Three-dimensional vision analysis to measure the release characteristics of elite bowlers in cricket

Abstract

Cricket is a sport played internationally in over 100 countries. Two teams face one another in a match, each taking it in turns to bat and field. In the fielding side, bowlers deliver the ball to the batsman who then responds by hitting the ball away. Batting and bowling are complex and dynamic skills which must be practised at length in training. However, due to the demanding nature of bowling, batsmen can train against a machine to face sufficient numbers of deliveries. An advanced training machine is under development at Loughborough University that is capable of delivering technically correct bowling deliveries in a repeatable manner. However, in order to monitor that the machine is generating accurate deliveries, a study to quantify the variability in the delivery parameters of bowlers has been undertaken, and the results are presented in this paper. Eight spin bowlers and ten pace bowlers have been studied. Each bowler was asked to deliver up to five balls, and the results have been analysed and presented. It has been found that the range of ball release speed varies from 17.5-35.0 m/s, the rate of spin imparted by the bowler varies from 11.44-231.22 rad/s, the launch angle of the ball varies from 9.7°above the horizontal to 19.2°below the horizontal and the launch position on the wicket varies from 1.97-2.38 m in height, 61.95 m in width and 0.36-1.79 m from the bowler's stumps.

Does shortening the pitch make junior cricketers bowl better?

“…The ball release heights as a percentage of stature reported here are comparable to the values in the literature (e.g. Bartlett, Stockill, Elliott and Burnett, 1996;Salter, Sinclair and Portus, 2007;Spratford, Keneally-Dabrowski, Byrne, Hicks and Portus, 2016;Worthington, 2010), while release distance usually goes unreported, or is measured from a fixed point and not normalized with respect to stature (Cork et al, 2012). Ball release height and release distance are dependent on and limited by both physique and technique, furthermore the nature of the bowling action dictates that an increase in release distance tends to accompany a decrease in release height, and vice versa, as found in this study.…”

“…Compared with -0.7° on the 19 yard pitch, the mean release angle of -4.2° on 16 yards was closer to the -7° of emerging national bowlers (Cork et al, 2012;Justham et al, 2008;Worthington, 2010). Shortening the pitch does appear to be a means of encouraging young bowlers to bowl more like adults by projecting the ball at a more downward angle.…”

“…Adult emerging national pace bowlers, playing on 22 yard (20.12 m) long pitches, bowl the ball at an angle typically around 7° below the horizontal for their standard deliveries (Cork, Justham & West, 2012;Justham, West & Cork, 2008;Worthington, 2010). The current recommendations for junior pitch lengths range from 18 yards (16.46 m) at under 9 to 21 yards (19.20 m) at under 13, with older juniors playing on a full length pitch (Marylebone Cricket Club, 2015).…”

Ecological dynamics of spin bowling in test match cricket: A longitudinal analysis of delivery speed between Australia and India

“…16 This is an essential skill attribute given the substantially slower delivery speeds produced by this form of bowling compared to pace bowling. 17,18 Interestingly, horizontal deviation properties have never been assessed in cricket pitch research and it is unknown how pitch properties affect this aspect of the delivery reflection. Australian pitches are also thought to retain larger amounts of the release speed produced by the bowlers, giving the batters less time to react and therefore favouring pace bowlers.…”

Spin Rate Measurements in Cricket Bowling Using Magnetometers

“…The kinematics of bowlers using 3D motion analysis of the body included the release characteristics (Chin et al [9]). High-speed cameras used by Cork et al (Photron FASTCAM ultima APX high-speed video camera) measured the flight characteristics together with Hawk-Eye balltracking software [10]. The kinematic differences between off-spin and leg-spin deliveries using motion analysis were investigated by Beach et al [11].…”