YOYO Test in Cricket
What is Yo-Yo Test?
A YOYO test involves a player shuttling between two cones that are set 20 metres apart on flat ground. He starts on a beep and needs to get to the cone at the other end before the second beep goes. He then turns back and returns to the starting cone before the third beep. That is one “shuttle”.
A player starts at speed level 5, which consists of one shuttle. The next speed level, which is 9, also consists of one shuttle. Speed level 11, the next step up, has two shuttles, while level 12 has three and level 13 four. There are eight shuttles per level from 14 upwards. Level 23 is the highest speed level in a yo-yo test, but no one has come close to getting there yet.
The player gets ten seconds to recover between shuttles. At any point if he fails to reach the cone before the beep goes, he gets a first warning. Usually a player gets a few “reminders” to keep to the pace, but three official warnings generally marks the end of the test.
How YOYO Test is became a selection standard
Suresh Raina took a yo-yo test at the academy, and flunked it, failing to reach the minimum level set as a mandatory criterion by the Indian team management for a player to qualify for selection.
Raina missed the first two ODIs, and he was told that once fit, he would need to take the test again. He did but failed once again to attain the 16:1 mark, the minimum level set for Indian players
Raina was the first international player to fail in the test, later Yuvraj Sighn Joined him. Anil Kumble the Indian Coach made this test mandatory for any player playing in indian team.
Teams have different speed levels as qualifying marks. India have set 16:1 as the qualifying speed level, which means it is mandatory for their players to finish the first shuttle of speed level 16, which in terms of accumulated distance is 1120 metres. Pakistan’s minimum level is now 17:4; West Indies are at 19, and New Zealand probably have the highest level, 20:1.
