Editorial: When technology stumps efforts to advance sport

Bangladesh's Mohammad Saifuddin watches as the ball hits the wicket but the bails stay on during the ICC Cricket World Cup group stage match with England. Photo / AP

Editorial

EDITORIAL

Being a sports fan in the age of technological omnipresence can sometimes feel like an episode of Black Mirror.

The Netflix anthology series often takes a dystopian look at technology and examines its effect on us as a society. The episodes feel like a horror movie, each a warning of the perils of allowing technology to take over our humanity.

The stakes, of course, aren't as dire in the world of sport.

But lately, technology in sport – which we're told should be helping referees, improving our viewing experience, pushing sport into the future – has proven more of a nuisance, with its drawbacks often outweighing its benefits.

At its best, technology can improve sport for players and fans but at its worst it obscures the human element so fundamental in sports – the core of what makes it interesting and important.

The Cricket World Cup is the latest instance of technology going wrong, where electronic bails have left fans and players stumped.

During Australia's clash against India earlier in the week, Aussie opener David Warner was given a huge let-off when he inside edged a delivery that deflected back onto the base of his leg stump but, somehow, the bails refused to budge.

It was the fifth time in the tournament the stubborn bails stayed put when struck by the ball.

The electronic "zing" bails are heavier and designed to light up when dislodged, with the ultimate goal to help third umpires in making the correct decision with split-second run outs and stumpings, while providing a flashy signal to improve the viewing experience.

Maybe normal human movement was never meant to be slowed down and examined to its every frame, maybe there's nothing wrong with good old fashioned wooden wickets.

However, instead of making the game more seamless and enjoyable, the electrical bails quickly became one of the tournament's big controversies, frustrating both players and fans.

At the FIFA Women's World Cup which began last week, the combination of a new interpretation of the handball rules with the much-debated introduction of VAR (video assistant referee), has slowly turned the free-flowing game into a stop-start farce.

Under a new amended rule, handballs are now supposed to be called not only for deliberate acts, as was the case for more than a century, but also if a player had made themselves "unnaturally bigger" – in other words, not having their arms by their side or behind their backs.

The new rule has led to several controversial decisions where referees, with the help of VAR, have slowed down footage to the split second to decide whether a player had their arm in a "natural position", which is quickly becoming a tournament buzz word for the wrong reasons.

The most egregious example was in England's clash against Scotland when the ball struck Scottish defender Nicola Docherty's outstretched arm from about a metre out, which was then studied microscopically and eventually deemed a penalty. England went on to win the game 2-1 thanks to the penalty kick.

England's Ellen White (left) and Scotland's Nicola Docherty compete for the ball during the Women's World Cup Group D soccer match between England and Scotland in Nice, France. Photo / AP

Technology has helped sport move forward in countless ways, but sometimes the "correct" call may not be the right one. Maybe normal human movement was never meant to be slowed down and examined to its every frame, maybe there's nothing wrong with good old fashioned wooden wickets.

It's easy to envision a dystopian future where sport is rid of its fun, unpredictability, and humanity in service of robotic referees and needless black and white precision – slowly stripping the beautiful game of all its pure human drama.

Someone is probably writing that Black Mirror episode right now.