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Technology is present in the development of many industries and sometimes, not everyone knows how much role it has in improving overall consumer and user experience. In the field of sports, many fans don’t even know how much technology has helped improve the gameplay of the players and data-gathering.
Cricket is no stranger to the use of technology. Technological reform allowed positive changes in the sport. These changes kept the audience interested and glued to the matches and also made things easier for the players, coaches, commentators, and everyone else involved in the sports events.
Fans now have the luxury of streaming the cricket matches live anywhere they are in the world. They can also easily access IPL 2021 and CPL 2021 odds on numerous betting sites. Technology simply made sports and cricket, in particular, a whole lot better for everyone.
Changes in Cricket Tech Over the Years
The technology used in today’s cricket matches is completely different from the previous era. Back then, tech companies were mainly focused on improving the broadcasting of sports events. They used to be focused on how to deliver the matches to more countries and audiences.
From radio broadcast to television broadcasting – these used to be the technological advancements used in the cricket industry. Today, however, these are no longer problems to be solved anymore. The internet is now the go-to of sports fans to watch the matches uninterrupted and tech companies are now looking to keep on improving the broadcasting experience.
Aside from broadcasting, tech companies are also now looking to make the games more credible. Cricket matches now make use of tech that could help them ensure the fairness of the games like the Decision Review System or the DRS.
The DRS is to ensure that the umpires are not making the wrong decisions. If a team felt that the umpire wasn’t right, they can challenge the decision by heading to the third umpire. The third umpire will use technologies including the DRS to review the dispute. Different camera angles will be reviewed and a decision will be made on the dispute.
Another tech used in cricket matches is the Snick-o-meter. This graphically shows if the ball touched the bat by monitoring sound waves. This is also something useful for the umpires to check if the batsman was able to catch the ball or not.
The sound waves created by the impact are detected by a highly sensitive microphone and are measured by the oscilloscope. This is partnered with a high-speed camera that records the movement of the ball. Through the oscilloscope, the captured video of the ball hitting the bat can then be checked for sound waves.
The use of Hotspot is also involved in cricket games today. It is a ball-tracking technique that utilizes infrared camera systems that could identify heat signatures that will only be visible by ball impact. This helps determine whether a batsman should be dismissed. It can also help determine if the ball hit a player, equipment, or the ground.
The Hawk-Eye is another popular technology used in this sport. It’s even considered as one of the most important tech innovations used today. This could help determine if a player is LBW or not and it also helps the umpire to give an idea of whether the ball will hit the stumps or not.
This has to be one of the more complex technologies used in cricket as the Hawk-Eye is made up of different processing techniques. 3-D modeling techniques are also used and to ensure accuracy, it also utilizes physics rules. These are all achieved with at least four high-speed cameras that are situated throughout the field.
What’s to Come with the Latest Tech Advancements and Trends
While cricket seems to already be doing great with the technologies used by different leagues, we can still expect that more changes will take place in future matches. Take for example how the Caribbean Premier League will make use of a Smart Ball in its upcoming season.
This will be the first time that a professional cricket league will make use of such equipment called the Kookaburra Smart ball. Players shouldn’t feel any different when using this ball in the matches as it looks the same as a regular ball. However, it contains a microchip that can deliver useful information to the commentators and even to the fans.
According to Kookaburra that is in partnership with Sportcor, the ball should be able to transmit information in real-time to commentators like the spend and spin of a ball at release and when it bounces and reaches the batsman. The fans can also get to see this graphically on the live broadcast.
Many are excited to see how this could affect the cricket scene. This is just one of the new technologies that cricket leagues may also eventually adapt. There is a lot more to look forward to if you’re a tech geek cricket fan.
