The Epidemiology and Impact of Injuries in Elite Cricketers in England and Wales

Abstract

The programme of work presented in this thesis was undertaken with the aim to describe the injury epidemiology and impact across various levels and formats of cricket, with the potential to inform practice and lead to a reduction in injury risk within the sport.

The research begins in Chapter Three, which presents a systematic review and meta-analysis of data relating to injury in academy and professional men’s cricket and the long-term health of retired cricket players. This showed an overall match time-loss injury incidence of 168 and 140 injuries per 1000 days of play, for the match time-loss and general time-loss injury definition, respectively. Shorter match formats had a significantly higher injury incidence compared to multi-day cricket. Injuries to the lumbar spine, hand, and thigh were most common and fast bowlers had the highest injury incidence and prevalence. There was limited evidence of studies on retired players, precluding clear conclusions. In Chapter Four, the extent of the injury situation was established in elite academy men’s cricket players in England and Wales, with bowling the most high-risk activity and lumbar spine the most common and prevalent injury site. Franchise cricket has now become increasingly popular, and Chapter Five shows the injury situation in men’s and women’s franchise cricket in England and Wales. Injuries occurring while fielding presented the highest injury incidence, with lower limb time-loss and upper limb non-time loss injuries the most frequent. A similar injury profile was observed between the men’s and women’s ‘The Hundred’ competition. Chapter Six demonstrated the direct and indirect financial cost of injuries in professional men’s cricket. Approximately £3 million was spent annually on injuries, with indirect costs representing 77% of the total costs. The costliest body locations were the lumbar spine, knee and hand. These findings can supplement traditional injury surveillance and offer compelling evidence to engage stakeholder who are not traditionally engaged with injury prevention efforts.

The findings demonstrate the high incidence and prevalence of injuries across multiple formats and levels of cricket, as well as the substantial financial impact injuries impose. Overall, this programme of work confirms the importance of injury prevention efforts for all elite cricket stakeholders, to reduce the impact of injuries to players, teams and cricket organisations.

Date of Award	10 Sept 2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Bath
Supervisor	Sean Williams (Supervisor), Keith Stokes (Supervisor) & Carly McKay (Supervisor)