BBL 2019-20: Micro-chipped cricket ball likely to be introduced in the T20 league

The 2019-20 edition of the Big Bash League (BBL) is scheduled to get underway on Tuesday, December 14 and will continue until Saturday, February 8. Melbourne Renegades are the defending champions as they defeated the Melbourne Stars in the Final at the Docklands Stadium in Melbourne. The popular T20 league is now set to undergo a bit of innovation.

The BBL could be a witness to a cricket leather with an embedded microchip. The same technology may also be tried with the Kookaburra ball in Test cricket. The Australian ball manufacturer is presently in the final stages of testing the new product. As per as the SmartBall is concerned, it delivers instant statistics on speed- at release point, pre-bounce and post-bounce.

An aid to the umpires

The readings by the micro-chipped ball are more comprehensive and accurate than a normal radar as per reports in the Sydney Morning Herald. The SmartBall also measures revolutions at the same points, which is unprecedented in-game data for spinners. In the future, it could also help the umpires in making decisions and also in the important Decision Review System (DRS).

It can show whether the leather has actually touched the grass or not in case of extremely close calls where the on-field soft-decisions stay on most instances. At times, replays remain inconclusive and don’t reveal the entire story. SportCor, a firm owned by former Australian fast bowler Michael Kasprowicz, teamed up with Kookaburra to bring the massive innovation to the fore.

The company believes that if there’s no hiccup, then it could feature even at the international level. “Absolutely,” Jos Buttler, the England wicket-keeper said, when asked about whether he would like to see the advanced technology in Test cricket or not.

“It’ll be a great coaching tool and for viewers as well, it’s amazing to see that instant feedback. It seems to behave exactly the same as a regular ball,” Buttler, who was a part of the World Cup squad and is currently playing the Ashes, was quoted as saying.

SportCor is confident that the SmartBall will be used in various T20 leagues around the globe with the BBL in Australia firmly on their agenda.

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