Analysis of specific speed testing for cricketers.

A characteristic of cricket sprints, which may require specific assessment, is that players carry a bat when running between the wickets. This study analyzed the relationships between general and specific cricket speed tests, which included 30-m sprint (0- to 5-, 0- to 10-, 0- to 30-m intervals; general); 505 change-of-direction speed test with left and right foot turns (general); 17.68-m sprint without and with (WB) a cricket bat (0- to 5-, 0- to 17.68-m intervals; specific); and run-a-three (specific). Seventeen male cricketers (age = 24.4 ± 5.0 years; height = 1.84 ± 0.06 m; mass = 86.9 ± 13.9 kg) completed the tests, which were correlated (p < 0.05) to determine if they assessed different physical qualities. The subjects were also split into faster and slower groups based on the 17.68-m WB sprint time. A 1-way analysis of variance ascertained between-group differences in the tests (p < 0.05). The 17.68-m WB sprint correlated with the 0- to 10- and 0- to 30-m sprint intervals (r = 0.63-0.78) but not with the 0- to 5-m interval. The run-a-three correlated with the 505 and 17.68-m WB sprint (r = 0.62-0.90) but not with the 0- to 5-m interval. Poor relationships between the 0- to 5-m interval and cricket-specific tests may be because of the bat inclusion, as the sprints with a bat began with the subject ahead of the start line, and bat placed behind it. Furthermore, although the 17.68-m WB sprint and run-a-three differentiated faster and slower subjects, the 0- to 5-m sprint interval, and left foot 505, did not. The results indicated the necessity for cricket-specific speed testing. The 17.68-m WB sprint and run-a-three are potentially valuable tests for assessing cricket-specific speed. A bat should be incorporated when testing the running between the wickets ability.