The ICC Men's Cricket World Cup is over and is won by Team England (and Wales). Just. In the end, the number of borders scored by England in the final against New Zealand was greater, but throughout the tournament, technology was decisive.
Unlike soccer, where Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology is getting older, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has been a lover of technology for years.
From HawkEye and Hotspot to Batcam and Spidercam, here are all the gadgets, technologies and innovations that have helped umpires make the right call and broadcasters bring the action to life. Howzat ?!
1. STATSports Trackers
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During the World Cup, the Indian National Cricket Team signed up with the British sports technology company STATSports, whose wearable performance monitoring technology is already being used by Manchester United, Liverpool, Rome, Tottenham Hotspur. and the Brazilian soccer team.
His wearable device is essentially a fitness monitor embedded in a basic vest loaded with sensors that measure distance, speed, acceleration, deceleration, high-speed runs, and dynamic stress load for each player.
This means better control of cardiovascular stresses in bowlers, who can tire quickly, as well as rotations of the batters' ankle and knee joints. For us mere mortals, STATSports sells its GPS performance tracker.
2.HotSpot
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An integral part of the Referee Decision Review System (DRS), HotSpot focuses on the front leg (lbw).
Planting a mat in front of the incoming ball to prevent it from hitting the wicket is the oldest tactic in the book, but it can be extremely difficult for the umpire to determine whether contact was made with the mat or the drummer's bat, or both. - If it is bat, then pad, it can also be caught.
Answer with centuries of discussion until the arrival in 2006 of HotSpot, a tracking system consisting of two infrared SLX-Hawk cameras that measure friction heat to produce a frame that shows the precise Contact points of the ball.
3. Cutting-edge television coverage.
You would think that to cover 48 games in 11 different locations, simplified television production plans would be needed. Not even a little. London-based company Sunset + Vine, a global production partner of ICC, used a mobile outdoor broadcast unit, five technical teams, four production teams, 24 commentators and 32 cameras to cover each match.
This included drones, super slow motion, eight ultra-motion Hawk-Eye cameras, Buggy Cams, Stump Cams, and Spidercam. A 15 second DRS graphic countdown timer is displayed on the screen and on the floor.
However, his absence from the World Cup was something extraordinary: Ultra HD, which is not that bad in India, which is the biggest cricket market for television.
4. LBW Hawk-Eye Detection System
Hawk-Eye is another element of DRS, a tool that is used by default in cricket shows around the world.
Comprised of six cameras, three at each end of the pitch, Hawk-Eye essentially follows the ball and predicts its trajectory. If it is determined that the ball was heading towards the stumps when a drum pad is placed on the road, that is the weight of the ball.
Hawk-Eye has been provided by host broadcasters at major cricket matches since 2001 and at ICC events since 2008, when it became part of the DRS.
5. TRACAB Optical Drive Tracking
(Image credit: ChyronHego Corporation)
Already used in the Premier League, the German Bundesliga and the Spanish League, as well as in the main international tournaments of UEFA and FIFA, as well as in Major League Baseball, it was time for ChyronHego's TRACAB to introduce into cricket.
A camera-based ball and player tracking system adopted by graphics provider AE, this specialized version of TRACAB ordered by ICC for live cricket shows spectators the exact position of players on the field, as well as a range of data points, including speed and race distances. covered.
6.Hawk-Eye UltraEdge
UltraEdge is a sound detection based system that is part of Hawk-Eye and DRS. Intended to help the referee better judge his decisions, UltraEdge includes Stump microphones that clearly differentiate the sounds created by different sources, including the drummer's bat, pads, and clothing.
The difference between Snickometer technology and competitive technology is that UltraEdge uses ultra slow cameras to synchronize sound and visuals.
With this information, the referee can decide whether a drummer has bounced the ball ("tapped") or not.
7.Batcam
This British drone filming and broadcasting company has supplied three machines to all Cricket World Cup sites: BatcamFLY and BatcamDRIVE. BatcamFLY is a drone equipped with a 360 degree camera that can produce a line of sight of throw before running up to 400 feet for a general / atmospheric horizon view.
Batcam DRIVE, a remote-controlled 10x camera with remote-controlled wheels, produced these low-tracking shots of drummers leaving the field. Traveling at a top speed of 30 mph and equipped with an automatic anti-collision system, this sturdy 80cm tall buggy is remotely controlled and GPS-tracked.
It was mainly used to get ground shots from the goalkeeper.
8.Spidercam
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Every time new drummers came into play at the Cricket World Cup, Spidercam overwhelmed them.
This has turned out to be crucial. Installed on all terrains during the World Cup, Spidercam's smooth sweeps and angles were made even more essential to the viewing experience by hosting innovative augmented reality overlays.
The Spidercam shots created the environment for the AR graphics of the key players, and even the trophy placed in the middle of the ground.
9. Piero graphical analysis system.
(Image credit: ICC TV)
Piero debuted at the World Cup, a set of 3D graphics that allows experts to analyze and explain sporting events.
Used for 15 years on the BBC's Match of the Day British football program, Piero aims to generate visual views of the terrain from all angles and allow experts to manipulate players and draw lines.
It works by assembling multiple camera streams and works in conjunction with data analytics and the CricViz score predictor.
10. 360 degree reps
For the first time in a Cricket World Cup, television coverage involved the production of 360-degree replays. Provided by Piero, with the help of software to assemble multiple camera sources to create immersive video, 360 degree video replicas have been posted on ICC TV.
It may be a centuries-old game filled with strange lore and rules, but when it comes to technology, there are few sports as sharp as cricket. Now about this lack of Ultra HD...