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This study describes hand fracture and dislocation injuries in terms of anatomical distribution, incidence and impact on playing time in registered professional adult male players of all 18 First Class England and Wales County Cricket clubs over a five-year period from 2010–2014. Prospectively collected injury surveillance data for 1st and 2nd Team matches (Twenty20, One day and four-day) and training were analysed. There were 109 hand fractures and 53 dislocations. Hand injury was commonest during fielding (60%, 98/162) compared to batting, bowling or wicket-keeping. Exposed parts of the hand including tips of all digits, the index finger, thumb ray and little finger ray were most frequently injured with 78% (125/160) of all injuries where anatomical location was recorded. Match injury incidence for batsmen was highest in four-day matches (0.071 injuries per 1000 overs batted) but for other player roles it was highest in Twenty20 matches (0.587 per 1000 overs bowled). Player unavailability for selection to play was incurred in 82% (89/109) of hand fractures but only 47% (25/53) of dislocations. This study clarifies the hand fracture and dislocation injury burden for this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) guideline was undertaken in accordance with the British Society for Surgery of the Hand Evidence for Surgical Treatment (BEST) Process Manual, which has been accredited by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, UK. This review article serves as a summary of the systematic reviews and the final guideline. The group included two patients, a radiologist, a commissioner, an emergency medicine doctor, hand therapists and hand surgeons. The group's recommendations are that patients with acute UCL injuries should be assessed with a history, clinical examination and radiographs. Patients without significant joint laxity can be treated non-surgically. Patients with significant joint laxity on clinical examination may be treated with non-surgical joint immobilization or surgical repair and should reach a shared decision with their clinician about the definitive treatment within 2 weeks of presentation., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interestsThe authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.