Here in the United States our most superstitious athletes are easily
those who play baseball. A prime example is Wade Boggs of the Tampa Bay
Devil Rays who will eat no meat other than chicken on the day of a game.
Many pitchers (similar to a bowler in cricket) will not step on the
boundary lines between fair and foul territory. Some pitchers, Turk
Wendell of the New York Mets in particular, make a very animated effort
to avoid stepping on this chalk barrier. Other baseball players have
unique rituals when they are batting. One player who's name escapes me
at the moment writes a number or some letters in the dirt with the toe
of his shoe. Before stepping into the box he wipes them away with his
foot. Nomar Garciaparra of the Boston Red Sox has a highly ritualized
batting preparation method involving unstrapping and restrapping his
batting gloves and repeatedly pulling them on tighter. Bench players
will often wear their caps in odd fashion to encourage the baseball
"gods" to allow their team to rally from behind. I'm sorry that these
are all antecdotal examples, but I thought they may help give you a view
from across the water. Good luck!

Stephen Lyman, MSPH
Ph.D. Candidate, Epidemiology
University of Alabama at Birmingham
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