Cricket: Push end game' and make life easy for scorers

Stephen Fleming. Photo / Getty Images

New Zealand cricketers Stephen Fleming and Brendon McCullum are behind new technology which could spell the end of cricket scorers using coloured pencils, a rubber and a scorebook.

CricHQ, a company whose shareholders include Fleming and McCullum, are promoting CricScore, a product which can be downloaded as an iPad or iPhone application for $15.99. A format for android-based devices is expected to be available before Christmas.

The rationale is to make scoring simpler, particularly at a junior and amateur level, so people are not subjected to the complexities of where to pencil in dots, squares, circles and crosses manually. If suitable sponsorship is secured in the next few weeks, the technology is expected to become free.

This revolution in cricket scoring technology is likely to be welcome news for parents on Saturday mornings, not to mention batsmen who get out early and have a scorebook shoved under their noses. Fleming has produced a witty look at how to use the application on YouTube by applying it to the scorecard of arguably his most famous one-day innings - the 134 not out to help New Zealand beat South Africa at the 2003 World Cup. The innings helped the Black Caps stay in the tournament when the hosts missed out.

"I've scored all over the world," Fleming says drily, "and I know it's not that easy". The product is endorsed by the major associations and the New Zealand Cricket Players' Association as a way to stimulate interest.

NZCPA business development manager Glen Sulzberger says part of the allure is that results can be downloaded immediately into a database: "It saves some poor dude slaving for hours and relying on others to submit results manually. On CricScore you push 'end game' and it uploads automatically.

"The CricHQ team is also in the process of building a 'live score' application so, if someone has internet access at a park, they can score live ball-by-ball on a website [much like cricinfo.com but at club level]. It means others, like family members or teams in the same grade, can see what's happening at other grounds without ringing around.

"Some might prefer the scorebook, like at the top levels when they bring out the coloured pencils, but this has the potential to become easy and enjoyable."

Ratings on the download website back up Sulzberger's claim. Seventy per cent of 30 responses rated it a five-star experience; just 13 per cent rated it below average.

One summary said: "What an awesome idea ... scoring is fun now."

The company hopes scorers in India, Australia and England think likewise. They have a relationship with the International Cricket Council and the latest product includes a Duckworth-Lewis system.

CricHQ shareholder Simon Baker, an avid club cricketer with vast information technology experience, is working on deals in India.

The company used a staff of 15 in New Zealand to develop CricScore and scorers globally to get feedback.