Top 5 Technological Advancements in Cricket Umpiring

From its humble origins, the arena of cricket umpiring has undergone a major transformation over the past few decades and the technological advancements have undoubtedly played a major role in revolutionising and uplifting the stature of cricket on a global level. Umpires who are often applauded for their right decisions on the cricket field and at the same time, brutally criticized for the wrong ones have been greatly benefited by these technological advancements over the years.

In this article we will take a look at the top five technological advancements that cricket umpires use in order to make their job easy while officiating matches in the era of modern cricket.

Top 5 Technological Advancements Used by Cricket Umpires in the Modern Era 

1. Hawk-Eye 

Introduced back in 2001, the Hawk-Eye technology is considered to be a boon in the world of cricket umpiring and is actively used by umpires across all major cricket leagues and tournaments. The Hawk-Eye technology is generally used to track the trajectory of the ball after it hits the batsman’s pads and assists the on-field umpires to a great extent in making fate-changing decisions during the match in case of LBW (Leg Before Wicket) dismissals.

2. Spider Cam

Often referred to as the “bird’s eye”, a Spider Cam is an extremely advanced camera system that generall y operates on cables that are freely suspended above the ground. The Spider Cam was first introduced during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2010 season and soon it became a mainstay in the world of umpiring. Although primarily installed to provide crystal-clear visuals to the audience during the broadcast, the Spider Cam also greatly assists the match officials in making crucial decisions as it provides clear top-view angles.

3. No-Ball Sensor 

Well, the “no-ball” decisions have always attracted a lot of fuming controversies for the umpires since the inception of cricket and the introduction of “no-ball” sensors has indeed made their job easier and less stressful. The no-ball sensor is placed near the crease on the pitch and it accurately captures the visuals of bowler’s foot which makes it possible for the umpires to appropriately judge and detect the instances where a bowler’s foot lands beyond the crease making it a “no-ball”.

4. Snickometer

Next, at the fourth spot in our list of top five technological advancements that cricket umpires use in order to make their job easy while officiating matches in the era of modern cricket, we have Snickometer, often popularly called as “Snicko”. Snickometer helps the third umpire decide appeals of caught behind by the wicket-keeper. These Snicko Meters are usually placed near the stumps and whenever a ball strikes against the pads, gloves or bat of the batsman, it generates a distinct sound which is often referred to as “nick” or “snick”.

5. LED Bails 

Introduced during the 2012-2013 Big Bash League in Australia, the LED bails have become a mainstay in the world of technological advancements today in modern cricket. Numerous high-stakes tournaments including ICC Cricket World Cup and T20 leagues actively used LED bails as one of the most reliable cues in instances of stumping, run-outs and dismissals. These LED bails have in-built sensors that can easily trigger the lights whenever the bails are no longer in contact with the stumps, giving out clear decision in split-seconds.