Association Between Ball Velocity and Hand Grip Strength of Male Cricket Players

The aim of the current study was the investigation of the relationship between ball velocity and hand grip strength of male off-spin bowlers in cricket (n = 30, mean ± SD age 19.80 ± 1.16 yrs and playing experience 3.66 ± 1.66 yrs). Velocity of ball was measured by dividing distance i.e. the distance of 18.90 mt [20.12 mt (total length of the pitch) -1.22 mt (Popping Crease)] between the two ends of cricket pitch, and the time taken by the ball to travel that distance, and the maximal handgrip strength of the dominant hand (right) was measured using a hand grip dynamometer. While body height, body mass, arm length and palm length were also measured. The results showed that ball velocity is significantly (p<0.05) correlated with hand grip strength calculated in this study. This suggests for off-spin bowlers in cricket that ball velocity requires advanced hand grip strength for these ages.