For example, if human beings were not loss averse then the game of cricket would look different; bowlers would bowl different lengths, captains would make different choices at the toss. If our reaction speed as a species was slightly faster, then the optimum length to bowl in Test cricket would have to be fuller, and it would change the comparative

The beginner uses simple, basic techniques. He has no choice. They are all he knows and all he can cope with. As he learns and improves, he initially gains greater fluency in these core movements. Then, as he grows more adept, he embraces more and more technical complexity and masters a greater variety of skills and methods. He studies more deeply

The difference in release angle from a ball that will land 6 metres away from the stumps and one that will land 5 metres away is about 0.8 degrees. This is the same angular difference as between the top and bottom of the bullseye for a darts player. And darts players don’t have to launch their projectile at 85 mph.

You can put analytical methods into four categories, ranked in descending order of sexiness: • Generate new ideas. • Find counterintuitive truths. • Rank the obvious. • Measure and improve.

wickets become 25 per cent more expensive after lunch on the first day. This then seems like a sound argument for being more attacking in that first session.

occurring discrete units into which to break it down. Football is about as hard as any sport to analyse statistically. In the middle of the scale you have sports such as cricket, rugby and American football. They can be broken down into discrete units more easily (very easily in the case of cricket), but other factors create complexity. Way out at

It was no surprise that teams with stronger batting line-ups perform better, but it was surprising how strong that correlation was.

Looking at the physics of the ball’s flight through the air and impact on the ground offers some insights into the key differences between those two types of delivery. • Firstly, it is common sense that a fuller ball will swing further. It is in the air for longer, and therefore has more time to deviate. And

There is a continuum of sports when it comes to the application of data-based thinking. The internal structure and workings of each sport dictate how easy it is to analyse statistically in a way that allows you to add value to subjective judgements and received wisdom. At one end of the scale you have football, a set of fluid continually changing