How machine learning is improving English cricketers – News and Events, Bangor University

Innovative machine learning may seem light years away from first class test cricket, but it was the introduction of machine learning which enabled experts at Bangor University to reveal to the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) the factors which can lead to developing county or international world-class cricketers. Having gathered detailed and multifaceted information on over 1000 factors believed to be important predictors within a player's journey to elite or super elite cricket; whether they become a County or international player, experts at Bangor University's Institute for Psychology of Elite Performance worked with computer scientists at the University to number-crunch the vast data-set. The results revealed that a crucial combination of only 18 factors can determine talent development. "Anecdotal and scientific evidence suggests that it takes 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to reach expertise. Unfortunately, what this evidence can't tell us is exactly what type of practice do we need to undertake and when? As a result, there could be hundreds or even thousands of aspiring cricketers practicing the wrong stuff at the wrong time. "Until now, science has not been able to answer these questions.