1. Functional movement variability to maintain delivery speed in cricket fast bowling.
- Author
-
Andrews, Max H., Gorman, Adam D., and Crowther, Rian H.
- Subjects
BIOMECHANICS ,THROWING (Sports) ,FUNCTIONAL assessment ,DESCRIPTIVE statistics ,CHI-squared test ,PSYCHOLOGY of movement ,ANALYSIS of variance ,ATHLETIC ability ,BODY movement ,DATA analysis software ,CRICKET (Sport) - Abstract
Fast bowling in cricket involves a complex multiarticular action performed at high speed. Functional movement variability plays an important role in helping the performer to maintain the consistency of performance outcomes, although this has not previously been examined in cricket fast bowling in relation to maintaining consistent delivery speed. Therefore, this study investigated how variability of delivery stride movement timings contributes to maintaining consistent bowling speed. Footage of six deliveries from 92 male fast bowlers were analyzed. Delivery speed was recorded, and the time of back foot contact, front foot contact and ball release were identified. The variability of movement timings and the delivery speed were determined using the coefficient of variation. Results showed greater variability in delivery stride movement timings compared to delivery speed. These findings suggest that bowlers may use movement variability to adjust their functional movement coordination pattern during the bowling action to achieve consistent bowling speed. Highlights: Variability of movement timings may play an important functional role in assisting cricket fast bowlers to adapt to the constraints of the task to achieve a consistent performance outcome.Findings support previous research in skill acquisition by highlighting that variability in movement patterns is necessary for consistent performance outcomes.This study presents preliminary evidence that functional movement variability in cricket fast bowlers contributes to achieving consistent delivery speed, challenging traditional views on minimizing movement variability for successful performance outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF