TheSportsCampus

To ensure Australia continues to identify and produce the world's best cricket talent, Cricket Australia (CA) has launched the Player Development Survey, the most comprehensive research into athlete development ever conducted in Australia.

A collaboration with Griffith University and the Australian Sports Commission, the survey will provide an unparalleled body of data that will be used to attract and retain participants and foster elite talent.

CA General Manager, High Performance, Pat Howard said the survey is part of CA's holistic approach to talent management and participation.

"Cricket Australia has a comprehensive approach to identifying and developing talented athletes and the Player Development Survey adds to this process," Mr Howard said.

"The survey will provide vital information on how to best engage and develop our players from community cricket through to the national level, assisting the High Performance and Game Development functions of Cricket Australia."

Male and female cricketers nationwide aged 14 and over will be asked to provide feedback about the factors that influence their participation in cricket.

The project runs for three years, over which time a research team of 20 highly credentialed researchers will collaborate to understand how a number of factors influence the identification and development of athletes.

The factors being considered have been grouped into four categories: Community Environments, Development and Training, Social and Organisational Factors, and Psychology of Participation.

Professor Kristine Toohey, the project leader from Griffith University added, "There is a great deal of knowledge about the physical aspects of athlete development but surprisingly very little research has asked the athletes themselves what is important for their development.

"This research will help to fill that gap by looking at the social-psychological environment that sport takes place in".