Ahmedabad, March 7 The days of warm-up exercises have long been a thing of the past in international cricket, and teams now play games ranging from soccer to foot volley before getting down to the real part – skills training.
Ahead of New Zealand's high-profile T20 World Cup final against hosts and firm favourites India, the Black Caps also had a unique, fun activity game before the net session, which involved the country's national sport, rugby, and also soccer.
The game also had a quirky name attached to it – "Donny Ball" – coined after the team's strength and conditioning coach, Chris Donaldson, who introduced it to the players. The game involves three teams of five players each, confined to a square made up of fielding cones.
Each team will have one rugby ball and one soccer ball (football). One player from each team will simultaneously kick the rugby ball and soccer ball on a half-volley randomly towards any of the other two teams.
If a player fumbles or drops while catching the rugby ball and football, he will have to leave the court. The team with the maximum number of players standing on the court at the end is the winner.
"Yes, it's about catching the rugby and soccer balls without dropping them. It's called 'Donny Ball', named after Chris Donaldson, our strength and conditioning coach," a member of the NZ support staff informed
