Performance trajectories of bowlers and batters from youth level to senior professional status in cricket

ABSTRACT The identification and development of talent towards expertise is the primary goal for many professional cricket organisations. The purpose of this study was to utilise retrospective County Age Group (CAG; U10–U19) match performance data to develop age-specific benchmarks for young cricketers to achieve senior professional status. Moreover, results were aligned to the Development Model of Sport Participationto better understand the developmental trajectories of bowlers and batters. The study consisted of 251 male players from an English professional first-class county cricket club who were categorised into two skill-sets dependant on their match performance data (bowlers: n = 118; batters: n = 133). Bowling and batting averages, as well as wickets taken and runs scored, were used for analysis. No significant differences were identified for bowlers who were successful and unsuccessful in achieving professional status prior to U17. In contrast, batters who achieved professional status displayed significantly superior match performance data throughout the pathway. Overall, this data: (a) provides evidence of performance targets for young aspiring cricketers to achieve expertise in English cricket, (b) highlights that bowlers and batters typically follow different development trajectories, and (c) offers an analytical tool for key stakeholders to develop an evidence-based talent identification programme.