Howzat?! Why is there an Over-representation of Left-handed Bowlers in Professional Cricket in the UK?

Foot and Ankle Injuries in Elite South African Cricketers: A Descriptive Analysis of Injury Surveillance Data

Introduction

Injury surveillance is an important part of injury risk reduction in the sporting population. This study describes the type, side (dominant or non-dominant), occurrence, impact, activity of onset, and severity of foot and ankle injuries in elite South African male and female cricketers.

Methods

Foot and ankle injuries sustained by elite cricket players between 2018 and 2021, obtained from the records of Cricket South Africa, were descriptively analysed.

Results

A total of 104 foot and ankle injuries in 82 players were recorded. The majority (n = 100; 96%) of injuries were on the non-dominant side. Bowling (n = 31; 30%) and fielding (n = 20; 19%) contributed to most injuries. The majority were first-time (n = 83; 80%) and non-impact injuries (n = 62; 60%). Fifty percent (n = 52) of injuries rendered players unable to participate in at least one match or practice session. Lateral ankle ligament injury was the most common injury sustained (n = 36; 35%).

Conclusion

The findings from this study can inform future researchers and assist healthcare service needs relating to injury risk reduction and management programmes. Effective rehabilitation programmes may reduce the risk of reinjury. Ideally, these programmes need to be role specific.

Kinematic differences between left- and right-handed cricket fast bowlers during the bowling action

Background

Despite differences between left- and right-handed athletes in other sports, minimal evidence exists regarding biomechanical similarities and differences between left- and right-handed cricket fast bowlers performing an equivalent task.

Objectives

This study aimed to compare the kinematics between left and right-handed fast bowlers performing an equivalent task (i.e. bowling 'over the wicket' to a batter of the same handedness as the bowler).

Methods

Full body, three-dimensional kinematic data for six left-handed and 20 right-handed adolescent, male, fast bowlers were collected using the Xsens inertial measurement system. Time-normalised joint and segment angle time histories from back foot contact to follow-through ground contacts were compared between groups via statistical parametric mapping. Whole movement and subphase durations were also compared.

Results

Left-handed players displayed significantly more trunk flexion from 49%-56% of the total movement (ball release occurred at 54%; p = 0.037) and had shorter back foot contact durations on average (0.153 vs 0.177 s; p = 0.036) compared to right-handed players.

Conclusion

Left- and right-handed bowlers displayed similar sagittal plane kinematics but appeared to use non-sagittal plane movements differently around the time of ball release. The kinematic differences identified in this study can inform future research investigating the effect of hand dominance on bowling performance and injury risk.

Seam or swing? Identifying the most effective type of bowling variation for fast bowlers in men's international 50-over cricket

In this study, 13,176 balls bowled by international level fast bowlers were analysed in order to investigate the relationship between the types of delivery and their effectiveness. The results of Chi-Squared analyses revealed significant associations between the type of delivery and runs conceded (p < 0.001) as well as wickets taken (p < 0.001). Seam movement was revealed to be more effective than swing bowling at both producing dot balls and taking wickets. Specifically, balls that 'seam-away" were revealed to be the most effective for bowling dots and "seam-in" for taking wickets. The "away-swinger" resulted in significantly greater than expected dot balls as did the "in-swinger" but only the in-swinger resulted in significantly greater than expected wickets. Both the "off-cutter" and "slower-balls" were revealed to result in significantly fewer than expected dot balls but significantly greater than expected wickets, implying bowlers must assess for themselves the risk versus reward of these two types of variation. Balls with no-movement were revealed to have no significant relationship with runs conceded, but did result in significantly fewer than expected wickets. Evidence suggests that lateral movement is crucial to bowling success with seam movement revealed to be more effective than swing.

Left-handedness and time pressure in elite interactive ball games

According to the fighting hypothesis, frequency-dependent selection gives relatively rarer left-handers a competitive edge in duel-like contests and is suggested as one mechanism that ensured the stable maintenance of handedness polymorphism in humans. Overrepresentation of left-handers exclusively in interactive sports seems to support the hypothesis. Here, by referring to data on interactive ball sports, I propose that a left-hander's advantage is linked to the sports' underlying time pressure. The prevalence of left-handers listed in elite rankings increased from low (8.7%) to high (30.39%) time pressure sports and a distinct left-hander overrepresentation was only found in the latter (i.e. baseball, cricket and table tennis). This indicates that relative rarity and the interactive nature of a contest are not sufficient per se to evoke a left-hander advantage. Refining the fighting hypothesis is suggested to facilitate prediction and experimental verification of when and why negative frequency-dependent selection may benefit left-handedness.

Effects of bilateral and non-dominant practices on the lateral preference in judo matches

This study analysed the effects of bilateral and non-dominant practice on novice practitioners' lateral preference for judo skills in a combat context (i.e., randori). Thirty sports sciences students (22 men and 8 women; mean age 19 ± 1 years) with right hand, foot, and counterclockwise rotation preferences were divided into 3 groups: bilateral (BG; n = 8), non-dominant (NDG; n = 11), and control (CG; n = 11). Participants received 8 weeks of training at a rate of 3 days per week. The NDG was trained to perform judo skills exclusive with their non-dominant side, while the BG performed every task symmetrically. Before and after training, participants were recorded during two 3-min randoris to obtain the percentage of their engagement in dominant side actions. Pretest percentages were 73.1 ± 19.9%, 77.8 ± 18.8%, and 68.9 ± 27.2% for BG, NDG, and CG, respectively. Post-test values were 75.0 ± 15.6%, 23.3 ± 27.9%, and 72.2.9 ± 20.4%, respectively. Significant differences were observed between NDG and each of the other groups after the training. Changes from pretest were only significant for NDG (P = 0.003). These results suggest that lateral preference among novice judo practitioners during randori can be modulated by the type of practice.

Accuracy of Outcome Anticipation, But Not Gaze Behavior, Differs Against Left- and Right-Handed Penalties in Team-Handball Goalkeeping

Low perceptual familiarity with relatively rarer left-handed as opposed to more common right-handed individuals may result in athletes' poorer ability to anticipate the former's action intentions. Part of such left-right asymmetry in visual anticipation could be due to an inefficient gaze strategy during confrontation with left-handed individuals. To exemplify, observers may not mirror their gaze when viewing left- vs. right-handed actions but preferentially fixate on an opponent's right body side, irrespective of an opponent's handedness, owing to the predominant exposure to right-handed actions. So far empirical verification of such assumption, however, is lacking. Here we report on an experiment where team-handball goalkeepers' and non-goalkeepers' gaze behavior was recorded while they predicted throw direction of left- and right-handed 7-m penalties shown as videos on a computer monitor. As expected, goalkeepers were considerably more accurate than non-goalkeepers and prediction was better against right- than left-handed penalties. However, there was no indication of differences in gaze measures (i.e., number of fixations, overall and final fixation duration, time-course of horizontal or vertical fixation deviation) as a function of skill group or the penalty-takers' handedness. Findings suggest that inferior anticipation of left-handed compared to right-handed individuals' action intentions may not be associated with misalignment in gaze behavior. Rather, albeit looking similarly, accuracy differences could be due to observers' differential ability of picking up and interpreting the visual information provided by left- vs. right-handed movements.

The fighting hypothesis in combat: how well does the fighting hypothesis explain human left-handed minorities?

The strong population bias in hand preference in favor of right-handedness seems to be a typical human trait. An elegant evolutionary hypothesis explaining this trait is the so-called fighting hypothesis that postulates that left-handedness is under frequency-dependent selection. The fighting hypothesis assumes that left-handers, being in the minority because of health issues, are still maintained in the population since they would have a greater chance of winning in fights than right-handers due to a surprise effect. This review critically evaluates the assumptions and evidence for this hypothesis and concludes that some evidence, although consistent with the fighting hypothesis, does not directly support it and may also be interpreted differently. Other supportive data are ambiguous or open for both statistical and theoretical criticism. We conclude that, presently, evidence for the fighting hypothesis is not particularly strong, but that there is little evidence to reject it either. The hypothesis thus remains an intuitively plausible explanation for the persistent left-hand preference in the population. We suggest alternative explanations and several ways forward for obtaining more crucial data for testing this frequently cited hypothesis.

Laterality differences in elite ice hockey: an investigation of shooting and catching orientations

Little is known about the implications of motor asymmetries for skilled performers in dynamic, time-constrained, team-based activities such as ice hockey. Three studies were conducted to examine laterality differences in ice hockey. Study 1 investigated laterality distributions across three leagues of increasing calibre. Among skating players, skill level was related to changes in laterality patterns based on position, while a significant increase in the proportion of left-catching goaltenders was found across the levels of competition. Study 2 examined laterality differences through a 90-year retrospective analysis of player performance measures within an evolving system. Regression analysis indicated right shot preferences were associated with scoring more goals, while left shot preferences were related to assisting more goals. Among goaltenders, right-catching preferences were associated with an increased save percentage compared with left-catching goaltenders. In Study 3, player-goaltender shootout interactions revealed left shooters to be less successful against right-catching goaltenders. Results suggest ice hockey supports models of skilled perception, and provide new information in the area of laterality and strategic frequency-dependent effects in ice hockey.

Automated processes in tennis: do left-handed players benefit from the tactical preferences of their opponents?

Previous research on laterality in sport suggests an over-representation of left-handers in interactive sports such as tennis and cricket. These findings potentially reflect left-handers' advantage over their right-handed competitors in those sports. Although considered crucial for successful performance, the tactical component of their superiority has yet to be analysed. Two studies were conducted to test for a side bias in tennis players' tactical preferences. In the first study, 108 right- and left-handed players of varying skill watched rallies on a computer screen and had to indicate where they would place the ball in the opposing half. The results showed the tactical preference of players to place more balls on a left-handed opponent's mostly stronger forehand side compared with when faced with a right-hander. In the second study, 54 professional tennis matches involving right- and left-handers were analysed with respect to ball placement frequencies on the opponent's backhand side. Significantly fewer balls were hit to the backhand side of a left-handed opponent, thus replicating the findings of Study 1 in on-court situations. Both studies indicate players' preference to place shots to their right irrespective of their opponent's handedness. Findings support the assumption that left-handers might enjoy a strategic advantage in tennis.

Comparative assessment of 13 of the widely used hand preference items in a Bulgarian sample

The hand preference items included into Chapman and Chapman's (1987) inventory were comparatively assessed concerning the frequencies of the answers given by Bulgarian right, mixed, and left handers, concerning the correlation of each item with the remaining 12, with eyedness and footedness scores. Relationships between writing hand, throwing hand, eyedness, and footedness were studied. Application of a cumulative index of familial sinistrality evidenced the biological significance of the main findings. All the results showed the inferiority of the writing hand as compared to the remaining items and evidenced the full inappropriateness of this item as a single predictor of handedness.

Interaction of Hand Preference with Eye Dominance on Accuracy in Archery

In this study, the interaction of hand preference, eye dominance, and performance in archery was investigated. Beginners' accuracy (right-handed French students (48 men, 34 women) from the University of Sport Sciences ( M age = 19.3 yr., SD = 1.7 yr.), were tested and 1,323 practitioners were given a laterality questionnaire. Analysis suggested the interaction of hand preference and eye dominance might influence accuracy of the novice archers (uncrossed patterns were more accurate) when the bow was used without sights, but the use of sights by practitioners seemed to eliminate this effect.

Motoric dominance and sporting excellence: training versus heredity

In the past two decades, laterality in sports has become clearly established. In particular, the concept of motoric dominance in sports has been a fertile area for laterality research. The literature is consistent with the view that in certain sporting skills, sporting competitors with specific motoric-dominance patterns enjoy an advantage over other competitors and are overrepresented in some sports. Two theoretical interpretations have been offered to explain this imbalance of motoric-dominance distribution among sporting individuals: hypotheses of "innate superiority" and "strategic advantage." This paper presents an overview the two hypotheses, along with relevant work so far reported and identifies directions for further empirical research. The theoretical and practical implications of research on laterality in human motor performance are discussed.