Why do left-handers excel at certain elite sports but not others?

Data suggests being left-handed is a particular advantage in sports where time pressures are particularly severe, such as baseball, cricket and table tennis

From cricketer Wasim Akram to baseball pitcher Clayton Kershaw and table tennis star Ding Ning, the world of sport has no shortage of left-handed players. But now researchers say they've worked out why lefties are overrepresented in some elite sports but not others.

The study, published in the journal Biology Letters, suggests that being left-handed is a particular advantage in interactive sports where time pressures are particularly severe, such as table tennis and cricket - possibly because their moves are less familiar to their mostly right-handed opponents, who do not have time to adjust.