CHENNAI: With the Aussies gaining supremacy over the Black Caps, here’s more for cricket enthusiasts. A new app called CricketPlaybook has been developed by Carl Peterson, a sports science lecturer at University of Canterbury, Wellington, New Zealand, which shows where batsmen are more likely to hit a certain type of delivery.
“Working in professional and international cricket as a sports scientist with Cricket Australia, the official body of Australian cricket, and as a Strength and Conditioning Coach with Northamptonshire CCC, I was able to see the type of performance analysis advice that was being presented to players. I felt there was a missing link between the bowling execution plans (pitch map diagrams) and where the ball was actually being hit to (wagon wheels showing off side and leg side statistics as to where a batsman scores his runs), and thought combining this data would prove useful for field setting and emphasising the importance of bowling execution of the intended delivery,” says Peterson.
CricketPlaybook, unveiled at the World Congress of Science and Medicine in Cricket in Sydney held from March 23-27, is currently available for iPad and costs $0.99 (approx `65).
On how the app works, Peterson offers, “The app matches up where a batsman will hit a certain type of delivery (defined by a number of variables like its line, length, type of bowler, handedness of bowler and batter and so on). So if you were able to bowl 100 identical deliveries, the app will tell you where international batsmen would hit those balls; think of it as a pie-chart displayed on a cricket field.”
Besides hardcore fans, Peterson is hoping the app will find other admirers as well. “The app could have different uses for different types of people, like commentators might use it to talk about a captain’s field placings in a match. However, its major use would be in training for captains and bowlers to work on developing their bowling plans and field placement plans.”
The research data for the app was procured from the statistics of international players in the Champions trophy 2013 ODI tournament.
— shilpa.vasudevan@newindianexpress.com