Times article on plastic pitches by David Walsh

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Do Academy players used to grass struggle with more injuries when they train/play on synthetic pitches? Their ligaments are suddenly being loaded in torsion beyond anything they have experienced before. Hence the syndesmosis injuries with Alfie etc.

[Chunky24]

Do Academy players used to grass struggle with more injuries when they train/play on synthetic pitches? Their ligaments are suddenly being loaded in torsion beyond anything they have experienced before. Hence the syndesmosis injuries with Alfie etc.

I would have thought Academy players, in fact all younger players, would have had much more exposure to synthetic pitches through school, club and academy than their predecessors as there are many more of these type of pitches now in use across many levels.

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But the nature of the pitches varies considerably, does it not?

And the transition from academy and beyond will often be accompanied by a significant increase in weight, which will amplify the stress going through the ligaments?

There is a need to observe and document these things very carefully. Only by doing this did cricket get to understand how the number of overs bowled needs to be controlled in the growing athlete.