Workload Monitoring in Team Sports: Using Elite Cricket as an Example

Workload monitoring is used to assess athlete preparedness to ensure that they are optimally prepared for competition. Although many workload studies have been done, most are delimited to individual sport athletes and endurance athletes. There is also controversy regarding which measures and in what combinations they should be used. There is a paucity of literature on workload monitoring in team sports such as cricket. Cricket is an interesting and complex sport which has dimensions of many other sports (team and individual) and was the focus of this broad, narrative review. The review highlights the unique demands of the sport and why consideration of the sport in question is important. It further identifies that most of the workload research has been done on fast bowlers with debate surrounding optimal workloads. It calls for research in specific areas and importantly on other player positions considering their unique demands and identifies what can be used currently by practitioners in the field.