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The CA Sports Science Program
A collaborative program of Cricket Australia and the Australian 
Institute of Sport

SPORT SCIENCE SPORT MEDICINE UNIT

Cricket Australia’s Sport Science Sport Medicine (SSSM) Unit is administered from the Centre of Excellence offices in Brisbane. The SSSM unit operates to provide Australian cricket with a competitive advantage on the world stage. The Australian Institute of Sport and the Australian academic sector are key partners in the sport science sport medicine program. Major focus areas are outlined below.

Scientific and medical research and development

Target research areas are prioritized by Cricket Australia in consultation with key stakeholders such as state and territory cricket associations, high performance program staff and the Australian Institute of Sport. Cricket Australia also collaborates with specialist sport science and medical experts as part of the Sport Science Medicine Advisory Group (SSMAG). Cricket Australia runs a yearly research grant scheme for Australian based researchers interested in conducting studies into the scientific and medical aspects of cricket. The SSMAG plays a key role in reviewing these proposals and providing advice to Cricket Australia regarding the proposals scientific rigor, feasibility and practical benefits to cricket. Much of this research is conducted through the external grant system or through internal PhD scholarship holders.

Universities who have made significant contributions to the research and development strategy of Australian cricket include The University of Western Australia, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, The University of Sydney, The University of New South Wales, Charles Sturt University, The University of Queensland, Queensland University of Technology, Griffith University, James Cook University and the National Heat Training and Acclimatisation Centre. The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in Canberra has been a key partner in many sport science research projects through a shared Cricket Australia and AIS scientific employee and scholarship agreement.

Cricket Australia advertises on this website when research funding proposals are due, which is typically in the last quarter of each year. Research priorities typically have an athlete injury prevention and performance enhancement bias. Research proposals need to be well designed and adhere to the application guidelines. The latest research application guidelines can be downloaded from http://www.cricket.com.au/default.aspx?s=sportscience

Technical development of Australian cricket high performance programs

This area addresses the technical infrastructure of high performance programs across the country to enable a consistent approach to tracking talented cricketers from the backyard to baggygreen. This involves the implementation of standardised fitness assessments, medical and physiotherapy screening protocols on a routine basis. National working groups, with representatives from state associations in physiotherapy, fitness and medicine meet annually to review data and assess relationships to injury and performance. Benchmarking current practice against world best practice is an important strategy of these working groups. 

A key SSSM Unit function is to provide strength and conditioning services to high performance programs in Australian cricket. This covers the Australian women’s program (AIS Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars), Australian women’s youth squad (Commonwealth Bank Shooting Stars), Centre of Excellence men’s program (AIS Scholarship holders) and the Australian U/19 men’s squad. Case management of nationally contracted male and female players and AIS scholarship holders when sustaining injury ensures athletes receive best practice and treatment continuity. This involves working closely with Australian teams and state association medical and support staff to promote an effective return to play for injured athletes.

The Australian men’s cricket team receives long term sport science support as well as servicing on an as needs basis. Longer term projects with the team include quantification of match workloads using GPS technology, innovative methods to supplement skills training and detailed anthropometric profiling to monitor player physical capacities.

Communication and collaboration

To maximize integration of science and medicine in Australian cricket strong collaborations are required between administrators, team support staff, athletes, scientists and coaches. To this end all research and development initiatives are undertaken with a clear understanding of the practical benefits to cricket. Key stakeholders in the Australian cricket high performance system are important for this objective, with national working group members representing a vehicle for a national coordinated approach to science and medicine in Australian cricket.

The Cricket Australia Sport Science Sport Medicine conference is held every second year and is our showcase event to disseminate the latest findings from Cricket Australia’s investment in research and development.  The conference is held in approximately May every second year and is open to fee paying delegates. The next conference is due in 2009. The scientific program from the 2007 conference can be downloaded from http://www.cricket.com.au/default.aspx?s=sportscience

Cricket Australia Sport Science Sport Medicine Unit Staff

The Cricket Australia SSSM Unit drives many of the national SSSM programs operating in Australian cricket high performance programs. Here is an outline of the staff that are part of the SSSM unit.

Marc oversees the strategy and operations of the SSSM unit and is based at the Centre of Excellence in Brisbane. His main duties are to work with staff and various stakeholders to implement research and technical development initiatives in Australian cricket programs. Included in this is PhD scholar supervision, the management of CA sport science staff and researchers at the COE in Brisbane and the AIS in Canberra. Marc has a research background in sports biomechanics covering cricket batting,
throwing, illegal bowling actions and bowling techniques associated with lower back injuries and ball release speed. He is also a member of the ICC panel of Human Movement Specialists.

Aaron’s main roles are to provide strength and conditioning services to male and female athletes attending the Centre of Excellence on an AIS Scholarship, as well as the Australian women’s U/21 sqaud and the Australian men’s U/19 squad. He also is the Case Manager for any injured nationally contracted or AIS scholarship cricketer. Aaron also works with state cricket associations to implement the national fitness standards system. Aaron has a background in AFL football as a strength and conditioning coach and researcher.

Wayne is based at the AIS in Canberra as a 50% CA staff member and holds a key position to facilitate the technical development link between Cricket Australia and the AIS. Wayne is responsible for delivering biomechanical and skill measurement services to AIS cricket athletes attending the Centre of Excellence and the AIS women’s team. This includes skill testing in Brisbane and biomechanical analyses at the AIS Biomechanics state of the art Canberra facility. Wayne has conducted research into the kinematic of soccer goalkeeping and illegal bowling actions.

Elissa is a PhD scholar based at the AIS in Canberra and is funded by Cricket Australia and the Queensland University of Technology. Her research focus is fast bowling expertise through the Australian cricket high performance pathway. The purpose of Elissa’s research is to help Cricket Australia maximize and individualize its fast bowling talent development processes. Elissa’s research involves examining different skill levels of fast bowlers from biomechanical, physiological, psychological, motor control and socio-developmental perspectives.

Carl’s PhD research project aims to quantify the game and training demands of international and Australian first class cricket. The research uses GPS tracking technology and assesses a range of physiological variables during cricket matches to determine how these are influenced by environment, climate, match scheduling and different preparation strategies. The research is funded by Cricket Australia and the University of Western Australia and Carl is based at the AIS Physiology department in Canberra.

This is an ongoing annual scholarship offered by the AIS Biomechanics Department in Canberra and funded by Cricket Australia. The scholarship is designed for recent graduate of sport and
exercise science degrees so they can receive on the job training and education to improve their practical sport science skills. The scholar assists the SSSM team with Cricket Australia sport science testing and research projects. The scholarship is advertised annually through the AIS website and national newspapers approximately every September.

Did you know?

Australia is one of only two nations to have competed in every modern Summer Olympic Games.

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