Habib Noorbhai - Cricket

One of the most exciting projects I am currently working on is the formulation of my own cricket batting protocol [the Habib Noorbhai (HN) protocol for cricket batting analysis] - to understand how cricket batter's can unlock their full potential.

My protocol uses a confluence of approaches such as full-body motion capture, kinematics, grip analysis, brain activity, muscle engagement, force plates, VR, physiological data, etc.

Each of these has a distinct methodology on how it should be used, validated, calibrated and applied. Soon, this protocol will give coaches and analysts a 360° lens of a batter's (tailored) potential, performance and improvement areas, at any level.

Location: MIT Immersion Lab | #HNProtocol

* One might think that this is “logical” - but it’s important to quantify these trends and patterns.

It’s also important to note that these patterns are not absolute due to the multi-factorial nature and complexities involved with each player and each schooling system in a particular country.

I plan to take this further by gathering more data from other formats (Tests and T20s) before potentially publishing this work.

One of the key insights from the graph on the left is the consistent presence of South African players who attended boys-only schools, a pattern I explored in my 2020 paper [Noorbhai, H. (2020). Attending boys-only schools: is it an incidental or a strategic contributing factor to South African cricket development and success? African Journal for Physical Activity and Health Sciences (AJPHES), 26(1), 21-40.]. More here in my OP-ED: The Conversation.

This trend suggests that attending such schools may be a strategic contributor to cricketing success in South Africa.

* However, it’s not just South Africa that shows interesting trends. New Zealand, Australia and England also have a notable representation of players from private or boys-only schools. This could reflect the strong tradition of elite sports education in these nations, where private institutions often offer superior facilities and coaching.

* Sri Lanka, although similar to the above, exhibits a more balanced pattern, possibly indicating a broader talent pool from diverse educational backgrounds, or different selection processes where schooling might be less of a factor.

* Pakistan (the lowest), India and West Indies have lower numbers, which might suggest a focus on broader public schooling systems or different pathways to cricketing success that do not heavily rely on elite educational structures. The West Indies, with their unique cricketing heritage, reflect the changing dynamics of cricket development across the Caribbean.

The figure on the left illustrates a correlation matrix of cricket players from private or boys-only schools; the insights reveal the educational backgrounds of elite cricketers and how these backgrounds vary between nations. While the matrix reveals a statistically significant correlation between Sri Lanka and Pakistan (p < 0.05), suggesting a consistent pattern in the representation of players from private or boys-only schools in these two countries, it also highlights several moderate correlations between other nations. For instance, South Africa shows a moderate positive correlation with Australia (r = 0.56) and England (r = 0.52), indicating that these countries have followed somewhat similar trajectories in sourcing cricket talent from private schools. These moderate correlations suggest that while there are shared trends – likely due to comparable socio-economic contexts or cricketing traditions – these relationships are not strong enough to be considered statistically significant in most cases (p > 0.05). The varying strengths and significance of these correlations demonstrate the complex interplay of factors that influence how different countries develop and select their cricket talent, reflecting both convergences and divergences in the role of private schooling (or boys-only schools) in cricketing success.

Prof. Habib Noorbhai says the legacy of apartheid segregation is still prevalent in many sports in South Africa. Race, class, and historical neglect of black schools are still in existence.

For more emphasis on this, Mathapelo Moloi from Newzroom Afrika spoke to Habib Noorbhai.

June 2020

Habib Noorbhai joins #TheLastWicket gang for a chat on his Ph.D. on the backlift technique and the future of biomechanics in cricket. In this video, he dissects the techniques of #ViratKohli, #JoeRoot, and #SteveSmith.

June 2021

International Society of Biomechanics in Sports (ISBS).

ISBS 2020: Hitting & Kicking Podium Session:

BIOMECHANICAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE BATTING BACKLIFT TECHNIQUE IN CRICKET - A COLLATION OF CURRENT EVIDENCE

By Habib Noorbhai, University of Johannesburg, South Africa

June 2020

In July 2017, UCT interviewed me on the findings and coaching cricket bat which emanated from my Ph.D. in Exercise Science. Below, is a summary of what was produced at the time:

"Current Mr South Africa, Habib Noorbhai, is a recent PhD graduate in exercise science from the University of Cape Town. His research into the backlift technique in cricket – an essential component of a sound batting technique – has underpinned the design of a revolutionary new cricket training bat.

He takes us through his design, and how he hopes it will revolutionise cricket worldwide.