things about your body with the way that nutrition and science has developed? Has your routine changed in say, five, 10 years?
Yeah, it certainly has from my point of view. I think over the last sort of 10 years or so, there's so much more that goes into prepping the body for a five-day Test match.
So I think I'm very aware of what works well for me in my routine in the lead-up and then what works for me the day after a game as well. It's important for me to be feeling as fresh as I can the day before, ideally, and then having a pretty light day going into the Test match.
But yeah, I think I'm probably definitely looking after that side of things, and I've had a few injuries over my time as well. So when you get injured, obviously you're missing out on opportunities to make some great memories, especially if you're missing Test matches as well.
So I think for me it's about giving myself the best possible chance to avoid that kind of thing, and over the last two and a half years, that's worked really well.
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