Abstract
Objectives
This study presents seven seasons of injury surveillance data for both elite Australian
male and female cricket players, revealing injury statistics and allowing for comparison
between sexes.
Design
Retrospective cohort.
Methods
Participants were elite Australian male and female cricket players who were contracted
to play for a national and/or state/territory team and/or T20 franchise between 2015–16
and 2021–22 (7 seasons). Injury data was recorded in Cricket Australia's Athlete Management
System database and combined with match data. The STROBE-SIIS statement was used as
the relevant guideline for this study.
Results
Data for 1345 male player seasons and 959 female player seasons revealed sex-related
differences in the injury incidence rates and prevalence. Males had higher incidence
(average 136 vs 101 injuries per 1000 match days) and prevalence of match time-loss
injuries (average 10.4% vs 6.5% players unavailable). However, the overall incidence
of all medical attention injuries were similar between sexes (Incidence Rate Ratio
(IRR) 0.9, 95%CI 0.8–1.0). The most frequent match time-loss injuries for males were
hamstring strains (7.4 new injuries per 100 players per season), side and abdominal
strains (5.5), concussion (5.0), lumbar stress fractures (4.3), and wrist and hand
fractures (3.9). The most frequent match time-loss injuries for females over the 7
seasons were hamstring strains (3.1), concussion (2.3), quadriceps strains (2.4) and
shin/foot/ankle stress fractures (2.0). The IRR of medical attention injuries for
males compared to females was higher for lumbosacral stress fractures (IRR 2.3), elbow
and forearm injuries (1.5), and concussion (1.4), and lower for lower leg, foot, and
ankle stress fractures (0.6), shoulder and upper arm injuries (0.7), and quadriceps
strains (0.6).
Conclusions
Robust long-term injury surveillance enabled the injury profiles of elite Australian
male and female cricket players to be understood and compared. Males had a higher
incidence and prevalence of match time-loss injuries, likely reflecting a higher match
exposure.
Abbreviations:
Twenty20 (T20) (20-over cricket match format)Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: December 02, 2022
Accepted:
December 1,
2022
Received in revised form:
November 1,
2022
Received:
December 4,
2021
Identification
Copyright
Crown Copyright © 2022 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Sports Medicine Australia. All rights reserved.
