Performance Advantages of Left-Handed Cricket Batting Talent

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine performance advantages associated with batting stance, in the form of left-vs. right-handed dominant stance, and orthodox vs. reverse stance, of talented junior cricket batters within age-restricted competitions. Data were sourced from the national male younger age competition (YAC; Under-17; n = 237) and older age competition (OAC; Under-19; n = 302), as well as female YAC (Under-15; n = 234) and OAC (Under-18; n = 260) over a 4-year period. Left-hand dominant (LHD) batters were consistently overrepresented in the male YAC (Right: 69.2%; Left: 30.8%) and OAC (Right: 68.2%; Left: 31.8%) compared with the expected general population distribution. Male LHD batters exhibited a significantly (p < 0.05) higher batting aggregate (YAC: 116.

Handedness and Relative Age in International Elite Interactive Individual Sports Revisited

“…Since based on the present data we can neither confirm that proposition nor exclude alternative explanations such as greater fighting distance in saber than épée and foil (Raymond et al, 1996 ), we refrain from speculating further about the potential underlying mechanisms and instead assign this as homework for more in-depth laterality research in fencing. Collectively, in light of the above considerations, it appears to have both theoretical importance and practical relevance to determine the potentially facilitating role laterality, and left-handedness in particular, may play during athletes' developmental pathway from junior to elite international senior competition in interactive sports (Schorer et al, 2016 ; Connor et al, 2019 , 2020 ).…”