Pitch Reaction Test - Stepping towards a novel measure of batting cognition

Little is known about the cognitive acuity of batters in cricket. Potentially this data is limited due to the lack of practical methods of assessing cognitive function congruently while batting. In this study we describe the development of a choice reaction task paradigm which is deployed on a cricket pitch. The Pitch Reaction Test (PRT) analogues the initial central processing and motor response of stroke selection to quantify psychomotor performance. A prototype PRT was assessed in a laboratory to model its measurement accuracy against reviewed slow-motion footage of motor responses from trials of 23 participants. Linear models compared PRT performance vs an established computer-based task and user anthropometry. Measurements obtained from the PRT were strongly correlated with review of video footage (r = 0.97 - 0.99), although Bland-Altman analysis reveals a linear trend of differences increasing with increases in mean response times. Neither participant height ({beta} = -0.01, p = 0.54) or leg-length ({beta} = 0.0, p = 0.58) were predictors of PRT performance. Choice response performance on an equivalent computer assessment has a weak (R2 = 0.16) negative relationship ({beta} = -0.21, p = 0.04). Overall, the PRT demonstrates a novel solution to measuring sport specific psychomotor function in cricket enabling multiple avenues of future research.