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Willow takento technologyUQ researchers are using video wizardryto discover why some batsmen areheroes while others score zeros.When you are trying to find outhow to be a better batsmen youshould go to the best.That’s exactly what UQ researchershave done by looking at whatvisual skills elite batsmen have thatmake them better players.And with the project funded byCricket Australia and the QueenslandAcademy of Sport (QAS), theresearchers are also getting access tothe best of the best through theAustralian cricket team and theleading rising stars through the QAS.The research is being conductedby PhD student Sean Müller,Professor Bruce Abernethy and DrGuy Wallis from the School ofHuman Movement Studies and DrDamian Farrow from the AustralianInstitute of Sport.Mr Müller said while reactiontimes for both novices and eliteplayers could be similar, his projectis trying to discover what visual cuestop players pick from a bowler thatmakes them superior.And they are using the latest invideo technology available throughUQ’s Information Technology Servicesto do it.“We filmed bowlers from abatsmen’s perspective and then,through video manipulation, weoccluded different parts of thedelivery such as all the informationafter the ball was released,” MrMüller said.“We then asked the batsmen towatch the video and to predict thetype of ball bowled.“Next we removed individualbody parts, such as the hand or thearm, from the footage of the bowlerand measured how this alters thebatsman’s prediction of ball type.”Mr Müller hoped this would leadto a way of reliably anticipating abowler’s delivery so batsmen werebetter prepared.“By getting those visual cues fromthe players at the highest level we candesign a training program to not onlymake current players better, but alsoto identify and train the next generationof batsmen,” he said.Eyes open – Australian batsman Matthew Hayden. PHOTO: AFP PHOTO/William WESTResearch leaps aheadDr HudsonUQ NEWS, february 2004Can a frog known to bury itself inmud for months on end hold thekey to avoiding muscle wastage inpeople with broken bones?That’s the question being posed byUQ researcher Dr Nick Hudson whowas recently awarded his PhD intohow the green striped burrowing frog(Cyclorana alboguttata) can laydormant for long stretches withoutany effect on its muscles.Muscle-wasting is one of thebiggest problems for people whoexperience long-term physicalinactivity.Dr Hudson said the frogs werecommonly found across easternAustralia.His research showed they enter astate of inactivity – called aestivation– for up to nine months.He said aestivation was characterisedby metabolic depression where theheart-rate and breathing slowed down.“It’s a bit like hibernation, whichbears go through in winter,” he said.“Despite being in such a state forlong periods, there was no sign ofmuscle-wastage or bone-deteriorationas would be expected.”Dr Hudson, who was also theAustralian 800m running championin 2002, said his research could haveapplications for humans.“The structure of frog muscles aresimilar to ours,” he said.“As such, someone might be ableto take my research and carry it overinto human research.“Who knows, it is possible in 50years humans might be able to use thisfrog’s technique to stop musclewastage.”15