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

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.