Four experiments are reported that examine the ability of cricket batsmen of different skill levels to pick up advance information to anticipate the type and length of balls bowled by swing and spin bowlers. The information available upon which to make the predictive judgements was manipulated through a combination of temporal occlusion of the display and selective occlusion or presentation of putative anticipatory cues. In addition to a capability to pick up advance information from the same cues used by intermediate and low-skilled players, highly skilled players demonstrated the additional, unique capability to pick up advance information from some specific early cues (especially bowling hand and arm cues) to which the less skilled players were not attuned. The acquisition of expert perceptual-motor skill appears to involve not only refinement of information extraction but also progression to the use of earlier, kinematically relevant sources of information.

Expert performers in striking sports can hit objects moving at high speed with incredible precision. Exceptionally well developed anticipation skills are necessary to cope with the severe constraints on interception. In this papr we provide a review of the empirical evidence regarding expert interception in striking sports and propose a preliminary model of expert anticipation. Central to the review and the model is the notion that the visual information used to guide the sequential phases of the striking action is systematically different between experts and nonexperts. Knowing the factors that contribute to expert anticipation, and how anticipation may guide skilled performance in striking sports, has practical implications for assessment and training across skill levels.

The link between the anticipation skills of cricket batsmen and their practice histories was examined. Skilled and lesser skilled batsmen of U15, U20, and adult age completed a temporal occlusion task, in which they were required to use prerelease kinematic information to predict the type and length of delivery being bowled, and a structured interview, in which their accumulated hours of experience in organized and unorganized sporting activities were estimated. Skilled adult and U20 players showed an ability to use prerelease kinematic information to anticipate ball type that was not evident among any other group, and skilled players of all ages were distinguishable in terms of their accumulated hours of cricket-specific experience. Hours of cricket-specific practice, however, explained only a modest percentage of the variance in anticipatory skill. Discussion focuses upon future refinements to the measurement of anticipation and practice history plus the role that variables other than the quantum of cricket experience may play in developing anticipation.

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Expert performers in striking sports can hit objects moving at high speed with incredible precision. Exceptionally well developed anticipation skills are necessary to cope with the severe constraints on interception. In this papr we provide a review of the empirical evidence regarding expert interception in striking sports and propose a preliminary model of expert anticipation. Central to the review and the model is the notion that the visual information used to guide the sequential phases of the striking action is systematically different between experts and nonexperts. Knowing the factors that contribute to expert anticipation, and how anticipation may guide skilled performance in striking sports, has practical implications for assessment and training across skill levels.

This paper presents a preliminary model that outlines the mechanisms underlying the transfer of perceptual-motor skill learning in sport and everyday tasks. Perceptual-motor behavior is motivated by performance demands and evolves over time to increase the probability of success through adaptation. Performance demands at the time of an event create a unique transfer domain that specifies a range of potentially successful actions. Transfer comprises anticipatory subconscious and conscious mechanisms. The model also outlines how transfer occurs across a continuum, which depends on the individual's expertise and contextual variables occurring at the incidence of transfer

Superior performance in striking sports requires anticipation skill because of constraints imposed on the performer, which can make it extremely difficult to achieve the motor skill goal. This article reviews the empirical literature on expert visual anticipation in striking sports since 2012 to determine if it has contributed to advancement of a theoretical model. First, methodologies used to study visual anticipation are briefly described. Second, an existing model is outlined to present what is known about the theoretical underpinning of expert visual anticipation. Third, empirical evidence of key factors that contribute to expert visual anticipation are discussed. Moreover, whether anticipation skill can be improved and transferred to different contexts is discussed. The review identifies that there are multiple key factors that contribute to expert visual anticipation performance, which need to be more thoroughly accommodated as part of the theoretical model. There is still less empirical evidence of learning and transfer of visual anticipation skill even though both of these are vital to improve motor skill performance, as well as apply any improvement to anticipation skill in different in situ settings. Collectively, this review provides an update of the research on expert visual anticipation and identifies future research directions that can continue to further knowledge in striking sports.

Sports science research is traditionally monodisciplinary despite calls for an interdisciplinary focus. The primary purpose of this systematic review was to identify studies on talent identification, talent selection and competition performance to determine whether interdisciplinary research is being conducted. Thirty-six studies met the selection criteria. These studies were critiqued relative to sport, skill level, sport science sub-disciplines included, and whether the research was multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary. The secondary purpose of the review was to critique the level of analysis and level of representative task design in performance tests used in the studies. Twenty-five studies were categorised as interdisciplinary, with 11 categorised as multidisciplinary. Thirteen sports were represented with soccer the most frequent followed by field hockey, Australian Rules football, handball and rugby league. Thirty-two studies completed their analysis at a group level and four at an individual level. A total of 337 performance tests were rated for representative task design with 64 categorised as low, 123 as medium and 150 as high. The results pertaining to interdisciplinary studies and individual analyses are discussed in relation to constraints theory, which predicts that interacting variables can explain sport performance. Sports science research is beginning to fulfil the call for interdisciplinary research. Future research, however, needs to consider individual analyses and representative task design of tests to progress sports science knowledge.