Injuries in Australian cricket at first class level 1995/1996 to 2000/2001

Abstract

Objective: To describe and analyse injuries and illness occurring in Australian cricket at first class level. Methods: Injuries occurring to the state and national teams were surveyed prospectively between the seasons 1998/1999 and 2000/2001, and the three preceding seasons were surveyed retrospectively. The definition of an injury was detailed and generally required the player to miss playing time in a major match. Results: Average injury match incidence in the seasons studied prospectively varied from a low of 19.0 injuries per 10 000 player hours in first class domestic matches to a high of 38.5 injuries per 10 000 player hours in one day internationals. The average seasonal incidence was 19.2 injuries per squad (25 players) per season (20 matches). Injury prevalence (the percentage of players missing through injury at any given time) was 14% for pace bowlers, 4% for spin bowlers, 4% for batsmen, and 2% for wicket keepers. The most common injuries were hamstring strains, side strains, groin injuries, wrist and hand injuries, and lumbar soft tissue injuries. Bowlers who had bowled more than 20 match overs in the week leading up to a match had an increased risk of sustaining a bowling injury (risk ratio 1.91, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.28 to 2.85). A further risk for bowling injury is bowling second in a match-that is, batting first (risk ratio 1.62, 95% CI 1.04 to 2.50). A risk factor for injury in fielding is colliding with the boundary fence. Conclusions: Further study is required to determine ways to minimise the risk of injury in fast bowlers. Cricket grounds should mark a boundary line on the playing field to prevent players colliding with fences in the field.

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

“…This is different to the literature on seasonal risk of injury 3,5,[10][11][12][13][14][15][16] which shows that bowlers, particularly fast bowlers, are at the greatest risk of injury. Because of the format of the World Cup tournament, bowlers are not likely to sustain chronic over-use injuries due to the limit of 10 overs per match for each bowler and the relatively long time between matches which allows the bowlers to recover fully.…”

“…The seasonal rate of injury to cricket players has been well documented over the past number of years, 3,5,[10][11][12][13][14][15][16] with the recent study on West Indies cricket 1 being the first to adhere to the internationally acceptable injury surveillance method and definition of injury. However, the literature on the injury rate of participants in a major cricket tournament is limited to only 1 team per tournament or tour.…”

Junior cricketers are not a smaller version of adult cricketers: A 5-year investigation of injuries in elite junior cricketers

“…The findings of adult studies [1][2][3] report that bowlers were at the greatest risk of injury (sustaining between 40 and 45% of the injuries), with the primary mechanism of injury being delivery and followthrough (25%). Similarly, the primary activity for injury to schoolboy cricketers was bowling (48%), with run-up and delivery the primary mechanisms of injury.…”

“…Between 65 and 92% of the adult injuries sustained were new injuries, between 8 and 22% were recurrent injuries from the previous season and 12% recurred in the same season. [1][2][3] New injuries accounted for 27% of the injuries for schoolboy cricketers, while recurrent injuries accounted for 73% of the injuries: 26% from the previous season and 47% recurring during the same season.…”

“…Injuries in elite adult cricketers have been well researched over the years, with long-term injury surveillance being carried out in Australia, [1] England [2] and South Africa (SA). [3] However, there remains a relative lack of published studies on injury patterns and risk factors in young cricket players, particularly studies reporting injuries with large sample sizes and over more than one season.…”