Similar to all computer technology, the computer tools used in cricket are not full-proof.
· Hawk-Eye: Experts believe that the Hawk-Eye technology has changed the decision making in cricket much more than any other technology. It is being widely used in international cricket matches, including IPL, to reduce unfair decisions. But is it completely trustworthy??? Uneven bounce on pitches, wind pressure while the ball is in the air, amount of spin, etc. are some of the factors which challenge the use of Hawk-Eye technology. The decisions made on the basis of this technology are still not 100% correct.
· Snick-o-Meter: It is a tool which graphically analyses sound and shows if a sound occurs when the ball passes the bat. To simplify, if the ball touches the bat once it has been bowled, it makes a sound which can be tracked and analyzed using the Snick-o-Meter. But due to its inefficiency, the tool can't differentiate between sound of the ball touching the bat and other sounds such as the movement of the foot of the batsmen or the wicket keeper, pads rubbing against each other or bat hitting the pitch.
Recently, there have been advances in technology to emit even the smallest of errors.
· Infrared cameras have been tested in place of snick-o-meters to pick up friction readings, and are close to 100 per cent accurate.
· There are now also balls available with built-in speedometers to determine the speed of the ball at any given instant.
Although they are being tested, we personally don’t see these technologies being implemented anytime soon. Apart from the technologies used for the decision making there are also other technologies which are being talked about.
One of which is to put wireless trackers on all the players to measure and transmit live data during the game, to a central computer. Parameters tracked by this device include the running speed of a player, a bowler’s speed during the run-up, the maximum speed and average running speed, the number of times a player changes direction, distances travelled, heart rates, etc. All this data can be made available to the viewers, commentators, coach and others. But imagine how pressurized the players might get after knowing that they are under scrutiny every second.
Super slow motion is another technology which minimizes errors which the Snickometer can't detect. Have a look at the short video using the link under 'Interesting link and videos' to know more about this technology
ReplyDeleteTechnology seems to be a double edge sword in many sports and cricket isn't an exception. It is certainly revolutionizing the fairness of the game by making better decisions and allowing the viewer to interact with sports in a more complete way. But where to we need to draw a line?
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure about cricket, but in American Football and Tennis technologies such as the hawk eye where you can see if the ball was in or out have allowed players to eliminate human error to some extent. What these two sports have done properly is to use the technology but at the same time limit the use (3 times per set per player for tennis i think). If technology that monitors human errors is used at every ball toss, every swing and the game needs to be stopped, then it is too much! The experience of watching a cricket game becomes dull and monotonous. While if a limit is given to it it certainly can add value and offer a few seconds of suspense to the audience.
Also, one must think of what other positive things does such monitoring technology bring to sport. If a referee knows that s/he can be challenged by the team what is the point of accepting bribes? The power doesn't stand with one anymore on the field, but decisions can be scrutinized and witnessed by many with the close to zero faultiness of technology. It would be an interesting research, to see if implementation of technology in sports has decreased or not the offering and acceptance of bribes to referees?
I agree with this Claudio guy when he says that monitoring every single ball to see if it is in our out is too much.. You will simply remove a very important element of the beauty of sport; its human !! we as human will naturally do mistakes and this is what adds to the excitement of following sports.. Its said that in sports you sell the "sizzle" as much as you sell the stake and by removing the human element, the referee, you will also remove a lot of the talking points and discussions that makes up this much talked about "sizzle".. Implement some rules, f example the only thing I might be open for in football is to see if a ball crosses the line or not, but anything else is going too much.. (Claudios example with hawk eye where you only have 3 or whatever challenges per set is also a great example)
ReplyDeleteat least thats what I think !!
I completely agree. While sport is played by humans, they should also be controlled by humans. To erase this human factor and this possibility of mistakes and errors from a sport can make it lose a lot of its excitment. While now we can argue about a penalty that should have been given for weeks, with hawk-eye like technology the discussion would never even be able to arise. Every decision made by the referee we would have to take without a debate or any other emotional involvement, because we would know that the decision is always right.
ReplyDeleteA better solution would be to use hawk-eye cameras only for doubtful moments, when noone is sure whether the ball crossed the line or not. They do this for example in ice-hockey quite frequently, because it is impossible to follow the puck sometimes with the human eye. This, as I have experienced myself, can create immense tension and excitement amongst the fans while thet wait for the ref to analyse the video and come up with a decision.