Effects of cricket ball colour and illuminance levels on catching behaviour in professional cricketers

In recent years there have been many alterations to equipment and technolog y in professional cricket, including the introduction of white balls during day-night matches. In the present study simulated slip-catching performanc e and movement initiation time were examined in professional cricketers whe n ball colour and illuminance levels differed. Five male professional crick eters (mean age: 27.3 +/- 1.4 years) volunteered to catch a total of 60 cri cket balls, 20 (10 red and 10 white) under each of three illuminance levels (571, 1143 and 1714 lux). Balls were projected from a ball machine at 20 m s(-1) (45 mph) over a distance of 8.4 m, to the subject's dominant side. C atching performance was measured using an established catching scale. Movem ent initiation times for each hand were also calculated for each trial usin g a motion-analysis system. Data were submitted to separate two-way (ball c olour [2] x illuminance level [3]) repeated measures analysis of variance. No significant effects were obtained for ball colour or illuminance levels for either catching performance or movement initiation time. Neither ball c olour nor light level (within the range tested) affected slip-catching perf ormance and movement initiation times in professional cricketers. Therefore it was concluded that the changes made to ball colour and light conditions in professional cricket were not detrimental to catching performance.