Experts in Sport: 19 Years of Biomechanics Research into Elite Cricket Bowling

As Ashes fever grips the nation, cricket continues to make headlines on both the back and front pages.

In a time when the sport is high on the public agenda, Mark King (Loughborough Professor of Sports Biomechanics) sits down with host Stuart McErlain-Naylor to discuss and dissect his 19 years of elite cricket fast bowling biomechanics research. 

He details the attributes of fast cricket bowling, as well as diving into techniques and ways to avoid injuries. Additionally, Prof King explains what happens during biomechanics testing sessions, as well as what characteriseselite athletes.  

The pair also discussed the impact of AI, including how it may play a part in the future of elite cricket biomechanics. 

 

Mark completed his degree (Mathematics and Sports Science, 1993) and PhD (subject-specific computer simulation of dynamic jumping, 1998) at Loughborough. He was appointed as Lecturer in Sports Biomechanics at Loughborough in 1999 and progressed through to Professor of Sports Biomechanics in 2019.   

Mark is currently Research and Innovation Theme Lead for Sport Performance in the School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences and hasbeen Warden of Royce Hall since 1999. 

In cricket, he has strong links with the England and Wales Cricket Board and the International Cricket Council. Mark is accredited as a Human Movement Specialist for both the ECB and ICC and Loughborough is accredited as an ICC testing centre for suspected illegal bowling actions.   

Furthermore, in racket sports Mark has strong links with the Badminton World Federation and Badminton England. 

Listeners of the podcast can subscribe and download the latest episode by visiting iTunes, Spotify, and TuneIn. All subscribers will receive an alert once new episodes are published. 

The Experts in Sport podcast is a regular series that brings together experts from across Loughborough University with external thought leaders to discuss the latest research and hot topics in sport and academia with new episodes launched regularly. 

ENDS 

Notes for editors

Press release reference number: 23/113

Loughborough is one of the country’s leading universities, with an international reputation for research that matters, excellence in teaching, strong links with industry, and unrivalled achievement in sport and its underpinning academic disciplines.

It has been awarded five stars in the independent QS Stars university rating scheme, named the best university in the world for sports-related subjects in the 2023 QS World University Rankings – the seventh year running – and University of the Year for Sport by The Times and Sunday Times University Guide 2022.

Loughborough is ranked 7th in The UK Complete University Guide 2023, 10th in the Guardian University League Table 2023 and 11th in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023.

Loughborough is consistently ranked in the top twenty of UK universities in the Times Higher Education’s ‘table of tables’, and in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 over 90% of its research was rated as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally-excellent’. In recognition of its contribution to the sector, Loughborough has been awarded seven Queen's Anniversary Prizes.

The Loughborough University London campus is based on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and offers postgraduate and executive-level education, as well as research and enterprise opportunities. It is home to influential thought leaders, pioneering researchers and creative innovators who provide students with the highest quality of teaching and the very latest in modern thinking.

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