Paper Title: How do world-class cricket batsmen anticipate a bowler's intention?

Abstract: 

Four experiments are reported that examine the ability of cricket batsmen of different skill levels to pick up advance information to anticipate the type and length of balls bowled by swing and spin bowlers. The information available upon which to make the predictive judgements was manipulated through a combination of temporal occlusion of the display and selective occlusion or presentation of putative anticipatory cues. In addition to a capability to pick up advance information from the same cues used by intermediate and low-skilled players, highly skilled players demonstrated the additional, unique capability to pick up advance information from some specific early cues (especially bowling hand and arm cues) to which the less skilled players were not attuned. The acquisition of expert perceptual-motor skill appears to involve not only refinement of information extraction but also progression to the use of earlier, kinematically relevant sources of information.

Publication: 

Q J Exp Psychol (Colchester). 2006 Dec;59(12):2162-86.

Authors: 

Müller S, Abernethy B, Farrow D.

School of Human Movement Studies, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia

More Information: 

For more information on scientific research that examined how international batsmen read bowlers' deliveries, follow this weblink.

The research reported in the paper formed part of Sean Muller's doctoral studies at The University of Queensland.