MELBOURNE: the new technology introduced into cricket was intended to reduce errors but now one of its critics, the former Australian umpire Daryl Harper says that the technology is “not the aid it is claimed to be”
“When a batsman plays a shot well away from his body, and you as an umpire see the ball strike a glove, go through to the keeper, and you hear the sound, you can draw no other conclusion than it has been gloved to the keeper and the batsman is out,” Harper said.
“That it can’t be confirmed by a camera at 25 frames per second, that’s technology’s problem. If they were filming at 1800 frames per second, like those super slow-mos, you’d see the glove depressed with the contact from the ball,” he added.
Harper deliberated on how the particulars of the technology lack credibility in reaching the right decision.
“At 50 frames per second there is a very slim chance of the ball ever being captured making contact with the pitch when it actually lands, because there is a minimum of 60cm (of the ball travelling) between frames,” Harper said.
“If the cameras cannot capture the ball touching the pitch, I’m not quite sure how they can claim the degree of accuracy they do claim.
“So the more advanced technology becomes – unfortunately it is more expensive – the more likely the technology will be of a positive assistance to the game. At the moment it is not the aid that I believe it is claimed to be,” he added.
