It shouldn’t come as a surprise that cricketers disrespect umpires.

The incident in the IPL where Harbhajan Singh argued with the umpire so hard he forced a review is just another example of the Spirit of Cricket being ignored. Dissent goes back as far as WG Grace (probably further). Cricket is not a gentleman’s game.

But the thing that got me about the Mumbai Indians vs. Deccan Chargers flare up was that Harbajan wasn’t playing the game to his advantage.

It seems a Test series can’t be played without a controversy around the Decision Review System (DRS) technology. The system has utilised computer modelling and even military grade heat cameras to help the top level come to the right decision.

And there is a knock on effect to the games played at grass-roots level, even when the highest-tech item on the oval is a cricket bat.

And as far as I’m concerned it’s good for the game.

The Encyclopaedia Britannica is stopping its print version after over 200 years.

There has never been more information available more quickly. The web makes it easy for experts in every field - cricket included - to put out their advice to anyone with a connection. Twitter and facebook and their ilk are making it possible to get cutting-edge stuff in real time.

There’s no more appetite for a book that sits on your shelf and gets out of date.

Over the past 3 years PitchVision has been integrated into sport science research as part of Laurence Houghton’s PhD at The University of Western Australia. As this research program draws to a close we’ve taken time out to review our journey with the sport science community and the resulting partnership with ACE cricket academy. So sit back and enjoy this exclusive inside story.

Today’s article is a guest post on technology in coaching from Bala of criccube.com, republished with permission.

What do you think of when I say “cricket technology”?

Laptop Coaching?

 All those things are the latest innovations to be used in the elite game, but technology has existed in every level of the game ever since someone decided to protect his legs from fast bowling by putting on shin pads in the 1830s.

It’s a question every cricketer considers: Just how well do I compare to others?

You watch the bowlers on TV and wonder just how much quicker they really can be. You mull over how much more accurate that star opposition bowler is.

Is he overrated and lucky or is he actually a pinpoint accurate demon?

Now there is an easy way to find out using the online tools at PitchVision Interactive.

I was playing a game not long after the review system was introduced to Test matches. Without TV cameras and technology at our game there was no chance of a review. Yet at the first dodgy LBW decision the first slip turned to me and made the now familiar T sign. We both quietly giggled and hope the umpire hadn’t seen the dissent.

That story tells me all I need to know about how TV has changed how we approach cricket, even when we don’t have cameras and Hawkeye at our games.

A bad butcher with a sharp knife is still a bad butcher.

And for cricket coaches, technology is the same: A shiny tool can make you feel like you are going to make a difference to players. But in reality the best thing technology can do is add to good coaching, not make bad coaches better.

And at worst, technology can become a distraction from the coaching process. You can spend so much time tinkering that you get less done than you would have if you had just set up some cones and balls.