Technology has spread to almost all aspects of our life and the same can be said about sports as well. Some of the most popular sports in the world such as Football, Cricket and others have taken the help of technology for making decisions. For example, we have seen technologies like Snicko meter, UltraEdge, Ball tracking, or Decision Review System in general in Cricket. This has helped umpires make the right calls as well as correct the wrong decisions also known as “howlers”.
Same can be said about the VAR technology recently introduced in Football. This technology lets you review the decisions made by an on-field referee so a goal is not incorrectly given or vice-versa. Now, we are seeing the effect of technology on Cricket balls as well. Kookaburra, the famous cricket equipment manufacturer, has developed a new cricket ball called the ‘SmartBall’.
According to Kookaburra, its SmartBall can deliver instant statistics on speed. These statistics will be at release point before the ball has bounced and after the ball has bounced. The company claims that its statistics will be more comprehensive and accurate than a normal radar. With this ball, we will now be able to accurately measure the speeds a bowler is bowling the ball at.
The Kookaburra SmartBall is here.
It looks, feels and moves the same way as a regular Kookaburra cricket ball, but collects and communicates instant statistical data on revolutions, speed.
Want to change the way you play? Register your interest today: https://t.co/7RMWoXTmTJ pic.twitter.com/e8dgHThtEw
— Kookaburra Cricket (@KookaburraCkt) August 12, 2019
In Cricket, we have often discussed how much the ball takes speed or gets slowed down once it bounces. This ball will be able to track those statistics as well. Basically, this ‘SmartBall’ from Kookaburra has a smart chip inside it which lets you track all the information. The best thing about this SmartBall, however, is that all these data is given instantly. The ball is available in both Red and White colour so it can be used in both Tests and limited-overs cricket. Cricket Australia says that it supports any innovation that is brought to the game of cricket. However, CA adds that “any expectations that it could feature in this summer’s KFC BBL may be premature”