Community cricket coaches are ill-equipped for technical coaching of pace bowlers: A survey of Australian coaches

Engagement with technical coaching in community-level cricket remains underexplored, particularly in relation to pace bowling, despite its potential to influence both performance and injury. Pace bowlers are crucial to team success, yet experience the highest injury risk of all playing positions. Specific technique factors are associated with increased ball release speed as well as higher risk of lumbar bone stress injury. If coaches understand pace bowling technique as it relates to performance and injury mechanisms, they may be better equipped to enhance technique and mitigate injury. This study aimed to describe the technical pace bowling coaching practices and knowledge of community-level cricket coaches in Australia. A cross-sectional survey design with purposive sampling was used. One hundred forty-four coaches with at least one season of coaching experience completed an online survey. Eighty percent reported engaging in technical coaching at least ‘sometimes’, and 83% perceived their knowledge to be ‘moderate’, ‘high’, or ‘expert’. Despite this, coaches provided only superficial detail on how they coach pace bowlers to improve performance and reduce injury risk. Over 60% of coaches held lower-level accreditation (Level 1 or below), with informal learning methods being most prevalent. Findings suggest a misalignment between coaches perceived and actual knowledge of pace bowling technique, particularly in relation to performance enhancement and injury mitigation. This misalignment is likely due to lower-level coach accreditation courses lacking technical coaching content, combined with coaches’ reliance on informal forms of knowledge acquisition without a foundational knowledge base of pace bowling.