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Cricket must embrace technology or abandon it

22nd January, 2018
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Steve Smith walks off after being dismissed. (AAP Image/Tracey Nearmy)
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22nd January, 2018
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It was a length ball, outside off-stump and Steve Smith, on 45, attempted to flay it through cover point in his typically unconventional way. But rather than finding the middle of the bat, Mark Wood’s ball found the edge. Jos Buttler did the rest, taking a fine, one-handed catch.

Or did he?

The English team were convinced. They celebrated knowing that Smith’s wicket could be the match and the series. The on-field umpires agreed, but sent for the third umpire to be sure.

The video technology rules are strict: for the decision to be overturned, and Smith to resume his innings, the evidence must show conclusively that the on-field decision of ‘out’ was, in fact, the incorrect one. If the evidence is indecisive, the original decision remains.

Kumar Dharmasena, the third umpire, scrolled through the footage. Buttler’s right hand made contact with the ball first, but was his glove underneath the ball when it made contact with the ground? The replays suggested otherwise.

But the problem was the quality of the video. The image was patchy, like a home recording from the ‘90s. Zooming in only compounded the problem as it produced large uncouth pixels.

Dharmasena, having tried his best to unravel the mystery of ‘the ball, the glove and the grass’, handed control back to the field umpires. The decision must stand.

So Smith trudged off, shaking his head. Australia struggled to wrestle back momentum and fell short by 16 runs. England were elated.

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This is one of many instances of the impotence of technology. Fortunately, in this case, the stakes weren’t terribly high, but Smith’s dismissal highlights a much larger problem. A problem that rears its head from time to time, only to recede just before the hammer strikes, like in a game of whack-a-mole.

Cricket has yet to decide where it stands with technology. Are the two just friends or a couple?

Unfortunately, as romantic comedies have shown us, being ‘just friends’ never works. Cricket must cut ties with technology completely or make the relationship official.

Things have gone too far to break things off now, though. The game has invested in technology in an effort to improve accuracy and keep speed with the changing sporting landscape.

But the technology could be better, as the fragmented replay’s of Buttler’s catch showed. Tech is a bit part, though it’s ready for a co-starring role.

This is not a question of tradition – that was lost long ago. Think flashing bails, pink balls and bats so thick that leading edges go for six.

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This is a matter of investing in technology and handing over responsibility. Rather than being a point of derision, technology should go about its work undetected, adding value in the process.

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