This week has seen the Scotland Lions (Scotland A Team) in action against Nottinghamshire (scheduled to finish today – Thursday) whilst on Sunday the Scotland U-19 squad will play Grange CC in the Premier Division of the Scottish National Cricket League.
 
However, to become a part of a representative squad it's clear that player's must do more than simply bat, bowl and field for their country.
 
For as Simon Smith, joint head coach at Western Cricket Academy in Glasgow explains, maintaining optimal levels of fitness is a fundamental aspect of a young player's development in the fast paced modern game.
 
"Here (at the Academy) we got the guys in for skills training for 2-3 hours once a fortnight over the winter," reveals Smith.
 
"We also do fitness tests as part of our selections (for the youth programme) and players are also given a strength and conditioning programme so that when they are not with us they can work on their own fitness.
 
In addition to weights and stretching, Smith says that much of a cricketer's fitness is "heavily core based, with work on the Swiss ball."

17 year-old Willie Rowan from Ayrshire and who plays for Prestwick CC when not on national duty, is among the player's expected to juggle study or work with 3-5 fitness sessions a week including technical based club and Scotland youth training sessions. 
 
Clearly, for those who aspire to be stars at the crease, there's just as much hard work to be done off the field of play as on it.