AI's impact on Cricket: Enhancing Productivity or Challenging Authenticity?

[FearlessRoar]

AI is making a big splash in the world of cricket, changing the way the game is played, watched, and analysed. Imagine coaches using AI to sift through mountains of data, uncovering hidden patterns in player performance that even the most trained eyes might miss. This means more tailored training and better strategies, giving players that extra edge on the field.

Umpiring is also getting a high tech boost. Technologies like Hawk Eye and Ultra Edge use AI to track ball trajectories and detect the slightest edges, helping umpires make more accurate calls and reducing the chances of human error. This makes the game fairer and more exciting for everyone involved.

AI is also looking out for players' well-being. By monitoring their movements and workload, AI can predict potential injuries before they happen, allowing for timely interventions and personalised fitness plans. This means longer careers and healthier athletes.

For fans, AI is a game changer too. It personalises the viewing experience with customised highlights and player stats, making every match more engaging. Predictive modelling can even offer insights into potential match outcomes, adding a new layer of excitement to watching the game.

Teams are using AI to simulate match scenarios and make smarter decisions about batting orders, bowling changes, and field placements. Analysing opponents' tactics gives teams a strategic edge, making the competition even fiercer.

Let's think about the amazing benefits it brings and also consider any concerns about maintaining the spirit of the game. How do you see AI continuing to evolve in cricket? What challenges and opportunities do you think lie ahead?

 

[DeadlyVenom]

I haven't yet noticed any impact of AI from a viewers perspective. Is there specific examples in recent series?

 

[Master Blaster]

Babar will still be the best all format batter.
Rizwan will still be the best wicket keeper batsman.
SSA will still be the best new ball bowler.

 

[FearlessRoar]

I haven't yet noticed any impact of AI from a viewers perspective. Is there specific examples in recent series?

It is the talk of the town now, many players are discussing its use in cricket, especially in coaching and the technology used in cricket.

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AI can enhance coaching, analysing and strategising: Anil Kumble

Anil Kumble's early reputation as a studious cricketer stemmed not merely from the fact that he donned spectacles when he broke into national consciousness. The champion leg-spinner adroitly met the twin challenges of securing an engineering degree and luring batters to their doom, using the learnings from his educational background to scale unprecedented heights on the field.

It was inevitable, given both his degree in Mechanical Engineering and his inherent ability to analyse cricket to its minutest detail, that Kumble would lean heavily on technology post-retirement. Thus was born Spektacom, whose products (the most prominent being a smart bat sticker) are designed to enhance performance analysis as well as fan experience.

The former India captain is therefore ideally positioned to talk about the influence of technology in general and artificial intelligence specifically in cricket. "There are plenty of opportunities to build on that (AI) because cricket is a very statistical-driven game," Kumble points out. "AI can be utilised in coaching, in talent-scouting, in selection of players, at auctions, even to formulate strategies around how one needs to bowl at certain batters, in which conditions. Because there are so many variations in cricket, once you start inputting data, AI will be able to help you in terms of narrowing it to just a couple of variables rather than multiple variables. That to me is the biggest challenge in cricket - too many variables."

Kumble holds the view that AI's tryst with cricket is just slightly more than superficial at present. "There is a lot more to do in cricket with regard to AI than is currently there," he observes. "People are using it for analysis and all of that. But the predictive element and the strategical element of AI is still, in my view, nascent. There's a lot of potential there that's untapped, it's something that we at Spektacom are working on.

"My experience with technology in cricket largely revolves around Spektacom, which is mostly sensor tech, IoT devices, and the use of data and other analytical tools that are currently available, including decision-making tools like the Hawk-Eye. What we have developed is a model where over a period of time, it understands the way you bat and then makes automatic corrections to the algorithm. For example, what bat should you choose. I give you a bat with the smart sticker and ask you to hit 100 balls. You are trying to hit the sweet spot, correct?" Kumble continues. "If, say, you were only hitting 20 out of the 100 balls from the sweet spot, the next step is to improve that number. One element is taking technical help to change your grip, your stance, the way the bat swing is. Two is to watch the ball closer, do a lot of repetitive exercises to start middling the ball more consistently. The third is that there could be some issue with your bat itself. What if the smart sticker shows that while only 20 balls hit the sweet spot, 70 hit one inch above the sweet spot? That helps you figure out if one can push the sweet spot higher or use a slightly longer blade or a longer handle, which thereby improves the efficiency of stroke-making.

"How do you actually know you are hitting the meat of the blade? Unless you put in a device, you won't know. Currently, we have a tool which will hopefully get more utilized because of the necessity for people in the sport who want to become professional, who want to represent teams at the highest level. The competition is such that you want to have an edge. The more you use the tech, the deeper and the more scientific it gets, the more you engage with these data points, these tools for you to have that competitive edge.

"At this moment, I don't think we are utilising these kinds of options enough in cricket. It happens in golf. There is so much competition that they utilise it to the hilt. Whatever latest AI-driven tech is there, people don't mind having a go at it. In Formula One, people use it because it's about milliseconds, a fraction of second, you need to have that advantage. I didn't know until recently that fencing uses a lot of tech. They use sensors, you are just trying to touch your opponent to register a point. Cricket is way, way behind in terms of utilisation of all these tools that are existing."

Kumble throws light on how AI can be used as a more effective tool in various aspects surrounding cricket. "It's all about data, you are building in data. With current existing tools, the open-source tools that you have today, you can build an algorithm that can help you decode so many things - and faster, so much faster. Plus, you can do that in real time. You are predicting a model. As a batter today, especially in the shortest format, you are also predetermining certain things. It's not like every ball you are playing on merit. All those scoops, you have to premeditate - 'Ok, the next ball will be a yorker because he has bowled a slow bouncer'. That's how it works, right? It's not that once the yorker is bowled, the batter decides to scoop after that. You have to predetermine, and the data will also predetermine. You should have the data to pull out for you to understand what's coming next or what is the probability that this will come next." AI can also enhance fan experience and facilitate interaction, with the predictive touch adding greater charm and possibilities.

Admitting that there is a danger of the human element disappearing with the influx of AI, Kumble adds, "But it's already happening today. You go to the minutest millimetre, but with the current tech or systems in place, I don't think we have reached there yet where you could go into such details as one mm or two mm. I don't think we are that ready. Cricket isn't a sport with defined lines as such. You don't have a court, you don't have a net. There's no defined line for you to measure other than the popping crease and the three stumps. For example, there is no defined line to see if the ball pitched outside off or outside leg. The tech has to mark the lines virtually and do all these predictions. It's a post-event thing. When the ball is released, you track the ball virtually. You are basically using cameras.

"There is a sense where technology starts creeping in and the human element gets sidelined, it's already happening. But it's not a bad thing in itself. What we must be very careful about is the introduction of the tech itself. You need to go, deep-dive, test, ensure that the tests are also done live. Currently, no tests are being done live. It's all in lab conditions. We need to test live, which is very difficult, and then introduce these elements into the sport. In practical induction into decision-making, you still need to go through a proper process. It's very important to keep that in mind."

While advocating greater use of technology, Kumble offers a sober disclaimer. "AI, technology, it is an ever-growing phenomenon. But one needs to monitor it before introducing any such technology, especially in decision-making," he cautions. "One needs to have a proper protocol when you are introducing it. But there's still plenty of opportunities to bring in all of these elements into the sport."

TOI

 

[The Bald Eagle]

I think AI would be more helpful for the team management instead of players.

 

[Cricket Warrior]

AI can be better utilized in statistical analysis for teams or it might be used to improve the standards of umpiring in cricket.

 

[mominsaigol]

I've always wondered if Babar was an AI given his auto generated responses in every press conference.

AI won't have any impact on the game, its already been used in drs for years. All it'll do is add an extra prompt feature.

 

[FearlessRoar]

The coolest thing is how AI looks out for players' well being. It studies their physical condition, workload, and even their movement to spot any risks of injury. Then, it suggests personalized plans to help them train smarter and recover better. If I'm not mistaken, Azhar Mahmood also mentioned this injury prevention tool.

 

[FearlessRoar]

Introducing iHawk, the cutting edge technology aiding England selection​

News of James Anderson's impending retirement was, in many ways, a starter pistol for England's bid to reclaim the Ashes. Behind the scenes, however, that race had already begun.

The ECB's performance team are currently in the process of building a "What It Takes To Win" model for the 2025-26 tour to Australia. Its construction will be informed by the knowledge of coaches and players past and present, along with data accrued from previous visits. Once deemed robust enough, it will refine decisions around talent ID and provide selectors all the information required to select a squad capable of a first win Down Under since 2010-11. The aim, ultimately, is to "bring data to life".

Thanks to the ECB's new iHawk technology, collecting that data has never been easier or more qualitative. Through cameras worn by umpires, each delivery is tracked to provide information such as seam movement, release height, pace and swing. An overlay highlighting the path of the ball is then produced, complete with the above information at the top left of the screen.

A soft launch in 2023 saw 200 matches and over 50,000 balls logged from more than 250 bowlers. Every domestic men's and women's match will be covered for the first time this season.

There is already a healthy bank of information on the next crop of quicks with the Ashes in mind, outside the contracted Matthew Potts, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, and Josh Tongue, which will be pored over in the coming weeks. A longer-term project is currently in the works to determine the precise difference in behaviour between the Dukes and Kookaburra balls from gleanings during its use in the first two rounds of the County Championship, supplemented by findings when it returns in July and August.

With the start of England men's Test summer two months away, all this will be fed to the selection committee made up of captain Ben Stokes, head coach Brendon McCullum, managing director Rob Key and national selector Luke Wright. Whether for the series against West Indies or Sri Lanka, a scientific punt could be in the offing.

"It's a massive project just started now on what it will take to win the Ashes," explains Stafford Murray, performance lead at the ECB with a background in analytics in squash and Olympic sports. "Data based, knowledge of coaches, players, current and ex. We'll synthesise all that into a 'What It Takes To Win' model and then we'll work back from that - what do we need, what type of player do we need, and then we can start delving into selection.

"If we're brave, which I know we will be, we'll be selecting in series before the Ashes with the Ashes in mind," says Murray, referencing the fact players best equipped to perform in all conditions will be considered. "It's a blend and it's an ongoing, iterative process, working towards a long-term goal. It's a 'performance backwards' approach."

Primarily a business model, "performance backwards" is as it sounds; identifying a future goal and working out the route to that point in reverse. England employed it for the recent tour of India, which led to the selection Shoaib Bashir. The Somerset offspinner took 17 wickets across three Tests, having arrived with a first-class average of 67.00 from just six matches.

"Shoaib is a really good example [of this]," explains Hannah Jowitt, the lead on the iHawk project as well as analyst and project specialist for the ECB's pathway and disability programmes. After Stokes spotted Bashir bowling to Alastair Cook on a social media post by the County Championship account, the gears started turning.

"One step before that, we analysed what was needed in India. Release height in India was really important. We got data from county cricket. That, combined with scouts' insights, led to his selection for the UAE [Lions] camp. Coaches and selectors had physical eyes on him there. We got more iHawk data on him, more video [fed directly by Murray to a WhatsApp group featuring Key, McCullum, Stokes and Wright], which led to his selection for playing in India."

Essentially, iHawk is HawkEye "lite". The full bells and whistles, which require between four and six cameras, are exclusive to international cricket due to, among other factors, cost.

Such are the advances in the space of 12 months that the kit has been streamlined from a camera phone on a "necklace" and a 2kg waistband filled with the necessary hardware to a more secure harness with a GoPro and a mobile phone as a "mini-computer" in an umpire's back pocket.

Though not a real-time system, at its best, information is fed through into each analyst's coding system and is also available in a central hub in the cloud within three or four balls, depending on Wi-Fi connections. With the help of Artificial Intelligence, that should soon be instantaneous.

All counties have access to this hub, which offers a dashboard with a range of filters, including whether they are English-qualified. Pace bowlers can be arranged to see who, for instance, bowls the greater percentage of deliveries above a certain threshold.

This season, one bowler, whom the ECB has kept anonymous due to binds on performance data and thus may or may not be English qualified, has delivered 12% above 88mph, with 3% in excess of 90mph. The catch is that they have had only 34 deliveries tracked at the time of writing.

For batters, filters can be applied accordingly to show how they fair against "Test-quality deliveries". The ECB has also devised an "impact metric" by using 2023's data to devise a specific model to determine a batter's quality beyond traditional statistics. Essentially, the impact their innings had on the outcome of the match, tied in with factors such as a ground's scoring history, fielding data and even the weather to give as much context as possible. Zak Crawley's presence in the Test team before his purple patch was ultimately along these lines - picked on Test potential because of the nature of his skills rather than domestic output.

"By looking at the quality of the ball through iHawk, we can measure whether their shot or their ball had a positive or negative impact on the probability of that match," Murray says. "They might have only got 23, but actually, if you look at his impact, it was greater than someone who scored 40.

"A lot of players, particularly in the Champo, both ends, ones that have really good traditional figures, might not have a massive impact. Ones that have bad traditional figures might have a huge impact. It's a different way of looking at the data with better context."

Umpires, too, are benefiting from iHawk. Its accuracy and perspective from the umpire's perspective are such that it is being used as a developmental aid.

"It's been a really good learning tool for us," Surendiran Shanmugam, a member of the ECB's professional umpires' team, says. "To go back and look at your decisions, even though we are not being assessed with that, it helps us match what we see on the field and are my decisions still right based on these videos."

The technology's limitations mean it is not being considered as a watered-down alternative for DRS. Nevertheless, umpires are picking up on emerging trends and even starting to use it to familiarise themselves with the idiosyncrasies of different cricketers. The latter is particularly important given the churn of overseas players in an English summer.

"I hope we use it to go really proactive, especially with overseas players coming in and out a lot," says Hamish Grant, professional umpires' manager at the ECB. He cites the decision error rate in the Hundred last year, which was similar across the men's and women's competitions but for very different reasons.

"In the men's it was left-armers bowling really full and going across off stump, which we just never see. Normally it's missing leg stump, but that type of bowling, there are a lot of bowlers doing that.

"In the women's game there was a lot of legspinners. We don't have as many domestically, [but] we had a lot from the southern hemisphere coming over and that provided a really different challenge."

Introducing iHawk, the cutting edge technology aiding England selection

Data collected from umpire-worn cameras will inform English attempts to win 2025-26 Ashes

www.espncricinfo.com

 

[emranabbas]

Hawk-Eye is a disaster; it makes more mistakes than a human umpire.

AI for analysing will rely and solely focus on statistics, much like many posters already do on this forum, it won't provide an accurate assessment because it doesn't consider the context of the match.

 

[Markhor]

Introducing iHawk, the cutting edge technology aiding England selection​

News of James Anderson's impending retirement was, in many ways, a starter pistol for England's bid to reclaim the Ashes. Behind the scenes, however, that race had already begun.

The ECB's performance team are currently in the process of building a "What It Takes To Win" model for the 2025-26 tour to Australia. Its construction will be informed by the knowledge of coaches and players past and present, along with data accrued from previous visits. Once deemed robust enough, it will refine decisions around talent ID and provide selectors all the information required to select a squad capable of a first win Down Under since 2010-11. The aim, ultimately, is to "bring data to life".

Thanks to the ECB's new iHawk technology, collecting that data has never been easier or more qualitative. Through cameras worn by umpires, each delivery is tracked to provide information such as seam movement, release height, pace and swing. An overlay highlighting the path of the ball is then produced, complete with the above information at the top left of the screen.

A soft launch in 2023 saw 200 matches and over 50,000 balls logged from more than 250 bowlers. Every domestic men's and women's match will be covered for the first time this season.

There is already a healthy bank of information on the next crop of quicks with the Ashes in mind, outside the contracted Matthew Potts, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, and Josh Tongue, which will be pored over in the coming weeks. A longer-term project is currently in the works to determine the precise difference in behaviour between the Dukes and Kookaburra balls from gleanings during its use in the first two rounds of the County Championship, supplemented by findings when it returns in July and August.

With the start of England men's Test summer two months away, all this will be fed to the selection committee made up of captain Ben Stokes, head coach Brendon McCullum, managing director Rob Key and national selector Luke Wright. Whether for the series against West Indies or Sri Lanka, a scientific punt could be in the offing.

"It's a massive project just started now on what it will take to win the Ashes," explains Stafford Murray, performance lead at the ECB with a background in analytics in squash and Olympic sports. "Data based, knowledge of coaches, players, current and ex. We'll synthesise all that into a 'What It Takes To Win' model and then we'll work back from that - what do we need, what type of player do we need, and then we can start delving into selection.

"If we're brave, which I know we will be, we'll be selecting in series before the Ashes with the Ashes in mind," says Murray, referencing the fact players best equipped to perform in all conditions will be considered. "It's a blend and it's an ongoing, iterative process, working towards a long-term goal. It's a 'performance backwards' approach."

Primarily a business model, "performance backwards" is as it sounds; identifying a future goal and working out the route to that point in reverse. England employed it for the recent tour of India, which led to the selection Shoaib Bashir. The Somerset offspinner took 17 wickets across three Tests, having arrived with a first-class average of 67.00 from just six matches.

"Shoaib is a really good example [of this]," explains Hannah Jowitt, the lead on the iHawk project as well as analyst and project specialist for the ECB's pathway and disability programmes. After Stokes spotted Bashir bowling to Alastair Cook on a social media post by the County Championship account, the gears started turning.

"One step before that, we analysed what was needed in India. Release height in India was really important. We got data from county cricket. That, combined with scouts' insights, led to his selection for the UAE [Lions] camp. Coaches and selectors had physical eyes on him there. We got more iHawk data on him, more video [fed directly by Murray to a WhatsApp group featuring Key, McCullum, Stokes and Wright], which led to his selection for playing in India."

Essentially, iHawk is HawkEye "lite". The full bells and whistles, which require between four and six cameras, are exclusive to international cricket due to, among other factors, cost.

Such are the advances in the space of 12 months that the kit has been streamlined from a camera phone on a "necklace" and a 2kg waistband filled with the necessary hardware to a more secure harness with a GoPro and a mobile phone as a "mini-computer" in an umpire's back pocket.

Though not a real-time system, at its best, information is fed through into each analyst's coding system and is also available in a central hub in the cloud within three or four balls, depending on Wi-Fi connections. With the help of Artificial Intelligence, that should soon be instantaneous.

All counties have access to this hub, which offers a dashboard with a range of filters, including whether they are English-qualified. Pace bowlers can be arranged to see who, for instance, bowls the greater percentage of deliveries above a certain threshold.

This season, one bowler, whom the ECB has kept anonymous due to binds on performance data and thus may or may not be English qualified, has delivered 12% above 88mph, with 3% in excess of 90mph. The catch is that they have had only 34 deliveries tracked at the time of writing.

For batters, filters can be applied accordingly to show how they fair against "Test-quality deliveries". The ECB has also devised an "impact metric" by using 2023's data to devise a specific model to determine a batter's quality beyond traditional statistics. Essentially, the impact their innings had on the outcome of the match, tied in with factors such as a ground's scoring history, fielding data and even the weather to give as much context as possible. Zak Crawley's presence in the Test team before his purple patch was ultimately along these lines - picked on Test potential because of the nature of his skills rather than domestic output.

"By looking at the quality of the ball through iHawk, we can measure whether their shot or their ball had a positive or negative impact on the probability of that match," Murray says. "They might have only got 23, but actually, if you look at his impact, it was greater than someone who scored 40.

"A lot of players, particularly in the Champo, both ends, ones that have really good traditional figures, might not have a massive impact. Ones that have bad traditional figures might have a huge impact. It's a different way of looking at the data with better context."

Umpires, too, are benefiting from iHawk. Its accuracy and perspective from the umpire's perspective are such that it is being used as a developmental aid.

"It's been a really good learning tool for us," Surendiran Shanmugam, a member of the ECB's professional umpires' team, says. "To go back and look at your decisions, even though we are not being assessed with that, it helps us match what we see on the field and are my decisions still right based on these videos."

The technology's limitations mean it is not being considered as a watered-down alternative for DRS. Nevertheless, umpires are picking up on emerging trends and even starting to use it to familiarise themselves with the idiosyncrasies of different cricketers. The latter is particularly important given the churn of overseas players in an English summer.

"I hope we use it to go really proactive, especially with overseas players coming in and out a lot," says Hamish Grant, professional umpires' manager at the ECB. He cites the decision error rate in the Hundred last year, which was similar across the men's and women's competitions but for very different reasons.

"In the men's it was left-armers bowling really full and going across off stump, which we just never see. Normally it's missing leg stump, but that type of bowling, there are a lot of bowlers doing that.

"In the women's game there was a lot of legspinners. We don't have as many domestically, [but] we had a lot from the southern hemisphere coming over and that provided a really different challenge."

Introducing iHawk, the cutting edge technology aiding England selection

Data collected from umpire-worn cameras will inform English attempts to win 2025-26 Ashes

www.espncricinfo.com

Meanwhile Pakistan's selections consist of seven blokes including a politician sitting around a table with the bog standard stats anybody can print from Statsguru.

We'll as usual adopt these trends about 20 years too late. Look how long it took before we reached an agreement with CricViz to access their software.