Hitting boundaries: Contract type, playing experience, non-cognitive skills, and sport anxiety in elite women cricketers

This paper examined the psychological impact of contextual influences (i.e., contract type and playing experience) on sport anxiety in elite women cricketers participating in The Hundred. A sample of 71 elite female cricketers playing during the 2021-2022 season took part. Forty-nine of the sample (69%) held professional contracts, and 22 (31%) had yet to sign a professional contract. Participants provided details about their contract type and playing experience and completed self-report measures assessing sport anxiety, mental toughness, and general self-efficacy. Since mental toughness and self-efficacy are non-cognitive constructs, which buffer competitive trait anxiety, analysis controlled for these variables. Multivariate analyses of covariance examined sport anxiety scores among participants in relation to Hundred matches played (either 0, 1-10, or more than 10) and contract type (whether participants had a professional contract in place or not). Subfactors of Worry, Somatic, and Confusion assessed sports anxiety. No significant main effects existed. However, alongside a significant interaction, a covariate mental toughness effect occurred. Examination of the interaction revealed Worry scores were lower in cricketers who were yet to play a Hundred match who had not received a professional contract. Furthermore, Worry and Somatic scores were higher in cricketers that had played more than 10 Hundred matches and had not received a professional contract. These findings have important implications for the development of elite women cricketers. Particularly, they highlight the need to differentially support players through their career progression.