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HOW CRICKET GOES “SMART”

07 Sep 2021

      [caption id="attachment_159822" align="alignleft" width="460"] This Kookaburra-made smart ball made its debut at this year’s Caribbean Premier League (CPL)[/caption]

The headline above does not in any way imply that, before now, cricket was not “smart”, or that it was played by “un-smart” personalities. Well, on reflection, I do have to wonder what I meant. Hmmm!

Anyway, getting back to the article, the sport of cricket is undoubtedly the most popular as well as the most watched sport in this part of the world. Not only that, it is the most revered sport as well.

In countries of this region, cricketers are treated as “demigods”. One sometimes has to wonder if the cricketers themselves understand this, considering the antics of some of the Sri Lankan cricketers in the recent past.

Changing face

Cricket, like any other sport, has undergone numerous changes and innovations over a period of time.

For example, some of the equipment that cricketers take for granted now was not even in existence a few decades back. In fact, most of the top batsmen considered the use of the helmet as an affront to their batting abilities.

There is a YouTube clip of the great West Indian fast bowler Michael Holding bowling to Brian Close, the English batsman. Close gets hits on his body so many times and he is batting without a helmet as well. If this clip is shown to today’s youngsters, most of them would not play the game. Such has been the changes in the game, in terms of its use of equipment.

Format changes

The second and the more recent innovation that cricket has undergone has been its formats. For a long time, cricket was played only as Test match; a five-day game with one rest day - a total of six days for a match.

Then the On-Day International (ODI) or the 50-over format was introduced. Then Kerry Packer introduced coloured clothing and night cricket in Australia. Then came probably the most popular, lucrative, and the fastest format of the game, the T20, or the 20-over format.

In other words, cricket matches have been getting shorter and shorter to cater to the demand of the public and suit their needs. For example, since a T20 match can be completed in less than four hours, a match can start at around 6 p.m., so that fans can come to watch a match straight after work.

In fact, T10 tournaments too are played in certain countries now. As such, there has been a massive change in the formats of cricket over time.

Latest innovation

Apart from the above, sports have now become a heavily data-driven field. Present-day cricket is influenced by several technological aids, such as the Snick-o-Meter, Hotspot, Ultra-Edge, Hawkeye, Spider Cams, speed guns, LED wickets, and the stump microphones.

And now the latest innovation in the game that is going to come through is the use of a “smart” cricket ball in matches. The smart ball looks, feels, and plays exactly the same way as a regular ball but has an embedded chip that registers many more data points than radar or ball tracking technology.

A microchip is present in the innermost layer of the ball. This will enable data and information to flow from inside the ball to a set of computers on the sidelines, to help translate the performance and assist the broadcast.

Kookaburra-made smart ball

This Kookaburra-made smart ball made its debut at this year’s Caribbean Premier League (CPL) which got underway in St Kitts & Nevis on 26 August. This has been developed by sports technology company “Sportcor” in collaboration with the leading ball manufacturer Kookaburra.

It will be the first time such a ball will be used in a professional league. The smart and intelligent ball with an electronic chip embedded in it consisting sensors that will send information such as speed, spin, power etc in real-time.

Those data can be viewed on a smart-watch, mobile, a tablet, or computer/laptop via a specially designed app. The data can then be used to analyse, compare, broadcast, as well as talent scouting.

Given below are some of the interesting data points offered by the Smart Ball:

1. The speed and revolutions at the release point (the moment the hand lets the ball go)

2. The speed and revolutions pre-bounce (reading just before it hits the pitch)

3. The speed post-bounce (reading just after the ball hits the pitch)

4. Up to 30 hours of in-game use

5. Electronics that can withstand 300+ impacts at an average 150 km/h and peak impacts of over 300 km/h, with no outages or visible signs of stress

Conclusion

All sports keep evolving. That keeps the sport interesting in an ever changing world. But, more importantly, with the younger generation being more technology-savvy than ever, it is even more important that every sport tries to stay ahead of the curve by incorporating as much technological advances as possible.

But one thing must be kept in mind. Whatever technological advances are introduced to a sport, the intrinsic charm of the sport must be kept at all times.

The skill aspect of the sport must not be overtaken by the technology. If that balance can be achieved going forward with the innovations, the game will be far more attractive to a wider audience.

 

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Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Automobile, Mother and Baby Products, Clothing, and Fashion. Additionally, Kapruka offers unique online services like Money Remittance, Astrology, Medicine Delivery, and access to over 700 Top Brands. Also If you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.Send love straight to their heart this Valentine's with our thoughtful gifts!


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