Vision and cricket

Abstract

This review discusses the hypothesis that hitting a cricket ball depends on predicting the instant that the ball will be located in the volume of space within which it can be successfully hit, and that this prediction is based on retinal image correlates of the direction of motion in depth and the time to collision (or time to passage). The performance of top cricket players allows an estimation of their accuracy in this spatio-temporal prediction. The bowler challenges the batsman's skill by (1) causing the ball to change direction in flight and/or after bouncing and (2) causing linked variations in the speed and trajectory of the ball. I suggest that the linked variations of speed and trajectory exploit a visual inadequacy of the batsman, namely poor sensitivity to the instantaneous absolute distance and speed of the ball. Two alternative hypothese are also discussed, one based on eye movements, the other based on continuous coupling between perception and action.

Repetitive tests of visual function improved visual acuity in young subjects

“…As perceptual and motor learning use similar cortical pathways,16 VPL might have an impact on all types of sports that require excellent vision. Visual training is already part of the training schedule of professional baseball and cricket players 17 18. In conclusion, we found that repetitive tests of VA improved vision in young athletes.…”

Gaze Behavior in One-Handed Catching and Its Relation with Interceptive Performance: What the Eyes Can't Tell

“…Our best subjects (S 6 , S 7 , S 8 , and S 9 ) showed tracking gain values within a wide range [0.65–0.98] (maximum and minimum average values within each caught trial observed throughout the experimental session), and time lags within a similarly wide range [1.6–98 ms] during pursuit in the case of caught trials. Thus, the analysis of the gaze tracking accuracy might not be informative of the visual signal processing which subserves motor control execution in our task, as argued by other studies [ 1 , 3 , 31 , 41 ]. For instance, information on target motion may be gathered peripherally as suggested in [ 2 , 17 ].…”

The Effect of Visual Function on the Batting Performance of Professional Baseball Players

“…In cricket, a sport similar to baseball, Elmurr described 7 the distinction between “hardware”, the actual visual system; vs. “software”, the processing of visual information. Regan proposed 8 that cricket batters must predict precisely when and where a pitched ball will be located in order for batting success, while Brenton et al . described 9 the use of electronic glasses to occlude vision soon after the pitcher released the ball, forcing the batter to rely on the prediction of ball movement for batting success.…”