One of the talking points from the 5th ODI at Sydney between India and Australia was the intervention of the Spidercam, the aerial camera that gives a bird’s eye perspective of the stadium.
Like many other stadiums, the spidercam is held aloft very high above the Sydney Cricket Ground by a series of wires. And it was this apparatus that denied Virat Kohli a boundary.
The incident occurred in the 19th over of the Indian innings, when Kohli played a flick off his first ball that went over the slip cordon and hit the camera and was declared a dead ball, despite it having rolled to the boundary fence.
Law 23 of the International Cricket Council's Playing Conditions for ODI cricket determines that a ball will be declared dead on the rare occasion it hits the camera or its wires.
"He was probably our best fielder tonight, SpiderCam. He saved four," the Australian skipper Steve Smith said with a smile.
On a day of surprisingly below-par fielding from his side, Smith may even have a hidden message for his players. He also added camera operators had to take responsibility of ensuring that the camera does not interfere into play like it did on the 5th ODI.
"I think they get all the access they need and the SpiderCam gets a lot of vision.
"I just think we need to make sure it's away when the ball is coming. We don't need to see things like that where it's a dead ball. Something like that can really change the course of the game.
"So I just think we need to make sure we get him out of the way when the bowler is coming in to bowl."
Don’t like anything that disturbs game of cricket: Dhoni
India captain MS Dhoni was also at his humourous best when asked about the issue of the spidercam. He echoed Smith in saying that it was shameful that a batsman had to lose four runs because of the camera’s positioning.
"I'm quite a traditional guy and I've always felt that anything that disturbs the game of cricket, I don't like it," Dhoni said.
"It all started from T20 when people were saying 'why don't you wear a mic, why don't you wear a camera?'.
"I always feel there needs to be a balance. At the end of the game it's a spectator sport, it's for the spectators and people watching on television but at the same time we have to make sure (this doesn't happen).”
Dhoni also came up with a joke on how the Spidercam should not be exempt from rules that players are, considering the kind of impact it can have.
"Four runs can really matter. Especially when it's a 310, 320 game, those runs can be really crucial. Everyone gets penalised so why not have a system for the SpiderCam? If you get hit, $2000 per hit. Let's make it interesting.
"At the end of the day it's for the spectators and if spectators aren't there, cricket won't be played. It's mix and match but I think $2000 per hit, I think that's a good option."
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