In 2001, the American Heart Association advised that eating too much protein increased the risk of heart, bone and liver problems.

A bit of a problem for those on the Atkins Diet, but what has it got to do with cricket?

In short, sports players need to eat more protein than the average person does. This is because too little protein can lead to a reduction in strength and prevent increases in performance.

So eating is a delicate balancing act: Too much is not good for your health while too little is not good for your cricket.

The right balance of protein give your body the right fuel to reduce your body fat, keep your muscles strong and get the best out of your muscles when you are playing.

Luckily this balance point is easy to work out.

1g of protein per kg in weight per day is sufficient�(pdf).

If you are training harder, especially in the run up to a new season, you can increase this to 1.5g per kilogram per day.

It's best not to go over 1.5g as the extra tends to be either stored as fat or replaces carbohydrates in your diet (which are vital for sports performance).

That's all there is to it!

4 More cricket protein tips

• Where possible go for low fat protein sources like semi-skimmed milk, fish and lean meat.
• Monitor your food intake using a free tool like Fitday (most people are very bad at estimating how much food they have eaten unless they write it down).
• Make sure you drink plenty of fluid.
• You can get all your protein from food.�Supplements are not required.

There is no need to worry too much about protein as a cricketer. Your body knows what it is doing, so give it the right amount and let it sort out your performance for you.

If only protein could do the same for improving your cover drive.

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