NCA White-Ball Camp: Coach eyes fitness, skill development gains

LAHORE: Pakistan men’s white-ball head coach Mike Hesson has said the ongoing white-ball camp at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) is focused on improving the fitness, conditioning and skills of players ahead of upcoming assignments.

The camp, which commenced on 15th June at the National Cricket Academy, includes white-ball specialist players, emerging cricketers and players identified for future international commitments.

“We started the white-ball camp two weeks ago here at the National Cricket Academy. We have had around 27 to 28 players taking part in it. The first couple of weeks of the white-ball camp have mainly been about medical testing and fitness assessments, which allow us to get a baseline of where the players are at,” Mile Hesson said, adding “We also have time to make some real improvements from a conditioning point of view. From next week, we will start working on the skills side alongside fitness.”

Talking about the timing of the camp and how the players can work on their fitness and skills, Hesson in an interview said, “Most white-ball players, especially those involved in different formats, struggle to get a good block of training. A huge advantage for us is that we have almost three months where we can make some big gains from a conditioning point of view.”

He said, “Dr Javed Mughal has come in and set some high standards in terms of medical screening and conditioning. The players are finding it tough, which is no surprise. When you play for long periods, fitness levels can go down from a general conditioning and strength perspective. To withstand the demands of international cricket, players have to be incredibly fit and strong. We are working on both areas.”

Hesson added that every player at the camp has been given an individual performance plan to ensure focused development.

“We start every camp with individual meetings involving the player, the head coach, NCA staff, the conditioning and the medical teams. We are all working together to come up with an Individual Performance Plan (IPP) for every player,” Hesson said, adding, “Over the next three weeks, every player will have clear focus points. These will include technical and tactical areas, as well as medical or conditioning areas that need work. We are working with purpose. We are not just turning up every day and hoping things work out. There is proper planning in place and everyone here at the National Cricket Academy has a part to play.”

When asked to comment on the opportunity to work with emerging players and recent Pakistan U-19 cricketers, Hesson responded, “It is exciting to work with a lot of the U19 talent. I met with Samir Minhas and Farhan Yusuf and have also been involved with Ali Raza and Abdul Subhan over the last month or so. It is great to expose them to the levels they need to reach. We need to give them experience and challenge them so that when they get the opportunity to play for Pakistan.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026