No ‘SmartBall’ in BBL; Cricket Australia to conduct independent testing
From the colour of balls to the size of the bat to DRS, cricket has witnessed many technological innovations over the years. The red cherry was the first to make its way to cricket, followed by the white ball in the shorter formats. More recently, the pink ball came in to spice up the longest format.
Now in a new technological development, Australian ball manufacturer Kookaburra has unveiled their latest cricket invention, ‘SmartBall’. The manufacturers claim that this new microchip embedded ball can collect instant statistics on speed, release and revolutions of a bowler.
The Kookaburra SmartBall is here.
It looks, feels and moves the same way as a regular Kookaburra cricket ball, but collects and communicates instant statistical data on revolutions, speed.
Want to change the way you play? Register your interest today: https://t.co/7RMWoXTmTJ pic.twitter.com/e8dgHThtEw
— Kookaburra Cricket (@KookaburraCkt) August 12, 2019
Cricket Australia excited, but cautious
Cricket Australia expressed their excitement at the prospect of the SmartBall. But they have also stated that the ball will need independent testing before officially taking the field.
“A cricket ball that can gather data about things such as speed, movement and power is an extremely exciting innovation that will bring benefits not only to fans, but also coaches and players,” Peter Roach, Head of Cricket Operations at Cricket Australia told cricket.com.au.
SmartBall won’t be used in BBL
Roach hinted that the new ball is unlikely to feature in the upcoming Big Bash League. CA will work closely with the ball and technology manufacturers to ensure the product is foolproof.
SportCor, a company chaired by former Australian pacer and CA Director Michael Kasprowicz partnered with Kookaburra to make the invention happen. Kasprowicz is confident that the technology will be used in bigger tournaments around the world. Eventually, the goal is to feature in international cricket and also assist umpiring and DRS.
Sneak peek for Buttler, Labsuchange
England batsman Jos Buttler and Australian bowler Marnus Labuschagne tried their hands at the new ball in the nets. The Englishman said he would like to see the innovation in Test cricket.
Marnus Labuschagne and Jos Buttler try their hand at the Smart Ball – a design developers are hoping will be used in domestic T20 comps within the coming months! pic.twitter.com/oyUhHkrefn
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) August 10, 2019
“It’ll be a great coaching tool and for viewers as well, it’s amazing to see that instant feedback,” Buttler said at the launch event at Lord’s last weekend, which was also attended by Australia’s Marnus Labuschagne
“It seems to behave exactly the same as a regular ball.”
