Cricket is a traditional team sport played in over 100 countries around the world. Unlike many mainstream sports, cricket has seen little research and development within the equipment used to play the game. Ball launching machines have been used as a training aid in a number of sports including cricket, however, as with the playing equipment used, these too have seen little development. Current cricket bowling machines enable players to train at a high intensity producing repeatable deliveries for batsmen to hone their skills. A need has been established by the coaching staff of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for a cricket training system that provides batsmen with a match realistic environment in which to train. Existing cricket bowling machines do not offer batsmen pre-release visual information that they would receive in a match situation and the most popular models release moulded, dimpled balls that do not replicate the performance of cricket balls.

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In recent decades, the growth of the professional sports indushtry has led to increasing interest in conomic analysis of sports data. Although research has been carried out on specific issues related to the structure of sports leagues, there is also growing awareness that professional sport can provide wider insights to academic discussion on economics and management, particularly as a setting to observe decision making. This thesis adds to the academic literature by investigating decision making under social pressure and by identifying the impacts of uncertainty of outcome and team strengths on attendance demand for sport. In order to do so, the thesis draws together data from a range of sources to produce a unique dataset of over 1,700 international cricket matches. Using a conditional logit model, Chapter 2 assesses the impact of the toss on match outcome in the Twenty20 International (T20I) format of cricket. This is the first known study to examine the impact of the toss on T20I matches. Previous work on the other two formats of international cricket has found mixed evidence on the impact of the toss on match outcome. The chapter further analyses the decision making of captains, akin to managers, by looking at the choice to bat or bowl first. Despite no significant evidence suggesting this decision has any impact on match outcome, there is tentative evidence that captains lean towards batting first significantly more often. This type of decision making behaviour is consistent with a particular social pressure from the cricket media to bat first. Chapter 3 extends this research by examining the impact of social pressure on match officials (umpires) in Test cricket matches. This chapter tests the impact of the ICe's neutral umpire policy by applying a negative binomial regression model to LBW decision data from 1,000 Test matches and finds that home bias is virtually eliminated as a result of this policy decision. The research further tests the impact of crowd pressure on umpiring decisions and finds some evidence of preference for the home team from home umpires. Given the pay and performance incentives for international cricket players and officials, the significant impact of social pressure on cricket officials suggests the possibility that social pressure can affect wider economic behaviour. Chapter 4 considers attendance demand for international cricket by identifying the determinants of attendance demand for Test and One Day International (ODI) cricket matches in Australia, England and New Zealand. The research conh'asts the impacts of uncertainty of outcome and absolute team strengths on attendance demand for sport, thus conh'ibuting to the literature. Previous literature on demand for international cricket has only looked at short run uncertainty of outcome. Using fixed effects and Tobit random effects models on over 850 international cricket matches, the empirical findings suggest that the impacts of uncertainty of outcome and team strengths differ between Test and ODI cricket. Also, short run uncertainty of outcome is a stronger explanation of attendance demand for international cricket than long run uncertainty of outcome. The findings provide some policy insights on scheduling to cricket administra tors. Chapter 5 summarizes the main findings from this thesis and identifies some limitations of the research methods, including data constraints. The thesis demonstrates a potentially consh'aining effect of social pressure on decision making using the setting of professional sport. It further provides an insight into the contrasting impacts of uncertainty of outcome and team strengths on demand for professional sport. The research provides guidance to policy makers in international cricket on both sh'uchual and scheduling issues in all three formats of cricket. The chapter also provides some specific suggestions for future research. ,t

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Full-body three-dimensional kinematics and ground reaction force characteristics were calculated to enable the analysis of fast bowling techniques. In particular, the effect of interactions between aspects of fast bowling technique on ball release speed and ground reaction forces. A three-dimensional full-body inverse dynamics analysis was developed allowing forces in the lower back to be estimated and their link with bowling technique addressed. The bowler was represented by a system of 18 rigid segments connected by pin joints. Kinematic (300 Hz) and kinetic (1008 Hz) data were collected for a group of 20 elite fast bowlers, using an 18 camera Vicon Motion Analysis System and a Kistler force plate. Each bowler performed six maximal velocity deliveries, striking the force plate with their front foot during the front foot contact phase of the bowling action. The best three deliveries - maximal velocity deliveries with minimal marker loss - were analysed for each bowler. The analysis was customised for each bowler using subject specific segmental properties. Parameters were calculated describing elements of fast bowling technique as well as characteristics of the ground reaction forces. The effect of these technique parameters on: ball release speed; peak ground reaction forces; and peak forces in the lower back were addressed using linear regression. The results suggest the fastest bowlers had a quicker run-up and maintained a straighter front knee throughout the front foot contact phase of the bowling action. The fastest bowlers also exhibited larger amounts of thoracic flexion, between front foot contact and ball release, and appeared to delay the onset of upper arm circumduction. These four aspects of technique explained 74% of the variation observed in ball release speed. Faster ball release speeds were associated with a larger braking impulse between front foot contact and ball release, in addition to lower peak loading rates. The results also indicate that the peak ground reaction forces and the peak forces in the lower back are determined predominantly by the initial orientation of the front leg at the instant of front foot contact.

Cricket is an established and traditional sport which is played in almost a hundred countries worldwide. Within the domain of cricket, ball launching machines are used in a training environment to help batsmen develop new techniques, work on areas of weakness and face a high intensity of deliveries without the need for a real bowler. A need has been recognised by coaches at the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for an advanced training system which incorporates the unique requirements of cricket bowling to include a fully programmable bowling machine which is capable of recreating any common bowling delivery and which is synchronised with an accurate bowler representation. A number of ball-launching devices are currently available for sports training which provide a simple means of bowling, pitching or throwing a ball to a batsman or fielder. As technology progresses so too does the development of this equipment to produce more realistic training conditions. However much of this development has occurred within the domain of baseball and cannot easily be transferred into cricket. The research within this thesis is focused upon the development of a cricket-specific training system.

This thesis stems from the author's interest in the practical application of Operational Research (OR) at the personal level and for the benefit of the human endeavours of individuals and small groups. The literature has devoted hardly any attention to this area, concentrating instead on the application of OR to large organisations. From the practical experience of applying OR to family financial decision making and planning situations, a realisation has grown that OR can be of benefit, not just financially but also in terms of fairness and satisfaction, to human decision making and planning more generally.

The aims of this thesis were to: (i) increase understanding of the biomechanical and motor control processes that underpin proficient fast bowling performance using dynamical systems theory and 'complex' analyses; and (ii) demonstrate the application of dynamical systems theory and the utility of 'complex' analyses to performance-oriented sports biomechanics research using cricket fast bowling as a representative task vehicle. Prior to analysing within- and between-bowler differences in coordination patterns at different levels of analysis and their relationship to ball release speed, the suitability of manual coordinate digitising for analysing intra- and inter-individual variability was examined. Both the reliability of time-discrete and time-continuous kinematic variables was considered. Of the 33 time-discrete kinematic variables examined, 31 exhibited between-participant variances and re-digitisation variances that accounted for the largest and smallest portions of total variance, respectively. Furthermore, re-digitisation variance accounted for less than 5% of total variance in 29 of these variables with 15 of these exhibiting less than 1%. For the 45 time-continuous kinematic variables, measurement error accounted for 17.2% of movement variability (range 4.3-41.0%). When considered together, these results indicated that manual coordinate digitising was sufficiently sensitive to reliably measure differences in technique within and between bowlers. Kohonen Self-Organising Maps (SOMs) were used to analyse coordination patterns in cricket fast bowling at a global whole-body level of analysis. Qualitative differences in SOM trajectories between bowlers signified participant-specific coordination patterns, which were attributed to differences in organismic constraints and intrinsic dynamics. A theoretical argument against the common optimal movement pattern concept was constructed and the utility of SOMs was evaluated. Several issues currently limiting their practical application, including the difficulty in linking the SOM trajectory to aspects of technique and the inability of biomechanists to identify optimal sports techniques, were highlighted. A combination of 'complex' analytical techniques was then applied to quantify intersegmental coordination among key limb and torso segments. Cross-correlation functions showed that moderate (0.5+) to very strong (0.9+) coupling relationships existed for the four segment couplings (NBA vs. FL, BA vs. NBA, BA vs. FL, UT vs.P) with the majority of these moving in synchrony. Statistically significant mean differences in both cross-correlation coefficients and average coupling angle for the four segment couplings throughout (0-100%), and during different phases (0-24%, 25-49%, 50-74%, 75-99%) of, the delivery stride provided further evidence of participant-specific coordination patterns. However, no associations between coupling relationships and ball release speed could be identified either within or between bowlers. This study further highlighted the difficulties in making associations between technique and outcomes.It was concluded that, based on the reported research findings, dynamical systems theory and its associated 'complex' analyses could make a substantive contribution to the enhancement of knowledge of cricket fast bowling techniques and also advance applied sports biomechanics research more generally. Further investigations into cricket fast bowling performance, focusing on the link between technique and outcomes using a combination of kinetic, energetic and coordination analyses, were identified as a research priority.

Talent identification is an integral component of the ever-professionalised sporting landscape. However, to date, there is a dearth of high quality evidence upon which to conduct talent identification practice. This thesis represents the preliminary stages in the validation of a talent identification model for cricket. The thesis contains six chapters (four empirical), which examine varying methodological approaches to talent identification, and present initial evidence (cross sectional and longitudinal) of those attributes that may be related to elite success. Chapter 2 presents two pilot studies examining the reliability and discriminant validity of batting and pace bowling assessments. Varying levels of validity and reliability are found. Some evidence suggests that skill-based differences (between high and low ability groups) become more pronounced after familiarisation / practice. Chapter 3 presents two studies examining the discriminant validity of scouting, and the most appropriate methodologies through which scouting can be conducted. The analysis documents significant discriminant value in scouting data. Skill-based scouting parameters consistently discriminate between low and high ability groups. Psychological scouting variables are the only data that discriminate between high and very high ability groups. Chapter 4 presents a longitudinal analysis of performance statistics. Findings suggest that performance statistics may be a valuable talent identification tool. Performance statistics that represent non-traditional metrics (e.g., ability to adapt on entering a new environment) consistently correlated with subsequent performance and are worthy of further examination. Chapter 5 presents evidence examining relative age effect and maturation across the male and female England Cricket Pathway. The findings suggest that RAEs may be advantageous from a development perspective, with relatively young athletes who remain in the system, becoming overrepresented at later stages.

The game of cricket is often discussed as an enduring legacy of the British Empire. This dissertation examines the response of the Imperial Cricket Conference (ICC) as the official governing body of ‘international’ men’s cricket to developments related to decolonisation of the British Empire between 1947 and 1965. This was a period of intense political flux and paradigmatic shifts. This study draws on primary sources in the form of records of ICC and MCC meetings and newspaper archives, and a wide-ranging corpus of secondary sources on the history of cricket, history of the Commonwealth and transnational perspectives on history. It is the contention of this dissertation that these cricket archives have hitherto not been exploited as commentary on decolonisation or the Commonwealth. Due attention is given to familiarising the reader with the political backdrop in the Empire and Commonwealth against which the ICC is studied. Primary source materials are used extensively to reconstruct and scrutinise major ‘off-field’ developments that affected the ICC in this period. This enables the dissertation to bring together the political Commonwealth, the non-governmental Commonwealth and the ICC for a comparative study. Using this synthesis as a framework, it analyses the ICC’s response to decolonisation. The dissertation also introduces literature on transnational perspectives on history and assesses the Commonwealth of Nations—of which the ICC was an important part—from this perspective. The last chapter concludes proceedings by highlighting the contribution of this dissertation to the wider body of historical knowledge. Based on the evidence, the dissertation finds that cricket’s encounter with decolonisation was unhappy and protracted. The clash of the ‘old’ and ‘new’ Commonwealth, much-chronicled in commentary on the political Commonwealth, was echoed in the world of cricket. The ICC is portrayed as one among a plethora of individuals, institutions and interest groups that participated in the process of decolonisation of the British Empire. Against the backdrop of the demise of the British Empire, the Imperial Cricket Conference could be seen a Commonwealth interest group that, as a transnational site, continuously grappled with conflict arising from lingering (real and imagined) ‘bonds’ of empire and assertion of British soft power on the one hand, and increasing assertion of national identity and rights by member states on the other. One can read the ICC as a microcosm of important debates within the Empire and the Commonwealth in this period. The ICC is a rich repository of information on decolonisation and cricket and decolonisation in cricket. In spite of its long association with the Commonwealth, there has been little sustained engagement with cricket in Commonwealth studies. This dissertation attempts to address that gap by probing the historical role of cricket. It also offers fresh institutional and transnational perspectives in contrast to the dominant social history paradigm in the literature on cricket.