THE IMPACT of CLIMATE CHANGE on CRICKET This Report Was Produced By
THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON CRICKET This report was produced by: Acknowledgements: Prof Mike Tipton Kate Sambrook Russell Seymour Dom Goggins Prof Piers Forster Prof Richard Thelwell Dr Jo Corbett Prof Hugh Montgomery Rob Chave HIT FOR SIX I PAGE 2 CONTENTS 1- FOREWORDS...PAGE 4 2 - EXECUTIVE SUMMARY...PAGE 8 3 - CLIMATE CHANGE – THE SCIENCE...PAGE 11 4 - HEAT & CRICKET...PAGE 13 5 - COUNTRY IMPACTS...PAGE 23 6 – KEY RECOMMENDATIONS...PAGE 33 7 - ADVICE FOR GOVERNING BODIES...PAGE 34 REFERENCES...PAGE 36 HIT FOR SIX I PAGE 3 FOREWORD BY RUSSELL SEYMOUR Cricket is a sport where natural systems (sunlight, temperature, rainfall, soil, etc.) significantly influence the playing surface, and the conditions on the day can alter the balance of the game. Sunny, dry conditions may favour batting, while overcast, humid conditions may be more helpful to a skilful bowler. Conditions can change many times during a four- or five-day match. Imagine that variability multiplied by the predictions of climate change. To be clear, it would be a mistake to think that climate change is something that may happen at some point in the future. The consensus of the vast majority of scientists is that, while the effects of climate change will increase in years to come, its impacts are with us now, as this important report explains. This report is unprecedented in its breadth, not only discussing the large-scale infrastructure impacts already felt by cricket-playing nations but, for the first time, examining how expected changes might influence the physiological and psychological responses of individual athletes, and the welfare-related policy reforms that may be required to mitigate these effects.
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