Imaging in elite and recreational cricket injuries: A pictorial review

Cricket is the second most popular spectator sport in the world after football, with an estimated fan base of 2.5 billion people and played professionally or semi-professionally in 108 countries. In the past two decades, with the establishment of newer formats such as Twenty-20, along with the traditional tests and one-day matches, there has been a significant rise in the amount and intensity of cricket being played. It has increased cricket-related injuries among elite athletes. With the rising popularity of cricket, there has also been a rise in cricket-related injuries among children, young adults and the so-called “weekend warriors.” Injuries in cricket can range from craniofacial trauma to lumbar stress injuries, abdominal wall strains, and various upper and lower extremity injuries. Musculoskeletal radiologists are vital to the sports medicine team involved in managing cricket injuries. There is a lacuna in current medical literature on a review of imaging in cricket injuries, and this article aims to address the same.