Surgeries Performed in Professional Australian Cricketers 2015-2024

A study describing the distribution and rate of surgical operations performed in professional Australian cricketers, both male and female, over a decade.

Cricket Australia Athlete Management System was searched for consultations including terms that might reference whether surgery had been performed. Surgeries were any procedure performed in a hospital or day care facility, including non-orthopaedic surgeries.

There were 3419 player years studied between 2015 and 2024, yielding 447 surgeries, a rate of 13.1 surgeries per 100 player years, the majority of which were musculoskeletal (orthopaedic) procedures. The most common procedures were: knee arthroscopy (1.61/100 player years), wrist hand/finger fracture fixations (1.52), shoulder reconstruction (0.91), ankle posterior impingement procedures (0.44) and knee ACL reconstructions (0.41). The rates of surgery in male (12.7) and female (13.5) players were similar. The rate of surgery in male players was lower than a previous audit a decade ago (19.6 which excluded non-musculoskeletal procedures, P < 0.001) with the surgeries being performed less often including knee arthroscopy, ankle posterior impingement procedures and shoulder arthroscopy (all P < 0.001).

There is a general consistency in the rate of surgical procedures in professional Australian cricketers, although rates for the recent decade have dropped compared to the one prior in male players. Rates of surgery between male and female cricketers are very similar, and rates are lower than in the football codes in Australia but higher than the general population.