Introduction: Women`s cricket has been identified as one of the six strategic priorities by the International Cricket Council (ICC). With the health and welfare of athletes central to this priority, the aim of this study was to explore menstrual health characteristics, knowledge, and perceived effects on performance for female athletes competing at the 2023 ICC Women`s T20 World Cup. Methods: 133 elite female cricketers and 67 support staff representing the 10 nations competing at the of 2023 ICC T20 World Cup completed the online survey. De-identified data was reported and analysed based on developing (DVLPing) and developed (DVLPed) nations as defined according to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Australian Government 2023). Where observations were similar between DVLPed and DVLPing groups, the term COHORT is used. Across the athlete and support staff surveys, both descriptive and inferential statistics were performed. Results: The average age of all athletes was 26 with ages ranging from 17-28. Almost 85% of the COHORT reported a regular menstrual cycle with only 3 athletes reporting amenorrhoea. Pelvic pain, lack of energy, bloating and irritability were symptoms reported by over half thecohort. Sanitary product and hormone contraception usage varied significantly between the two groups with 89% of the DVLPing group using pads, compared with 95% of the DVLPed who primarily use tampons. 27% of the DVLPed group use hormonal contraception whereas there were no athletes in the DVLPing group who reported using hormonal contraception. 37% of the cohort feel their performance is affected by the MC, with this belief being higher in the DVLPed group (49%) when compared with developing (27%). Athletes in the cohort stated they were more comfortable talking to female coaching (44%) and support staff (64%) about their menstrual cycle when compared to their male counterparts (coaching 15%, support staff 23%). This contrasted the views from support staff of which 57% of male support staff and 95% of female support staff believed athletes were comfortable talking to them about their menstrual cycle. Discussion: Although there are some similarities, there are equally some clear discrepancies between the knowledge, characteristics and behaviours associated with the menstrual cycle between DVLPed and DVLPing nations. The cause of these could be attributed to several factors including, but not limited to cultural beliefs, societal norms and access to resourcing within their cricket association. Impact/Application to the field: This paper aims to explore the characteristics, perceptions and performance implications over an elite group of athletes, comparing DVLPing to DVLPed nations. Results of this paper will help to deliver targeted education to improve menstrual health literacy across all cricket member nations. Declaration: Australian Women's Cricket Team Doctor & Member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Medical Advisory Panel
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