This investigation examined physiological and performance effects of cooling on recovery of medium-fast bowlers in the heat. Eight, medium-fast bowlers completed two randomised trials, involving two sessions completed on consecutive days (session 1: 10-overs and session 2: 4-overs) in 31 +/- 3 degrees C and 55 +/- 17% relative humidity. Recovery interventions were administered for 20 min (mixed-method cooling versus control) after session 1. Measures included bowling performance (ball speed, accuracy, run-up speeds), physical demands (global positioning system, counter-movement jump), physiological (heart rate, core temperature, skin temperature, sweat loss), biochemical (creatine kinase, c-reactive protein) and perceptual variables (perceived exertion, thermal sensation, muscle soreness). Mean ball speed was higher after cooling in session 2 (118.9 +/- 8.1 versus 115.5 +/- 8.6 km/h; p = 0.001; d = 0.67), reducing declines in ball speed between sessions (0.24 versus -3.18 km/h; p = 0.03; d = 1.80). Large effects indicated higher accuracy in Session 2 after cooling (46.0 +/- 11.2 versus 39.4 +/- 8.6 arbitrary units (AU); p = 0.13; d = 0.93) without affecting total run-up speed (19.0 +/- 3.1 versus 19.0 +/- 2.5 km/h; p = 0.97; d = 0.01). Cooling reduced core temperature, skin temperature and thermal sensation throughout the intervention (p = 0.001-0.05; d = 1.31-5.78) and attenuated creatine kinase (p = 0.04; d = 0.56) and muscle soreness at 24-h (p = 0.03; d = 2.05). Accordingly, mixed-method cooling can reduce thermal strain after a 10-over spell and improve markers of muscular damage and discomfort alongside maintained medium-fast bowling performance on consecutive days in hot conditions.

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