Since the latter half of the first decade of the 21st century, cricket has become a more physically demanding sport than it ever was. This was due to the advent of the T20 format, which demands greater run-scoring in shorter time span. For more run-scoring, batters have to be agile and strong at the same time for effective and powerful shots.
Though T20 has risen in popularity, One Day International matches (50 overs per innings) and Test matches (two innings per side across five days) remain more challenging forms of the sport in terms of physical exertion. The increased wear and tear on the body that is needed to adjust according to the various formats of the game has made players vary of their fitness as it directly impacts their career span. Thus, aided by technology, the management of sporting sides have inculcated devices through which players can have a detailed analysis of their physical fitness.
Even an informal viewer of the sport will see some players have a hump-like protrusion on their back near the neck. This is a tracker that is snugly fit into a vest that resembles a sports bra (or bro for men). It is positioned between the scapula and monitors a player’s physical progress as the innings progresses. Australian and English cricketers were the first to use a GPS vest. Later, leading cricketing nations adopted this technology. Heart rate, stamina, oxygen saturation are some of the many parameters that are recorded by this tracker. The data is then fed to a centrally connected software. Sports analysts can also access and evaluate this data in real time to understand the player’s physical attributes.
This technology was better accepted by the cricket fraternity as it also had the technology to measure data specific to cricket. This includes impact with which a player hits a shot or throws the ball, distance travelled on the field, accelerations and decelerations, and recovery. Moreover, the software is such that it can also warn the player regarding the potential of suffering from an injury should they continue to play based on their live recorded data during the match. Furthermore, the GPS vest software can also predict the amount of time a player might take to return to competitive play should they be under rehabilitation while nursing an injury.
An advancement like the GPS vest is thus necessary to improve a player’s physical attributes which are needed for competitive play.
