African Journal for Physical, Health Education, Recreation and Dance (AJPHERD) Volume 21(4:2), December 2015, pp. 1310-1320.

Advances in cricket in the 21st century: Science, performance and technology

M.H. NOORBHAI1 AND T.D. NOAKES2

1Department of Sport Management, Faculty of Business, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town, South Africa; E-mail: [email protected] 2Division of Exercise Science and Sports Medicine, Department of Human Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa

(Received: 01 July 2015; Revision Accepted: 29 October 2015)

Abstract

Cricket has a known history spanning from the 16thcentury till present, with international matches having been played since 1844. The game of cricket arrived in Australia as early as colonisation began in 1788. Cricketers started playing on turf wickets in the late 1800’s but the dimensions only became available later for both the boundary and pitch. As the years evolved, performances, batting, cricket gear, equipment, technology, playing surfaces and the three formats of the game gradually adapted to the laws of cricket. In addition, cricket bats were adapted to the playing conditions and the evolving laws of cricket. In modern cricket, the bats are bigger and stronger than those used in the earlier eras. Boundaries are also currently smaller which provides batsmen with an added advantage of scoring runs easily and at a rapid rate. Considerable research has also shown the range of evolvements in the cricket sciences. As the demand of players’ contracts increase, the commitment and performance levels from players also increase which might also place players at an increased risk for injury. Technology has emerged and has been used to assist players to improve their performances as well as ways to prevent injuries. Based on these interventions, technology and innovative approaches have also shown to have both advantages and disadvantages of the game. The relevant questions to ask is: how far have we really advanced in the cricketing world? Have all facets since the game’s inception become institutionalized to a business model? Legislations, ethical considerations and education are needed in order to ensure that there is an equilibrium of effective transitions and management not only for players, but also for the credibility of this beautiful game.

Keywords: Cricket, science, performance, technology, batting, backlift.

How to cite this article: Noorbhai, M.H. & Noakes, T.D. (2015). Advances in cricket in the 21st century: Science, performance and technology. African Journal for Physical, Health Education, Recreation and Dance, 21(4:2), 1310-1320.

Introduction

Cricket has a known history spanning from the 16thcentury, with international matches being played since 1844, although the official history of International Test cricketonly began in 1877 (Altham, 1962). During the late 1800’s, the game developed in England into a sport which is now played professionally in most of the Commonwealth countries (Altham, 1962). The game was first introduced to Advances in Cricket 1311

North America via the English colonies in the 17thcentury (Birley, 1999) even before it had reached the north of England. It then reached Australia in 1788 followed by the West Indies and India by the first half of the 18thcentury (Birley, 1999; Bowen, 1970). The game of cricket finally arrived in Australia as soon as colonisation began in 1788 (Bowen, 1970). Cricket continued between the 16th and 20th century where the game was a common sport played for passion and pure enjoyment. Cricket administrators of the Georgian Age had seen the game primarily as part of the entertainment industry and was aggressively sold and introduced to the market (Box, 1868). The game continued for many years to treat itself as a sport format and was long regarded as national symbols and community enterprises rather than an industry (Box, 1868). At the same time, industries began to observe potential global opportunities through diversified business ventures in the game (as well as in other sports played globally). Subsequently, cricket became a career not only for players, but also for administrators, coaches, the media, health professionals, managers and the corporate world (Easton, 1996). There still however exists a clear distinction between amateur (those who regard cricket as just a sport) and professional (those who participate for entertainment and financial reasons) cricket (Sandiford, 1985). During the late 1900’s, the shorter version of the game (twenty-twenty (T20)) was introduced in order to attract crowds to stadiums. In addition, branding was also introduced which would create a sustained nature to this format of the game through television viewing and broadcasting rights (Easton, 1996). One could argue that this venture was merely for business purposes only or it could have been capitalised as a platform for the enhancement and performance of cricketers. Evolution of Cricket Bats

The cricket bat has evolved as the game has changed (Harte, 1993). The straight bat was introduced in response to the pitched delivery but the original "hockey stick" style of bat was only effective against the ball being “trundled” or rolled along the ground (Box, 1868) (Figure 1). With time, cricket bats were adapted to the playing conditions and the evolving laws of cricket (Shillinglaw & Hale, 2008). The evolution of the bat design begins from the left (1729) and ends to the right of Figure 2 (1930). This figure displays the early curved bat in 1729 followed by the curved bat in 1750 and the early straight bat in 1774. Further to the right, there is a bat known as the ‘Little Joey’ in 1792 followed by the ‘E. Bagot Skyscraper' in 1793 and the ‘Fuller Pilchs’ bat in 1835. One can notice the great WG Grace’s bat (1901) to the left of Jack Hobbs bat (1930) which is towards the right end of the below figure (Barty-King, 1979). As seen in the figure below, the first bats made were more effective when the ball was rolled on the ground and not when the ball was thrown in the air. The game changed when 1312 Noorbhai and Noakes the ball was thrown and therefore as the bats evolved, it became more advantageous for hitting the ball more effectively.

Figure 1: The evolution of bats used between 1720 and 1930 (Adapted from the History of Cricket Bats: http://en.wikipedia.org/) Cricket Technology and Innovation Cricket research would not be the same without the assistance and importance of technology and innovative approaches. Technology can assist us in various ways; however one needs to be careful of how it is used. There has been many technological evolutions in the game such as Hawk-eye for seeing whether the ball has been hit by the batsman or used for leg before wicket (lbw), lighted wickets for ensuring accurate run outs, Snicko used to see whether the bat has hit the ball before it proceeds towards the wicket-keeper or slip cordon and Duckworth Lewis Stern (DLS) used to calculate match totals in the event of unfavourable weather (Technology in Cricket, 2012; Introducing Duckworth Lewis Stern Method, 2015). A key question here is: has technology made umpires, coaches and players think less or has technology assisted us in the analysis of players and for match preparations? One could argue that although it has interrupted the once upon a time called spirit of the game, it has also assisted in making on and off-field decisions more accurate and convenient. It would therefore prove interesting to see how past cricketers, particularly batsmen, would have benefited or progressed with current technology, playing surfaces, resources and equipment that are currently made available to modern cricketers. Cricketers time away from home

Due to the rapid evolvement of the game, modern cricketers in the 21st century are faced with many overwhelming commitments. One of these commitments is playing cricket for 11 months in a year, which equates to more than 250 days Advances in Cricket 1313 away from their families (Baum & Butler, 2014; Pearce, 2014). Therefore, as the demand of players’ contracts increase, the commitment and performance levels from players also increase which might also place players at an increased risk for injury. Modern Performance and Science in Cricket

At present, the game of cricket has been significantly enhanced by improving performances and administering injury prevention frameworks among cricket players from the use of technology, sports sciences and other mechanisms. Unfortunately, these were not available during the earlier years of cricket and it would prove interesting to witness how the great names of the game, such as Sir Donald Bradman would have benefited from such developments. Bowling

Considerable amounts of research have shown the range of evolvements in the cricket sciences. Examples of such evolvements include bowling techniques as studied by Ferdinand, Kerstig and Marshall (2010) which suggest that a large proportion of fast bowlers may be at a higher risk of lumbar injury from the use of the mixed-action bowling technique. The authors indicated that it is advisable to recommend the semi-open action as an alternative to the front-on action bowling technique. It was also indicated that the adopted angle convention is more practical than previous conventions for bowling action classifications (Ferdinand et al., 2010) (Table 1).

Table 1: A description showing the anatomical positions and classifications of bowling actions Bowling Technique Position of chest Position of hips Position of feet Front-on Front/Anterior Front/Anterior Front/Anetrior Side-on Closed/Lateral Closed/Lateral Side-on/Lateral Mixed Anterior OR Lateral Anterior OR Lateral Anterolateral

Currently, Biomechanists and Cricket Scientists have classified the bowling action techniques as mentioned above into more than several types of actions which poses a challenge for modern-day coaches to translate what exactly should be prescribed for bowlers. Alternatively, it could be argued that due to the variability of findings in both batsmen and bowlers, it is highly putative for each cricket player to be regarded as an individual with eliminating a ‘one-size fits all’ approach. 1314 Noorbhai and Noakes

Fielding Batting Fast Lower Bowlers Back

PERFORMANCE INJURY PREVENTION

Figure 2: Performance and Injury Prevention in Cricket currently do not speak to each other

Without focusing extensively on imperative literature focused on prevention in cricket, it is also worth mentioning the evolvement of performance with cricketers. More than 10 years ago, Noakes and DuRandt, (2000) had discussed the physiological requirements for cricketers and concluded that the fitness of cricketers may be increased. Their risk of injury can also be reduced by more specific eccentric exercise training programmes (Noakes & DuRandt, 2000). Although the game of cricket along with other sporting codes have evolved with regards to its dosage and types of training and preparations for matches, current research in cricket has shown that both the performance and injury prevention models in cricket do not speak to each other (Figure 2). For example, rehabilitation specialists are more concerned with the area of overloads and injury prevention associated with bowlers whereas scientists are concerned with the lack of training efficiency for batsmen due to the increased risk of injuries sustained by bowlers (Orchard, James & Portus, 2006; Stretch, Bartlett & Davids, 2000). Therefore, the way forward in cricket research requires main elements such as performance, prevention and psychology in cricket to be applied as one holistic-systematic model. This would ultimately assist coaches, scientists and medical professionals in the management of players. Despite the emphasis being mostly shown to injury prevention and performance of cricketers, there is also a paucity of research into the biomechanics of batting and psychological interventions for cricketers. Cricket researchers are therefore advised to show interest in these areas where there is a need for answers to questions.

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Figure 3: The way forward for Cricket Research requires one holistic-systematic model that includes performance, prevention and psychology

Batting

Bearing the above evolvements in mind, one of the main advancements of the game is batting. There are a number of reasons why one would regard cricket today as mostly a batsman’s game. Firstly, in modern cricket, the bats are bigger and stronger than those used in the early era (Stretch et al., 2000). Boundaries are also currently smaller which provides batsmen with an added advantage of scoring runs easily and at a rapid scoring rate (Noorbhai, 2015a).

In the early era (1895 - 1954), when batsmen faced bowlers they hit the ball more frequently with less dot balls, whereas today, batsmen are leaving more balls in test cricket instead of hitting the ball (Noorbhai, 2015b). This poses an important question: has the modern game of cricket made batsmen more passive? In addition to the modern evolution of technology and equipment made available to cricketers, T20 cricket has probably assisted in reducing the passivity of batsmen with regards to hitting the ball.

Aside from such resourceful factors, in cricket we often speak to the ‘corridor of uncertainty’ which emphasises the safety factor of a batsman safekeeping his wicket and is also the optimal zone for a bowler to deliver the ball (Blake, 1989). The corridor of uncertainty might assist both bowler and batsman, however the ‘corridor of uncertainty’ was only brought in from 1989 (Blake, 1989). Today, we are far more technical in our approach to batting instead of enhancing the objective of batting, which is to score runs, and not to prevent batsmen from 1316 Noorbhai and Noakes getting out or to look elegant in their approach (Noorbhai, 2015a & Hinchliffe, 2014).

A notable time in cricket history was the bodyline series which was started in the early 1930s (Le Quesne, 1983). Bowlers of the era developed the leg-slip theory where they would bowl bouncers to batsmen with the hope of claiming their wickets once the batsmen had nudged it to leg-slip (the left coordinate of the wicket) (Wheeler, 1983) (Figure 4). With this theory, batsmen had sustained ball injuries to the head or upper torso area. Since then, there had been a concern with regards to the safety of the batsmen because not only were bowlers becoming more intimidating but they were also bowling more quickly on better playing surfaces (Le Quesne, 1983; Wheeler, 1983). Such factors developed the first helmets ever used in the game in the early 1970s (Briggs, 2005). At present, helmets have also evolved since the game’s inception.

Figure 4: Bowlers in the 1930s developed the ‘leg-slip theory’ (Adapted from the leg-slip theory: http://en.wikipedia.org/)

Stretch (2000) conducted a study to determine whether the helmets used by cricket batsmen offer sufficient protection against impacts of a cricket ball. The helmets that succeeded in meeting the standards were made with a moulded polystyrene insert, a heat-formed ethylene vinyl acetate insert, with a relatively high density which allowed a minimal amount of movement of the helmet at impact with the ball (Stretch, 2000). The fundamental question again is: are batsmen more passive at hitting the ball with increased protective equipment? How were batsmen before 1954 able to hit the ball facing deliveries of similar pace?

Fom a different perspective with regards to facilities, cricket began to be played on turf wickets in the late 1800’s and dimensions for both the boundary and pitch Advances in Cricket 1317 were established (Altham, 1962). Currently, cricket pitches are more conducive for batsmen due to enhanced pitch preparations, mechanized maintenance operations, fertilizers and top dressing, materials used such as moss, pest control, renovation and repairs, care of the outfield and the planning and construction of new grounds (Evans, 1991). In Australian community cricket clubs, researchers have shown that there is a ground safety policy that requires an implemented safety inspection using a mandatory checklist produced by their insurer, before or on each day of play (Swan, Otago & Finch, 2009). High performance cricket requires engagement of professional ground staff and therefore there are close liaisons with the relevant grounds management on these matters. At the community level, a ground checklist produced by the insurer is expected to be completed and the responsibility for this is assigned to the relevant local cricket association to pass on to clubs (Swan et al., 2009). If such policies and processes are administered at community level, there is probably more stringent policies and processes applied at the international level. This speaks to the vast involvement and evolution of preparation of pitches in modern day cricket (Evans, 1991). In previous centuries when cricket was played, none of this would have been considered due to different reasons but mainly because of the amateur structures involved with the enjoyment of cricket in that period (Swan et al., 2009; Evans, 1991). The batting backlift technique in cricket A batting technique consists of many elements such as the stance, grip of the bat, backlift, initiation, downswing and follow through. An important aspect of the overall batting technique is the backlift, a technical component of batting that has defied the traditional attempt to constrain its motion to the linear plane (Stretch, Bartlett & Davids, 2000; McLean & Reeder, 2000). Cricket coaches have been teaching batting techniques to cricketers at various levels since the inception of the game. It is common knowledge today for coaches and scientists to be aware that elite cricketers do not play the way most coaching manuals have instructed to. Instead, research has shown that successful batsmen play with a more natural technique that is comfortable for them in which the backlift is directed in a more lateral direction (Noorbhai & Noakes, 2015). As early as 1912 (when CB Fry shared his coaching theories on batting) until 100 years later, there is still no real consensus on what should be advocated with regards to the backlift in cricket batting (Fry, 1912; Penn & Spratford, 2012). Presently, the great debate regarding the batting backlift technique in cricket continues (Woolmer, Noakes & Moffet, 2009). It is therefore fundamental for research to be conducted on what past and present cricketers had done and why they were successful.

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Figure 5. Comparison of the lateral backlift (left) and the straight backlift (right) (Adapted from: http://www.oldstratforduponavon.com/)

Note: The toe of Sir Donald Bradman’s bat is pointing in the direction of the slips and the bat face also points to the off-side. The obviously posed picture of Neil Harvey shows the toe of the bat and face of the bat pointing directly backwards towards the stumps.

There is also a considerable amount of coaching books that speaks to the backlift that should be directed straight towards middle stump and the wicket keeper. However, there are limited scientific articles which ascertains as to what is to be done (Penn et al., 2012). With modern coaching manuals, it has become an acceptable norm for batsmen to lift the bat in the direction of the slips (Stuelcken, Portus & Mason, 2005). The challenge however is that current research has shown that a vast majority of successful batsmen do not lift their bat in the direction of the wicket keeper or first slip. Instead, they employ a more lateral or distinctively looped technique. Research has shown that some of the great batsmen who do this are the likes of Sir Donald Bradman, Sir Garfield Sobers, Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Ricky Ponting, AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla (Noorbhai & Noakes, 2015). Conclusion

There have been many advancements in the game of cricket, mainly with cricket batting, and it is evident that the game has evolved considerably over the years. Could one postulate that such advancements are contributing to the overload and injury risks of players or could we pose the question that the modern game and technology are assisting cricketers? Furthermore, we could ask how far we have really advanced in the cricketing world or has all facets since the game’s inception become institutionalized to a business model? These are additional questions which need to be addressed in conjunction with the drafting and implementation of legislations, policies, education and ethical considerations. These legislations and education will ensure that there is equilibrium of effective transitions and management not only for players, but also for the credibility of this beautiful game. Advances in Cricket 1319

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