Sports equipment company Kookaburra have revealed they have developed a new cricket ball in Victoria which has a microchip embedded in it.
The ball, known as Kookaburra’s SmartBall, has been in development since the past two years and was finally unveiled at a special launch event in London on Saturday night. As of now, the ball is in the final stage of its testing.
As for the chip, it is said that it will revolutionize the sport by delivering advanced, real-time data for players, coaches and viewers. It will majorly work on three factors while calculating the speed; release, pre-bounce and post-bounce, and it will help the bowler to immediately look at the speed or degree of turn on his or her smartwatch.
“Kookaburra has been at the forefront of innovation in cricket, from the first-ever white balls used under lights in World Series Cricket, through to the pink balls now used for day/night Tests,” Kookaburra managing director Brett Elliot was quoted as saying.
New Kookaburra SmartBall: making the ball talk.
— Kookaburra Cricket (@KookaburraCkt) August 10, 2019
Interested? Register your interest today: https://t.co/DocCJujcjW pic.twitter.com/8yP9vnkjc5
“The logical next step is to combine the data and analytics side of cricket that is becoming so critical to players, coaches and fans, with our traditional style of hand-making cricket balls.”
Further plans for the ball include helping the umpiring and Decision Review System (DRS), as the chip will help the officials to determine whether the ball has hit the bat or not, or even for the low catches.
"It'll be a great coaching tool and for viewers as well, it's amazing to see that instant feedback,” World Cup winner Jos Buttler was quoted by The Sydney Morning Herald.
"It seems to behave exactly the same as a regular ball."
The production, on the other hand, has been unveiled by Kookaburra in partnership with SportCor, and it is expected that this innovation could hit the Big Bash League this summer.
Feature image courtesy: Twitter / Cricketcomau
