Mobile Computing with a Smart Cricket Ball: Discovery of Novel Performance Parameters and Their Practical Application to Performance Analysis, Advanced Profiling, Talent Identification and Training Interventions of Spin Bowlers.

Franz Konstantin Fuss,René E D Ferdinands,Batdelger Doljin

doi:10.3390/s21206942

Franz Konstantin Fuss, René E D Ferdinands + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/s21206942

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Abstract

Introduction: Profiling of cricket bowlers is performed with motion analyses systems that require the placement of markers on the bowler’s body and on the ball. Conventional smart balls such as cricket and baseballs provide only one speed and one spin rate datum at the release point, which is insufficient for biomechanical profiling. Method: In this study, we used an advanced smart cricket ball that measures the angular velocity at 815 Hz and calculates four further physical performance parameters (resultant torque, spin torque, power and angular acceleration) and five new skill parameters (precession, normalised precession, precession torque, efficiency and ratio of angular acceleration to spin rate), which we used for profiling and talent identification of spin bowlers. Results: The results showed that the spin rate is a function of physical (torque) and skill proficiency, namely how efficiently the torque is converted to angular velocity rather than being wasted for precession. The kind of delivery also influences the efficiency, as finger-spin deliveries were less efficient than wrist-spin ones by 6.8% on average; and topspin deliveries were generally more efficient than backspin ones by 15% on average. We tested three bowlers in terms of physical and skill performance during a 10-over spell, revealing that some parameters can improve or decline. When profiling a topspinner, we detected from the performance parameters a lower skill performance than expected, because there was an initial arm motion for backspin delivery before releasing the ball with a topspin. After training intervention, the skill parameters improved significantly (the efficiency increased from 39% to 59%). Conclusions: The advanced smart cricket ball is a classic example of mobile computing for sport performance analysis that can conducted indoors as well as outdoors, generating instant data from 10 performance parameters that provide critical feedback to the coach and bowler.

Highlights

Spin bowlers impart a torque to the cricket ball with their fingers to spin the cricket ball with a high rate of rotation
The larger the BP, the more potential the bowlers have to improve their skills by reducing, for example, the precession, which had prevented them from producing more energy in the first place
At a small BP, the skill has already reached a high level of proficiency, and the only practical way for improving the spin rate is through muscle training

Summary

Introduction

In the field of play, it has been visually observed that a spinning ball can produce two effects in favourable conditions: swerve during flight, and lateral and vertical deviation off the pitch after the bounce [1,2]. These characteristics of a spinning ball can deceive the discriminative perception of batsmen so that they make inappropriate shot selections that can lead to their dismissal. Since elite batsmen are better at discriminating between the types of spin deliveries by using advance cue utilisation [8], spin bowlers must carefully execute their variation deliveries, using them sparingly and skilfully disguising the mechanical differences between them

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