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In cricket, high speed impacts occur between the cricket ball, the bat, players and their protective equipment. Improved understanding of impact dynamics has the potential to significantly improve the development of cricket equipment and also contribute to improving the player safety and performance. In particular, the development of high performance cricket balls with enhanced structural properties e.g. improved durability would benefit greatly from such insight. This article presents the development of two fastsolving numerical models as well as a universal FE model for the structural analysis of cricket balls. The models were developed using experimental data obtained from drop tests and high speed impact tests. These models predict impact characteristics with very little computing cost. A universal Finite Element FE ball model has also been developed using ABAQUS, which combines an FE model template and a material parameter selection tool based on an Artificial Neural Network ANN model. This approach allows for rapid model development while producing accurate results at different impact speeds. Comparison of results revealed good agreement between simulation and experimental results. The developed FEANN model can be used to predict the impact behaviour of different types of cricket balls under various dynamic conditions. This flexibility represents an advantage that can be utilized by sports equipment developers to rapidly develop different cricket ball models needed for inclusion in larger simulations involving impact of a cricket ball with other objects. This represents an invaluable tool for facilitating design, analysis and structural optimisation of cricketrelated sport equipment. © 2008 John Wiley and Sons Asia Pte Ltd

Considerable anecdotal evidence suggests that snowboarders relate the perceived ‘feel’ of a snowboard to its onsnow performance. Snowboard manufacturers spend significant amounts of time and money trialling new designs, relying heavily on the feedback of professional riders to optimise board performance. A systematic usercentred design procedure could provide the intelligence required to alleviate the inefficiencies and ambiguities associated with the trial and error approach, resulting in greater probability of meeting customer requirements. The Sports Technology Research Group at RMIT University set out to fully characterise the feel of snowboards for the main riding styles. This article deals with the frontend of the characterisation process by focusing on the identification of potential design innovation opportunities through a benchmarking analysis of modern snowboards. The qualitative data relating to customer requirements has been obtained through online surveys and interviews, conducted via a twostage process. Participants in an initial masscirculated survey were asked to rate and comment on their current board using an extensive list of subjective parameters, spanning all facets of riding. A refined parameter list has been obtained through subsequent interviews with selected focus groups, with the importance values and ideal levels determined for both freestyle and freeride boards. A quality function deployment QFD method was used to process the information, relating subjective customer requirements to relevant objective technical attributes of snowboards for the selected riding styles. From the market research, user surveys and QFD, a comprehensive gap analysis was completed resulting in the identification of innovation opportunities and preferred design features for modern snowboards. The research determined bending and torsional stiffness distribution as well as camber as the key design characteristics influencing the feel and performance of snowboards for both freestyle and freeride riding styles. © 2008 John Wiley and Sons Asia Pte Ltd