Accelerometer detected lateral sway during a submaximal running test correlates with endurance exercise performance in elite Australian male cricket players

Abstract Objective To identify whether movement patterns during a standardized submaximal running test (SSRT), assessed by accelerometry, were associated with improvements in endurance exercise performance. Design A retrospective analysis of data collected from the 2018–2019 Australian cricket preseason. Methods Thirty-nine high-performance male cricket players were studied (25 ± 3 years, 82 ± 6 kg, 183 ± 6 cm). SSRT was performed monthly prior to a two kilometre (km) running time trial (2 kmTT). SSRT involved running between markers, positioned twenty metres apart, for three minutes. Foot strikes were timed to a metronome (154 beats/min) to elicit a running speed of ∼eight km/h. Triaxial accelerometers were worn in vests on the upper back and used to assess PlayerLoad medio-lateral vector (PL1Dside%), vertical vector (PL1Dup%) and anterior-posterior vector (PL1Dfwd%) were assessed. Results 2 kmTT performance improved over the study period (p   0.23). During the second and third minutes there were positive associations between 2 kmTT (run time) and PL1Dside% (SSRT2min, β 2.12, p  Conclusion Assessment of PL1Dside% during the second or third minutes of SSRT may inform how an athlete’s endurance exercise performance is responding to changes in training load.