Technology has made us intertwined with itself, with its rapid growth and acceptance among the world and various impeccable discoveries that derived a statistic unnoticeable to normal human eye. Every game has similarly evolved with technologies to arrive at a conclusion for several decisions which cannot be judged by on-field umpires or referees by just a single look.
From using VAR’s in football to ultra-edge’s in cricket, technology have been a blessing in various cases, while for some it came as a sudden surprise and often a curse and met with criticism in return. In cricket, ultra-edge, Hawkeye, Snicko, stump microphones have been introduced to minutely measure each move of every player, in order to have a fair game at hand.
However, there have been recorded instances where, batsmen edging the ball to the keeper is often not registered by these devices, and sometimes it does register a spike, even when the batsmen have not edged it. The same problem was registered while taking difficult low catches, where it became hard to tell whether the fielder has grassed it or his fingers were underneath while taking the catch.
As a solution to these utterly serious problem and filter the game of incorrect decisions, Australian manufacturer Kookaburra, came up with a new idea of a smart-ball. Smart-ball is similar to a normal cricket ball, but it has a microchip induced in it. The smart-ball has additional benefits such as, it can give the exact degree of bounce, drift, swing, and dip from the time of release by bowler.
The only question remains, whether the ball will last for a set amount of time, after it has been battered all over the ground by batsmen. With a sophisticated technology inside, it is crucial to also have durable outer coating named quilt which would protect the ball. The most important query is whether the ball would last in T20’s which might cost plenty or it will just be used in net sessions. However, Kookaburra has decided to launch the ball within next season of Big Bash, but uncertainty remains with its longevity.
