Thursday 5 May 2016 11:57, UK
It has become a familiar sight in recent years. Cricketers on the outfield, warming up with a game of football prior to the start of play.
However, while it has become a staple for many teams, there have been those who have spoken out against the pre-match kick about, notably Lancashire head coach Ashley Giles, who has pointed to the high risk of injury.
That has been shown recently as Hampshire have been hit by the news that fast bowler Fidel Edwards has been ruled out for the rest of the season with an ankle injury sustained while playing football in the warm up ahead of a County Championship game.
Former Durham and England bowler Steve Harmison was part of a number of sides for whom the game of football to warm up was almost sacrosanct, although they were not without incident.
"Yorkshire played a lot of football in warm ups in the brief time I was there," he told Sky Sports. "Durham played football religiously, we had to play football in the morning.
"Depending on the coach and some of the players in the England group, football was going alright for a little bit and then Jimmy [Anderson] went and stood on the ball in New Zealand [in 2008] and did his ankle and got us a ban!"
Despite the injuries sustained by Anderson and Edwards, and while Harmison understands the concerns expressed by the likes of Giles, he insists that there are plenty of positives too.
"Ashley Giles was very vocal, saying you shouldn't be playing. I think Ash has a point but I think during my time, it probably wasn't as professional as it is now," he said.
"There are a lot more people involved in the game now who want time with the players, i.e. psychologists, fitness men, nutritionists, analysts. So there is a lot more than goes into preparing for games other than 'let's play 10 minutes of football, hit a few, bowl a few and get on with the game.'
"I think the game has changed and Ash has a point that maybe playing football isn't the best. But on the other hand, getting mobile, getting moved and running around, getting the blood and juices flowing - football was probably the best I've seen at doing that."
Football was also a good way of boosting the camaraderie among teams, according to the 2005 Ashes winner, and was especially useful during long days in the field.
"Going straight into fielding drills, you're asking for sloppiness, for me. [Football] got everyone going plus it got people talking about the game," Harmison added.
"For me, the football was quite good if you were fielding that day because if something happened, if somebody made a mistake, scored an own goal or if somebody scored a worldie it would be the topic of conversation throughout the six hours.
"That got me through, everybody would be going back and referencing what happened in the morning.
"It got quite competitive at Durham because it was old ones against young ones. Obviously, because we were there for four days, sometimes five days because of when you'd get there, especially on away games, we used to play for dinner.
"It would be old ones against young ones for five days, whoever wins pays for dinner on the next trip. The next team meal would be paid for by the losers of that game.
"The old ones had a lot of free meals, to be fair. There was a lot of enthusiasm from the young ones but when it comes to experience, you can't buy that. The young ones tended to argue a lot with each other whereas the old ones just got on with it."
Harmison also revealed that some cricket teams play rugby as a warm up while ahead of the start of one T20 tournament, the then Durham captain Dale Benkenstein took his side to the driving range to prepare. Often what it came down to was personal preference.
"There are different ways of doing things, for different people, but football is such an easy game to play and understand," he added. "I love the game, I played it before I played cricket, hence why I went back into it but I can understand why some coaches are anti-football.
"It has its pros and its cons but Ash has a little bit of a point now you're losing star players. Some coaches like it, other coaches don't and I don't think they'll be playing football at Lancashire in the near future."
