Cricket: Advancement in technology and improvement in infrastructure is the need of the hour

Cricket, as a sport, has been ever improving. Ever since it was created to be an activity for the rich and the powerful, it has been growing and maturing along with the people that play it, in a constant effort to improve itself.

In today’s ever competitive world, everything has to remain near-perfect to fight for a secure place in society. Cricket, as a sport, has been forced to improve and fight for its place as well. Gone are the days when people would have to throng the stadiums to get to watch a match, to watch their heroes perform and entertain themselves, and if you can’t get those elusive tickets, then you have to be content with a place on the roofs or the near-by buildings.

But today, with the advancement of technology and the emergence of satellite television broadcast, if you haven’t been able to secure tickets to a game, you could always catch it on television and still enjoy yourselves. Along with the TV viewing came a larger base for viewership, which, in turn, increased the popularity and reach of the sport; which has shaped cricket into one of the most watched and followed sports across the world today.

In this constant effort to improve itself, cricket has seen many developments over the years – the constant improving of rules to suit the modern game, the new methods employed to improve playing conditions and what-not. It is during this time of modernization that newer teams have been introduced, more countries are learning the sport and competing on the world stage and of course, the emergence of cricket as an alternative form of revenue has seen the invention of football style premier leagues.

Other than the domestic competitions and ‘premier’ leagues, there are a host of worldwide competitions like the World Cup (both 50 overs and T20) and Champions Trophy. The focal point of this article is to look at the various shortcomings in technology and its implementation across the whole game, with the Champions Trophy being the basis of reference.

The ICC Champions Trophy has been in place for the last 15 years and is 2nd in importance only to the World Cup for the 50 over format, and has been contested approximately every 2 years since. It has always been a competitive event where the world’s top ODI teams battle it out to claim that they are the best in the world. This year, it hasn’t been any different. We’ve seen some exciting matches, matches where teams have played some brilliant cricket; where both batsmen and bowlers have shined along with their teammates on the field.

Though you can argue those matches have been well contested, there have been matches where rain has marred the day’s play. Even though some of those matches weren’t extremely important in the context of the whole tournament, they do end up playing a huge part towards the business end of the series, and in turn affect teams that deserve to go through on the basis of their performances and not on luck and other factors.

Cricket, over the years, has been doing well in terms of incorporating technology in the advancement of the sport. The DRS (Decision Review System), the 3rd umpire to refer run-out calls, and the use of stump cameras and sound mikes for the reference of the umpires has indeed made the game a little less human dependent, which in turn has made it a little less error prone. Though the technology has been constantly improving to suite the modern game, there are some elements that can be sorted out to further improve it. One such factor for improvement is the handling of weather – how to avoid situations where the weather plays a major part, sometimes a greater role than the players as well.

Weather plays a major part in sports, be it cricket, football, tennis or even motor-sport. As we’ve seen in the past, if a cricket match is going to be interrupted by rain, or even light showers are expected, the captains of the competing teams start planning ahead as to what can be done if they win the toss, what strategies can be implemented should a thunder-shower occur, and how far does the Duckworth-Lewis method affect the match in certain situations.

If so much of the match is dependent on the weather forecast, then the abilities of the teams playing aren’t tested to the fullest. They are more likely to hope for things to happen, and luck ends up playing a major part. The outcomes of opponents are even more important than your own. Though significant improvements have been made in the sport, none of the current answers are concrete enough to justify their implementation. The retractable roof theory is one such.

Kevin Pietersen recently said retractable roofs should be used in stadiums in case of rain and bad weather, which could be critical in predicting the outcome of some teams that could possibly go on to win the tournament.

Although that does seem a viable option, there are always limitations as to how much the retractable roofs can be used. I remember watching the Wimbledon Finals in 2012, when a heavy downpour could have potentially stopped the finals from being contested. The Wimbledon stadium, where the match was to be contested, had retractable roofs and the secondary oxygen system to support the thin layer of air in the stadium once the roofs were closed. Apart from the important factor of oxygen supplement, there were other constraints, namely the maintenance of the system. It’s not easy to open and close the roof constantly since it is hydraulics powered, and the fact that the ionizers used to purify the air aren’t effective if there is a constant flow of fresh outside air; meaning the roof once closed cannot be opened again till the end of the match because it will affect the players – they cannot play to their full potential.

In theory, this seems the most viable option for cricket stadiums around the world, but if the problem is looked at practically, it is evident that it is not commercially viable. It’s difficult for smaller nations like Zimbabwe and Bangladesh to build these retractable roofs into their stadiums due to the lack of proper funding and infrastructure. Even with the availability of funding from third party sources and the ICC, the implementation of this particular piece of technology isn’t exactly as easy as the DRS or replay system. The other downside is that, most games are now day-night matches, which rely on the flood lights that surround the stadium during match hours. Even in a regular match, the flood lights are used to improve visibility.

In such scenarios, the practicality of the closed roof decreases even more as the roofs are made of solid metal constructs which inhibits the light from entering. Though some arrangements of alternative lights can be used which are attached to the stadium roof, it’s not possible (yet) to get equally powerful lights to work on the closing of the roof. And the fact that the secondary air shafts circulate ionized air for both crowds and players, it becomes difficult to gauge the level of purity of the incoming air, which, if not done properly, hampers the players.

Also, the fact is that in cricket the presence of at least 13 cricketers on the field increases the intake of air because of the intensity of their respective activities, making it harder to estimate the air level requirements, not to mention the extra ball-boys and ground staff that are present in addition to the players and crowds. If at any time in the future the technology does come into use, it should be designed in such a way that the current short-comings are sorted out.

Even with the approvals, the technology and infrastructure gain, the funding required to carry out the work should be available. The only way the whole cricketing world is going to embrace the technology is if some incentives are provided to each country by the controlling body of the country and the ICC. Also, the maintenance should be carried out diligently. If these situations are met, I see no problem in the implementation of advanced technology. Though currently the cons outweigh the pros, nothing can be established without the required hard work, and if the motive is present, the acceptance of the technology will come, sooner or later. The same thing was said about the use of DRS, but currently, other than India, everyone is using it, and all nations will use it once evidence of its refinement is shown. The current system will only get better with time, and that’s when we can truly appreciate the power of technology and infrastructure. They say good things come to those who wait, but without work and planning, nothing can be achieved.

If the correct steps are taken, they’re bound to affect the game, and in a good way too. If the sport is played in high spirits, it can only benefit the game and the viewers, which essentially is the aim of any sport, let alone cricket. But it is safe to say that the inclusion of technology is the best thing to have happened to cricket; to be able to make a system almost fool-proof is extraordinary. Though we have a long way to go, we do have time on our side. If the planning is done and carried out meticulously, we may well be looking at a time when nothing except the talent and hard-work of cricketers gets them the results. ‘Luck’, for one, can’t be ruled out; it’s an entity that cannot be estimated or calculated, but if the execution of the said plans is flawless, cricket may become the most error proof sport in the world someday.

Whether we can weather the storm (forgive the pun) or not, only time will tell. But if the hard work is sustained, we can hope for the best. And as Ravi Shastry says – “In the end, cricket will be the winner”. Here’s to technology!