New Zealand cricket injury analysis based on 12 years of Accident Compensation Corporation data

To provide epidemiological data for cricket injuries in New Zealand.

A retrospective analytical review using epidemiological cricket data obtained from the national Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) for 2005-2016. Injury incidence was calculated per 1000 participants.

There were 86 562 injuries (77 212 males and 9350 females) during the 12 years with higher injury incidence for males (64.1) than females (36.1). While cricket-related injury claims increased by 42.6%, the injury incidence decreased from 59.0 in 2006 to 42.8 in 2016. The pooled injury rate per 1000 participants was highest for hand/fingers (9.2) and lumbar (8.1) body regions, and for contact (44.7) activities. Players aged 10-20 years were more likely to experience injury.

Analysis of 12 years of ACC cricket-related injury claims showed only minimal reductions in injury incidence over the years. Therefore, cricket-related contact injuries to the hand/fingers and head need to be the focus of injury prevention programmes (eg, via promoting use of protective gear and correct technique), particularly in players aged 10-20 years.