One cricket coaching tool that has evolved to enhance the coaching of batting techniques among young cricket players, through science, is the coaching cricket bat ®.
The coaching cricket bat is a significant training aid for enhancing a young cricket player's backlift and performance. Over a period of repetitive practice and learning with the coaching cricket bat, younger cricketers’ motor control would enhance and their performance will subsequently be improved.
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.
Read more at UCT News."
Successful innovations in teaching have been implemented in many countries through simulated-based learning. However, this has not been the ideal option for local-based student cohorts in South Africa because of three main challenges:
1) connectivity issues for certain students,
2) lack of fun and excitement,
or 3) lack of infrastructure in current domains to enable an innovative approach. One way in which these challenges can be mitigated is through the adoption of gamification as a teaching strategy in healthcare and e-Learning.
Such an approach has been proven useful in medical teaching and is aligned with the fourth industrial revolution. Gamification or game development for this project is a design-based research approach that includes futuristic development perspectives. Patient case studies and scenarios are drafted and factors in the identification of various lab-based procedures commonly used in Biokinetics practice (such examples include the isokinetics machine for orthopaedic rehabilitation, the cycle ergometer for cardiorespiratory screening, the ECG for cardiac rehabilitation, and simple skills such as measuring heart rate and blood pressure).
Snapshot_Web and VR Versions of Game.mp4
Above: Same scenario, two different interfaces.
The VR interface - students become the practitioner (Biokineticist), resulting in higher immersion = better clinical reasoning and acquisition of required skills.
Left: e-Poster presented at the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) 2023.
Acknowledgements: Dr. Simoné Ferreira and Yakeen Sadiq.
Prototype bat design for enhancing swing velocity in baseball
By Luke Chapman (Senior thesis in Mechanical Engineering at MIT)
Chapman L, Hosoi A.E. and Noorbhai H
i) Top left: shows an assembled view of the prototype as well as the MOI locations of the fully loaded bat (furthest right) and the fully unloaded bat (furthest left).
ii) Bottom left: shows an expanded view of the prototype with the variable weight implements.
iii) Right: Ring stopper placement
Link to full thesis here.
