How is Technology Used in cricket?

Introduction 

 

Cricket and technology go hand in hand. The sport has evolved technically over the years. In cricket's rich history of over 140 years, innovation has developed as time passes and a decade. 

 

In 1922, the principal at any point radio station of a cricket match occurred in Australia covering a homegrown game that occurred at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). 

 

The first run through a match was broadcasted back in 1938. From that point forward, there was steady ball-by-ball inclusion, nitty-gritty inclusion of the matches being played.

 

As the game expanded and progressed, the technology kept up slowly but steadily. As more games were broadcast, there was more radio commentary than ever before. 

 

As the twentieth century drew to a close, third umpires entered the fray. The quality of broadcasting was constantly improving, and replays became better.

 

(Related blog: Big data applications in sports industry)

 

How has technology changed cricket? 

 

With so much riding on each game, technology has played a critical role in ensuring that cricket has captivated and enthralled a global audience. 

 

With each technological reform and introduction of new technology, the game has changed drastically. 

 

• These changes have kept the audience glued to the game and have made the lives of players much easier. 

• They have made it easier for the teams to prepare for the game and for the coaches to curate strategies.  

 

But in the field of cricket, if someone has benefited the most from these technological reforms, they are the umpires. Technology has helped the umpires a lot. It has reduced the pressure of decision-making from their mind and has helped them in various aspects.

 

In this blog, we are going to look at all those aspects of cricket where the introduction of new technology has benefited the umpires and has reformed the game.

 

1. Decision Review System(DRS)

 

Technology when injected into cricket gave birth to a review system named the decision review system. This was for the wrong decisions taken by umpires. 

 

Whenever a team felt that the umpire had given a wrong decision, they were free to challenge it on the ground of cricket. The decision was then referred to the 3rd umpire. 

 

The 3rd umpire then used to look into the decision and review it using various technologies. They used to use different camera angles and other various technologies to review the on-field decision. 

 

After looking at everything, if the decision was found to be correct then the umpire was told to stay with their decision, otherwise, they had to change it and reverse the decision. This DRS was made just for the decisions of the fall of a wicket.
 

 

2. Snick-o-meter

 

In caught behind appeals by a team, it was difficult to know earlier whether the player is out or not. Then in the year 1999, technology was used for the first time for this purpose. It was called the snickometer. 

 

Snickometer is  used to graphically show if the ball has touched the bat or not using sound waves. This technological reform helped the umpires a lot in telling whether the batsman was caught behind or not.

 

The snickometer is made up of a highly sensitive microphone embedded in one of the stumps and a sound-wave measuring oscilloscope. The oscilloscope trace will pick up the sounds when the ball nicks the bat. 

 

A high-speed camera records the ball passing the bat at the same moment. The oscilloscope trace is then displayed with slow-motion footage of the ball passing the bat, and the shape of the sound wave may be used to identify whether the noise picked up by the microphone coincides with the ball passing the bat and whether the sound comes from the bat hitting the ball or from another object.

 

This application of AI mixed with sound wave detection and data analytics has helped the umpires a lot more than expected.

 

 

3. Hotspot

 

Another application of technology in the game of cricket is Hotspot. In cricket, it  is a ball-tracking technique that uses infrared (IR) camera systems to identify heat signatures created by ball impact.

 

• It is used to determine whether or not a batsman should be dismissed. 
• It can tell if the ball hit the player, his or her equipment, or the ground.

 

Hot Spot technology assists the umpire in determining whether a batsman is out or not by measuring the likely impact of the ball. It can assist the umpire in determining if the ball struck a batsman's bat, pad, or glove, or nothing at all. 

 

This information can be crucial in assessing whether or not the batter should be dismissed. At least two infrared cameras are used on either end of the straight borders in the hot spot technique. The majority of these cameras are mounted on top of the sightscreen. 

 

The information acquired by the two infrared (IR) cameras is sent to a computer, which generates a series of black and white negative frames. The exact point of contact is determined using a process known as the subtraction procedure.

 

Being an application of AI, the hotspot is 90-95 %accurate while making decisions.

 

 

4. Hawk-Eye

 

Hawk-Eye can be named as one of the most important technical innovations in the field of cricket. It is used to determine whether a player is LBW or not. This technology is used by the TV umpire to tell whether the ball will hit the stumps or not.  

 

Hawk-Eye is a complicated computer technology that is used in cricket to visually follow the movement of the ball. The technology is capable of projecting the ball's continuous path and rendering it in the video after tracking its movement.

 

Those forecasts are used in cricket to visualize the ball's course and assist the umpire in determining what might have happened. 

 

Hawk-eye is made up of image processing techniques, 3D modeling techniques, and physics rules. At least four high-speed cameras should be mounted throughout the stadium, filming the entire game from various perspectives. 

 

The computer system recognizes the collection of pixels that corresponds to the actual ball during each frame of the video acquired by those cameras. Following that, the ball's three-dimensional position is computed by comparing it to at least two other cameras.

 

The 3D location data is then saved in a preset model of the playing field. By applying physics rules to such location data, the system can calculate the ball's next moves. In this way, umpires can tell if the player is out or not.

 

 

5. LED Stumps and Bails

 

Making decisions of run-outs and stumpings was really tough for umpires. Deciding something on-field that requires sheer concentration isn’t possible for anyone. 

 

To overcome this problem of umpires, a new technological innovation was made: “ LED Stumps and bails”. These were the stumps known for glowing the moment they bail left the stumps.

 

If we look at the working and design of it, we will get to know that these stumps are sheer applications of electrical engineering. These stumps are known to glow within 1/1000th seconds of dislodging from the bails. 

 

To summarise the procedure, an inductive loop is formed, accompanied by an inductive sensor that detects any inductance change. As soon as a change is recognized, the lights turn on.

 

There are two inductive loops on each bail, one for each of the arms. These inductive loops fit precisely on the stump rims, and the bails light up as soon as movement is detected from the stump rim.

 

These bails and stumps have increased the accuracy of run-out and stumping decisions to the next level, thus, helping the on-field umpires.

 

Conclusion

 

As said a million times, there is no end to technology and innovations. They will come with each passing day and most of them will come to stay and won’t be restricted to a single field or sector. 

 

(Recommended blog: AI and Data Analytics in Cricket)

 

In cricket too, technological reforms will continue to make their way in the field, benefiting the umpire, helping the players, and enthralling the audience.