Tech on the Pitch: The Rise of Tech in Gentleman’s Game
The ICC World Cup is going on and we have witnessed some interesting matches recently but we are not here for that today. Today we are here to discuss the innovations of the technologies in this Gentleman’s Game which helps empires to make the most accurate decisions and for us fans to watch the match from every angle.
Hawk-Eye: The eye from the sky
Hawk-Eye is a part of DRS (Decision Review System) it is used to track the field from every side. This is literally called the eye from the sky.
The cameras are available from the six sides of the field recording everything that is happening and has happened on the ground.
This system consists of six cameras that are installed on the six different sides of the field. They are used to record the bowling speed, the line, the length, and the swing information the shot speed and the shot indentation trajectory.
The software Hawk-Eye takes all this information and then uses it to render a final image that follows the ball after it is hit by the batsman.
This does not mean that it only gives information about the ball that is hit by the batsman it also helps the empires to make crucial decisions. Suppose the ball thrown by the bowler hits the pads of the batsman and the bowling team starts yelling for LBW then this system will also help the empire to make the final decision.
LED Wickets: The Wickets that Glows
This technology was first limited to the stumps only which means if the wicket got hit by a ball it would light only when the stumps were moved which is also very fast.
According to the numbers, the wicket will light up in the 1/1000th of a second which is very fast and will help the empires to make sound decisions.
These LED wickets are also called the Zing wickets, before the use of these Zing/LED wickets the empires had a lot of trouble detecting whether it was a run out or not.
Snick-o-Meter
The Snick-o-Meter is a very sensitive mic that is located in one of the stumps. This helps to capture the sound of the bat hitting the ball.
This technology is not that beneficial for the empires but it is rather used for the virtual audience, it records the sound of a bat hitting the ball and then sends it for further broadcast so, that the audiences watching the match from different places will know if the ball hit by the bat or not.
Ultra-Edge Technology: The Sound of the Ground
This is yet another sound-detecting technology but it is more helpful for the empires as it helps to detect the sound frequencies that are generated when a ball gets hit either by a bat or pads.
The sound when the ball touches anything will be captured by the stump mic and then it is fed to an oscilloscope. Then the oscilloscope converts its sound frequency into waves.
When a ball hits anything it creates a short burst of frequencies that is being used by the Third Empire to cross-check the applies.
Hotspot Technology
The Hotspot technology is a tech that is used specific against the batsman. Four infrared cameras are installed to monitor the batsman making any kind of contact with the ball directly or indirectly.
The works by simply catching the heatwave that is produces when the ball makes any type of contact, this heat is caused by the friction during the contact.
The captured heat helps the third empire making a decision weather the ball touched the bat or not.
Ball-Spin: The RPM
This is also a part of Hawkeye system, that used the camera laser focused on the ball to see how much roation it made in a minute.
This technology was first used in 2013 by Star sports for ashes series.
Speed Gun
Just like the Ball-Spin, the speed gun is used to check the speed of the ball when it has been thrown by bowler or hit by the batsman.
Front-foot Technology
Back in 2011 when the world cup was going on for each wicket which oponent team takes the third empire has to check frist wheather its a no-ball or not.
But now a day this thing is gone thrid empire does not really check each time. One camera is focused to the bowlers foot and when ever a illeagle delivery made it will tell the empire directly.
Bat Sensors
These sensors are installed inside the bat in the form of stickers on the back of the bat or on the top handel of the bat.
These sensors help the audience to check the swing angle, the strength of the batsman hands. This tech is also used while traning to improve the performance of batsman.
Decision Review System (DRS)
It is not a sperate piece of technology but instead it is a collection of the technology mentioned in this article. As system is in it’s name it used all these technology to help the empires to give the right decision.
The DRS takes many things into consideration like ball tracking, snick-o-meter, front foot technology to provide the final verdict that will decide the future of the match.
