@article{ref1,
title="Sinister strategies succeed at the cricket World Cup",
journal="Proceedings of the Royal Society - biological sciences",
year="2004",
author="Brooks, Robert and Bussière, Luc F. and Jennions, Michael D. and Hunt, John",
volume="271",
number="Suppl 3",
pages="S64-6",
abstract="Left-handers occur at unexpectedly high frequencies at top levels of many interactive sports. This may occur either because left-handed contestants are innately superior or because they enjoy a negatively frequency-dependent strategic advantage when rare relative to right-handers. We analysed the batting records from the 2003 cricket World Cup and showed that left-handed batsmen were more successful than right-handers, and that the most successful teams had close to 50% left-handed batsmen. We demonstrate that this was because left-handed batsmen have a strategic advantage over bowlers, and that this advantage is greatest over bowlers that are unaccustomed to bowling to left-handers. This provides a clear mechanism for negative frequency-dependent success of left-handed batsmen. Our results may also support a historical role for negative frequency-dependent success in fights and other contests in the maintenance of left-handedness by natural selection.<p /><p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0962-8452",
doi="10.1098/rsbl.2003.0100",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2003.0100"
}