Identifying which factors impact bowling and batting performances during the “death” phase of an innings in international men’s 50-over cricket

In this study, 3,767 balls bowled by international-level fast bowlers across two One-Day International (ODI) tournaments were analysed to determine how to effectively bowl during the “death” phase of an innings (final 10 overs). The results of chi-squared analyses revealed that bowling length, bowling line, batter quality and having wickets in hand were all associated with the concession of runs during the death phase (all p < 0.001). Specifically, the yorker length is revealed to be very effective at restricting runs conceded, whereas the opposite is true for the half-volley and full-toss lengths. The batting side having five or more wickets in hand results in greater than expected runs being scored during the death phase. Furthermore, the results reveal that middle order batters score more runs than their tail-ender team-mates during this death phase, suggesting that middle-order batters have to assume the role of “finishers”. From a practical perspective, the results of this study clearly identify areas bowlers can target to constrict the scoring of runs as well as areas they should avoid. Batting strategies in the death phase should consist maintaining five or more wickets in hand and thereby not exposing tail-enders to the bowling attack

Influence of contextual variables on styles of play in soccer

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of match status, venue, and quality of opposition on the styles of play in soccer. Data were collected from 380 games of the English Premier League from the 2015–2016 season. Linear mixed models were applied to evaluate the influence of these contextual variables on membership scores for Direct Play, Counterattack, Maintenance, Build Up, Sustained Threat, Fast Tempo, Crossing, and High Pressure. The results showed that match status had a significant effect on the eight styles of play (all P < 0.001), venue had a significant effect on all styles of play (P < 0.01) except Counterattack and Maintenance, and quality of opposition had a significant effect on all styles of play (P < 0.05) except Counterattack. Moreover, the interaction between match status and quality of opposition, and venue and quality of opposition showed significant effects on some styles of play. The results of this study imply that contextual variables influence the use of styles of play in soccer match play. Consequently, this provides meaningful recommendations for practitioners in soccer

Multiplicity and oscillations in a model for catalyzed oxidation of carbon monoxide

We extend a model proposed for explaining multiplicity and oscillations of concentrations and temperature in catalyzed oxidation of carbon monoxide; the importance of the dimension of the system and the closure approximation applied to the results, and, especially to the oscillatory behavior, is analyzed. Kinetic phase transitions, namely, single state multiplicity, single state oscillations, and multiplicity oscillations are found, depending on the reaction heat and the temperature relaxation parameter. Also, the role played by desorption of reactants is considered. When there is no desorption, temperature oscillations take place around room temperature, but if desorption is operative, oscillations occur about a higher temperature. For the one-dimensional case a spurious kinetic phase transition is obtained when the singlet closure approximation is appliedDirección General de Investigación Científica y Técnica PB91-060

Nash Equilibria in Multi-Agent Motor Interactions

Social interactions in classic cognitive games like the ultimatum game or the prisoner's dilemma typically lead to Nash equilibria when multiple competitive decision makers with perfect knowledge select optimal strategies. However, in evolutionary game theory it has been shown that Nash equilibria can also arise as attractors in dynamical systems that can describe, for example, the population dynamics of microorganisms. Similar to such evolutionary dynamics, we find that Nash equilibria arise naturally in motor interactions in which players vie for control and try to minimize effort. When confronted with sensorimotor interaction tasks that correspond to the classical prisoner's dilemma and the rope-pulling game, two-player motor interactions led predominantly to Nash solutions. In contrast, when a single player took both roles, playing the sensorimotor game bimanually, cooperative solutions were found. Our methodology opens up a new avenue for the study of human motor interactions within a game theoretic framework, suggesting that the coupling of motor systems can lead to game theoretic solutions

Robotic neurorehabilitation: a computational motor learning perspective

Conventional neurorehabilitation appears to have little impact on impairment over and above that of spontaneous biological recovery. Robotic neurorehabilitation has the potential for a greater impact on impairment due to easy deployment, its applicability across of a wide range of motor impairment, its high measurement reliability, and the capacity to deliver high dosage and high intensity training protocols