The role of technology in cricket

Technology has immensely helped the sport

Errors by Umpires on a cricket field were common. It was considered to a part of the game in a way. The ICC has been pretty cautious not to bombard all the new technologies at one time into the game. Not too many changes can be made to the game at one go.

So it all began with the Decision Review System (DRS), introduced during the Sri Lanka-India Test series in 2008. There was a limit of 3 reviews given per team for each innings of the match. Since then the use of technology has evolved the game and the introduction of new gadgets have only added to the decision-making process in the sport.

Some of the changes may be considered necessary, given the high number of errors occurring in the game. But are all the introductions only led to the betterment of the sport? There have been innumerable number of controversies pertaining to the use of technology in cricket. Controversies surrounding the 2.5m rule in LBW’s during the World Cup, the indication by hot spot in some of the caught behind decisions, etc. It can be safely said that technology, no matter how accurate it may be, cannot be considered as a substitute to the on-field umpire.

There has been some confusion regarding the role of technology in cricket as well. The prime motive behind the introduction of such technological aspects was a means to assist the umpires rather than to challenge their decisions. Even the most umpires do end up giving some wrong decisions and there is no shame in it, as it is a human tendency. But the view that technology is alternative to umpires on the field is flawed.

The ICC has been quite careful regarding the minute details related to the use of technologies. However, there have been instances where technology too has not been decisive in making a perfect decision and has led to disregard by many individuals and teams. The BCCI have been opposing the use of DRS for several years now and even the support of few players has gone unheard by the board.

Technology has been in use in several other sports over many years (Tennis, baseball, etc.). However, the criticality of such technological aspects varies with the sport. There are some of the issues that need to be sorted out for technology to be wholly accepted as a part of the game.

1. The biggest challenge is its standardized use in the sport. There have many instances where only certain aspects of technology have been used. That does not serve the whole purpose of it in assisting the umpire. Hot Spot is one such example that is not used extensively in all cricket series because of its high cost and many countries not willing to use it. It puts the third umpire in the same position as that without any technology in the house, as he is bound to give his decision based on the camera replays.
2. Ball tracker may not provide us with accurate decisions, particularly in pitches that experience variable bounce (day 4 and 5 pitches in the sub-continent).
3. The technology should be used uniformly across all matches and formats. There has been resistance by many cricket boards towards its use that defeats the entire purpose of its introduction.

It may not be a fool-proof response to the umpiring errors in cricket. It has to go a long way before providing with more fair and accurate decisions. There is a statement by the ICC that the DRS has resulted in improving the correct decisions by over 7%.

So it is slowly but surely becoming an important part of the Gentleman’s game. It is only time before cricketers and boards start to appreciate it; till then it is bound to get negative vibes around the world. But that is the nature of change. It always faces resistance.