IT’S BEEN the coach’s mantra ever since ball games were invented. But “keep
your eye on the ball” may not be the best advice for budding sports stars after
all.
Using a miniature camera mounted in cricketer’s goggles, Michael Land of the
University of Sussex and Peter McLeod of the University of Oxford recorded the
eye movements of three batsmen as they faced fast bowling. In international
cricket, the ball can reach a speed of up to 145 kilometres per hour. The
batsmen ranged from a professional to an “enthusiastic but incompetent
amateur”.
All three players watched the ball as…
