National Cricket Research Articles

India and the IPL: Cricket's Globalized Empire

This article examines why India has emerged as the preeminent nation in international cricket and how the Indian Premier League (IPL) is a major step in realigning the power structure in international sports. The article argues that India has been able to take the lessons of globalization (as they apply to sport) and use them to create a new national cricket league that has an international character. It goes on to argue that the success of the IPL and similar sporting ventures in nonwestern nations is likely to see these countries challenging the West's sporting monopoly and getting to increasingly determine where and how the game is played.

‘The Wood Magic’: Cricket in India – A Postcolonial Benediction

Cricket in India has unquestionably become the de facto national game and has therefore come to corner the lion's share of the public attention as well as financial and infrastructural support, while other games to varying degrees languish for want of support and following. By comparing the fortunes of the Indian national teams of cricket, with football and hockey, this article tries to explore the reasons behind this singular pre-eminence of the national cricket team at the expense of all other sports.

A review of cricket injuries and the effectiveness of strategies to prevent cricket injuries at all levels

Objective. This review evaluates the scientific research on cricket injuries, including long-term injury surveillance studies, the consensus statement paper for injury surveillance, specific counter-measures to reduce the risk of cricket injuries and finally identifies areas of future concern. Results. The literature shows that three major cricketplaying countries, Australia, England and South Africa, have collected long-term injury data. While these sets of data show definite trends, it was not always possible to make direct comparisons between data collected in various countries. As a result a consensus statement paper with regards to definitions and methods to calculate injury rates, incidence and prevalence was developed. The first study using this newly accepted injury surveillance method showed injury patterns in West Indies domestic and national cricket teams. There have been three primary studies carried out with regards to interventions aimed at reducing the risk of injury to fast bowlers. These included a coaching interventions programme, the use of a bowling aid in an attempt to modify bowling technique and a study that evaluated the recommended bowling workloads in young cricketers. The implications of the changes to the laws relating to the bowling action and the increased usage of the sliding stop in fielding are reviewed. Conclusion. From the review it is evident that there is a need to continue with injury surveillance, as well as a need to continue with and increase the number of studies that evaluate the efficacy of intervention strategies in order to reduce the risk of injury to cricketers. South African Journal of Sports Medicine Vol. 19 (5) 2007: pp. 129-132

Cricket and Representivity. The Case of Race Quotas in Team Selection

The essay examines the sources of the disquiet frequently expressed in the South African media at the predominantly white nature of the national cricket side. In particular, the authors focus on the argument which claims, first, that national sports teams must be representative, second, that the predominantly white nature of the national cricket side is unrepresentative and therefore unacceptable, and, finally, that the solution to the problem would be the enforcement of a racial quota whereby a certain number of players of colour must take the field each time the team plays. It is argued that although international sport does indeed derive its significance from the representivity of the national sides which take part, the sense of representivity appropriate to this context entails nothing in the way of ethnic profiles, but rather takes national sides which make up the strongest possible combination of all eligible players – players who are eligible on the basis of nationality and not ethnicity – to be properly representative. It is nevertheless concluded that the South African national side is unrepresentative, and therefore unacceptable, on the grounds that its ethnic profile, taken together with certain facts about the racial distribution of opportunities in contemporary South Africa, is a plausible indication that young black players are not presented with the same opportunities to develop their talents to the highest level that their white counterparts are. As a result there seems good ground to think that the larger process from which the South African national cricket side emerges is sufficiently perverted by racism for the side to be considered unrepresentative.

Analysis of patient load data for teams competing in the 2003 Cricket World Cup in South Africa

Objectives. To evaluate the injury presentation data for all teams taking part in 10 warm-up matches and 46 matches during the 2003 Cricket World Cup played in South Africa, in order to provide organisers with the basis of a sound medical-care plan for future tournaments of a similar nature. Methods. The data collected included the role of the injured person, the nature of the injury, whether the treatment was for an injury or an illness, whether the injury was acute, chronic or acute-on-chronic, and the prognosis (rest, play, unfit to play, sent home, follow-up treatment required). The medical personnel in charge of the medical support documented patient information which included the total number of patient presentations and the category of illness/injury. Results. Ninety patient presentations (1.6 patient presentations per match) were recorded. The most common patient presentations were by the batsmen (50%), followed by the bowlers (29%) and all-rounders (17%). Of the patient presentations, 53% were classified as injuries, while the remaining 47% were classified as illnesses. The patient presentations occurred in the early stages of the competition. The most common presentations were of an acute nature (63%). The main injury pathology categories were trigger point injuries (10%), and bruises / abrasions (10%), while infection (29%) was the main illness pathology. Conclusions. The 2003 Cricket World Cup proved to be an ideal opportunity to collect data on international cricketers participating in an intensive 6-week international competition; the epidemiological data collected should assist national cricket bodies and organisers of future Cricket World Cup competitions to predict participant-related injury rates. South African Journal of Sports Medicine Vol. 18 (4) 2006: pp. 129-134

Physiological requirements of cricket

Despite its long history and global appeal, relatively little is known about the physiological and other requirements of cricket. It has been suggested that the physiological demands of cricket are relatively mild, except in fast bowlers during prolonged bowling spells in warm conditions. However, the physiological demands of cricket may be underestimated because of the intermittent nature of the activity and the generally inadequate understanding of the physiological demands of intermittent activity. Here, we review published studies of the physiology of cricket. We propose that no current model used to analyse the nature of exercise fatigue (i.e. the cardiovascular–anaerobic model, the energy supply–energy depletion model, the muscle power–muscle recruitment model) can adequately explain the fatigue experienced during cricket. A study of players in the South African national cricket team competing in the 1999 Cricket World Cup revealed that, in a variety of measures of explosive ('anaerobic') power and aerobic endurance capacity, they were as 'fit' as South African national rugby players competing in the 1999 Rugby World Cup. Yet, outwardly, the physiological demands of rugby would seem to be far greater than those of cricket. This poses the question: 'Why are these international cricketers so fit if the physiological demands of cricket are apparently so mild?' One possibility is that this specific group of athletes are unusually proficient in a variety of sports; many achieved high standards of performance in other sports, including rugby, before choosing to specialize in cricket. Hence their apparently high fitness may simply reflect a superior genetic physical endowment, necessary to achieve success in modern international sports, including cricket. Alternatively, it could be hypothesized that superior power and endurance fitness may be required to cope with the repeated eccentric muscle contractions required in turning and in bowling and which may account for fatigue and risk of injury in cricket. If this is the case, the fitness of cricketers may be increased and their risk of injury reduced by more specific eccentric exercise training programmes.

Whatever Else It Is—It Still Isn't Cricket

Readers of these columns may recall that some years ago we scooped the psychiatric world with an exclusive article on the 1974 reorganization of the National Cricket Service and its effects on a local hospital cricket team. At that time Captains of such teams were abolished and replaced by Multidisciplinary Cricket Management Consensus decision-making processes: ongoing as I recall.