England's cricketers turn to iPod and PSP for support on tour

Helps improve their game ... supposedly

16 March 2007 2:23 GMT / By Stuart Miles

England's cricketers are using video iPods and PSPs to help them prepare for the world cup its been found out.

Michael Vaughan's squad will supposedly use the players to analyse their opponents before each match in the Caribbean, and to provide confidence-boosting images of themselves doing well in previous matches.

Mark Garaway, England's analyst, developed the system after chatting with someone who regularly downloads material from Youtube.com.

"The great advantage of this system is its portability," Garaway explained to the Independent. "The players used to download stuff on to their computers to look at but this allows them to watch material when they want. Every team is doing a similar type of thing with computers, and a couple are looking to do it in a similar way to us."

"I put the stuff on the website and then they have the opportunity to go in and select what they want. They can download last week's game against Australia along with footage of the New Zealand team. I can also edit bits for each player, whether it be shots from innings they have played or wickets they enjoy."

The move makes sense but asking an inconsistent bowler to bowl with variety can lead to even greater variations in performance.