The lateral batting backlift technique in cricket: Does it affect other components of the batting technique?

Abstract

This study primarily analysed the batting backlift technique (BBT) of professional cricket players. The study also investigated whether the lateral batting backlift technique (LBBT) affects other components of the batting performance. The participants (n = 37) were male English County professional players (CP) (n = 25) and South African international players (SAI) (n = 12). Biomechanical and video analyses were conducted on both groups. The players’ batting statistics including wagon wheels (scoring areas of batsmen on the cricket field) were obtained online. Data analyses included Pearson’s Chi square and student t-tests. All analyses were conducted using R (R Core Team, 2014). The level of significance was set at α = 0.05. This study demonstrated that batsmen who used a LBBT were more successful at producing runs in diverse scoring areas on the field. A LBBT was also shown to positively affect the batsmen’s stance and footwork whereby most of the batsmen had an open stance at the crease. Cricket coaches should emphasise the direction of the backlift with batsmen, especially when different scoring areas (wagon wheels) on the field are being correlated to their backlift.

Keywords: Batting backlift techniques, professional cricket, stance, scoring areas, cricket.