This study involved a systematic video analysis of 16 anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries sustained by elite-level netball players during televised games in order to describe the game situation, the movement patterns involved, the player’s behaviour, and a potential injury mechanism. Eight of the ACL injuries were classified as “indirect contact” and eight as “non-contact”. Two common scenarios were identified. In Scenario A the player was jumping to receive or intercept a pass and whilst competing for the ball experienced a perturbation in the air. As a result the player’s landing was unbalanced with loading occurring predominantly on the knee of the injured side. In Scenario B the player was generally in a good position at ground contact, but then noticeably altered the alignment of the trunk before the landing was completed. This involved rotating and laterally flexing the trunk without altering the alignment of the feet. Apparent knee valgus collapse on the knee of the injured side was observed in 3/6 Scenario A cases and 5/6 Scenario B cases. Players may benefit from landing training programmes that incorporate tasks that use a ball and include decision-making components or require players to learn to cope with being unbalanced.

The aims of this study were to describe the current anthropometric profiles of elite Australian female and male cricket fast bowlers and establish a set of reference values useful for future investigations on player selection, talent identification, and training programme development. The participants were 26 female (mean age 22.5 years, s = 4.5; height 1.71 m, s = 0.05; body mass 66.2 kg, s = 7.5) and 26 male (mean age 23.9 years, s = 3.5; height 1.88 m, s = 0.05; body mass 87.9 kg, s = 8.2) fast bowlers. The anthropometric profiles included the measurement of skinfolds, and segment lengths, breadths, and girths. A series of derived variables assessing the distribution of subcutaneous adipose tissue, the bivariate overlap zone, relative body size and proportionality, and somatotype were also calculated. The male bowlers had larger length, breadth, and girth measurements than their female counterparts. There were differences in proportionality between the sexes, with only the male bowlers exhibiting characteristics that could be considered “large” relative to height. The female bowlers had a higher sum of seven skinfolds (P < 0.001), were more endomorphic (F _1,50 = 30.18, P < 0.001), and less mesomorphic (F _1,50 = 10.85, P < 0.01) than the male bowlers. These reference data should be useful to practitioners and researchers interested in cricket. Further research is needed to clarify why only male fast bowlers had variables that were proportionally large relative to height.

This study aimed to investigate the bowling techniques of female fast bowlers and identify any association between a history of low back pain (LBP) and the movement patterns of the thorax relative to the pelvis during the delivery stride of the bowling action. Three-dimensional kinematic data were collected from 26 elite Australian female fast bowlers using an eight-camera Vicon motion analysis system. Nineteen bowlers used a mixed action, 6 bowlers used a semiopen action, and 1 bowler used a side-on action. Fourteen bowlers had a history of LBP. Eight of these 14 bowlers used a mixed action, and bowlers with more shoulder counterrotation were no more likely to have a history of LBP. Bowlers with a history of LBP positioned the thorax in more left lateral flexion relative to the pelvis between 73–79% of the delivery stride, and moved the thorax through a significantly greater range of lateral flexion relative to the pelvis during the delivery stride compared with bowlers with no history of LBP. This information will give coaches and support staff a better understanding of female bowling technique and may facilitate better screening practices for elite female cricketers.