Physical Characteristics, Movement Pattern, and Heart Rate Response of Indian Cricketers During Batting in Twenty20...

The study aims to provide a morphological profile of Indian cricketers and find physiological demands and positional differences of the batsmen in T20 matches according to their batting order. Eighty-three male cricketers (age: 17.93 ± 2.23 years) participated in this study and categorized into upper-order (n = 36), middle-order (n = 35) and lower-order (n = 12) batsmen. Height, weight, body fat%, and somatotype were measured. Movement analysis and heart rate (HR) responses were recorded during batting in T20 matches using PolarV800 smart-watch and H7 HR sensor. Descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA followed by post-hoc analysis examined group differences. Results indicated that upper-order batsmen were balanced mesomorph, middle-order batsmen were mesomorphic-endomorph, and lower-order batsmen were mesomorphic-ectomorph. Cricket-specific movement patterns showed that standing made-up the majority of time spent (54.1 - 60.9%), while maximum distance was covered by walking (68.5 - 73.3%) during batting. Lower-order batsmen spent significantly lesser time (p < 0.01; d = 1.02) in the crease and covered lesser total distance (p < 0.05; d = 0.85) compared to upper and middle-order batsmen, respectively. Upper-order batsmen maintained a significantly lower average HR throughout batting compared to middle (p < 0.01; d = 1.07) and lower-order (p < 0.01; d = 2.04) batsmen. Moreover, upper-order batsmen spent significantly more time in the low-intensity target HR (THR) zone (~9.9%) compared to the middle (~3.2%; p < 0.01; d = 0.72) and lower-order (~2.3%; p < 0.05; d = 0.69). Additionally, upper-order batsmen spent significantly less time (20.8%; p < 0.01) in the high-intensity THR compared to the middle (55.3%) and lower-order (52.2%) batsmen. Therefore, the findings highlight distinct movement and physiological demands associated with batting at different orders during T20 matches, which conditioning coaches and cricketers can utilize to optimize training programs and enhance individual performance.