White Ball Power Hitting: A Comparison of the Anthropometrics and Physical Determinants in County vs. Noncounty Youth...

Hopkins, IE, Patterson, SD, and Callaghan, SJ. White ball power hitting: a comparison of the anthropometrics and physical determinants in county vs. noncounty youth cricketers for predicting batting performance. J Strength Cond Res 40(8): e821-e827, 2026-The study investigated physical determinants and anthropometrics on bat velocity performance in youth cricketers. Previous research has found bat velocity performance to be an effective predictor of success in other sports: golf, baseball, softball, badminton, and tennis. Fifty-three cricketers ( N = 53; age 15.6 ± 1.7; height 176.0 ± 9.9 cm; body mass 65.8 ± 13.4 kg; maturity offset 3.7 ± 1.8) were subdivided into 2 groups (County-Representative [ N = 26]; Non-County-Representatives [ N = 27]). Cricketers were assessed for isometric lower- and upper-body strength (isometric mid-thigh pull [IMTP]; isometric push up [IPU]), lower-body power (countermovement jump [CMJ]; squat jump [SJ]), rotational power (medicine ball throw [MBT]) and anthropometrics (height, body mass, and seated height), and bat velocity. Anthropometrics were measured to calculate age at peak height velocity. Analysis of variance was used to conclude significance of IMTP, IPU, CMJ, SJ, MBT, and anthropometrics on bat velocity. Linear regression and stepwise regression were used to conduct variance of each test of bat velocity. An alpha value of p < 0.05 was selected to signify statistical significance. County-representatives produced greater bat velocity than noncounty-representatives ( p < 0.05). Lower- and upper-body relative strength and jump height were greater than noncounty-representatives ( p < 0.05). When controlled for maturity, cricketers further advanced in maturation outperformed lesser advanced cricketers in all jump and lower-body power-related tests ( p < 0.05). Linear regression demonstrated that maturity status explained a small amount of variation in bat velocity (3.4%). Stepwise regression displayed jump height during CMJ (63.9%) and relative IMTP (6.8%) explained 70.7% of the variation in bat velocity. Consequently, practitioners should develop relative upper-body strength and lower-body power to maximize bat velocity performance in youth cricketers.