The BCCI gathered player-specific waist-height data to address no-ball controversies, aiming for more accurate umpiring decisions.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has thought of a new technology in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 to address a long-standing issue of umpiring errors on waist-high no-balls.
Inconsistent calls have frustrated teams for years, and the BCCI took a visionary step to improve decision-making accuracy. Traditionally, leg umpires judged the height of a full toss and called it a no-ball if it was above the batter’s waist during their normal stance. Doubts often lead to referrals to the third umpire, but even these decisions have not always settled the debate.
To address this controversy, the BCCI began collecting player data. “There are people in the BCCI’s team who are measuring the height of all the players in the IPL till their waist with a measuring tape. This data will then be fed into the system used by the hawk-eye operators, who sit with the third umpire (from this season) to judge reviews of waist-high full tosses. This data will help in judging the waist-high full toss to a particular batsman better,” a source was quoted as saying by the Times of India.
This player-specific data will be a valuable tool for umpires, especially when reviewing close calls. The system aims to reduce errors and ensure more consistent and accurate waist-high no-ball decisions. This innovative approach is just one of the ways the BCCI is enhancing the IPL experience in 2024.
Another significant change is the introduction of the Smart Replay System. This new technology utilises eight high-speed Hawk-Eye cameras positioned around the stadium, along with two additional cameras dedicated to assisting the third umpire with real-time images and data. This eliminates the need for a TV broadcast director as a middleman, speeding up the review process and providing umpires with more information to make faster decisions.
Last Updated on March 26, 2024
