Cricket has become a more physically demanding sport in the last 15 years. The cricket season has become more hectic than ever and players more frequently play the shorter formats of the sport like T20, that demand power hitting.
Apart from T20s, players continue to represent heir sides in One Day Internationals and Test matches. The latter is physically challenging for the fact that one match last five days. The increased exertion on the body has made players more vary of their fitness. The management of sporting sides have thus inculcated technological advances that can assist the players in keeping up with their physical attributes.
A keen viewer will see some players have a hump-like protrusion under their neck on the back. This is a tracking device that is snugly fit in a vest that resembles a sports bra (or bro for men). The device is positioned between the scapula and tracks the player’s progress during the course of the match.
The GPS vest was first used by cricketers from Australia and England. It has now found its way to other leading cricket playing nations. The tracking device and the vest monitor the players’ heart rate, stamina, oxygen saturation and other vitals that are fed in a centrally connected software. The software is used by sports analysts who monitor the player’s real-time data during various phases of the match.
Cricket-specific data collected by these devices include the impact with which a player hits a shot or throws the ball, distance travelled on the field, accelerations and decelerations, and recovery. The software is built such that it can even warn the player of the potential of getting injured during training or while playing a match. Furthermore, if a player is in rehabilitation, then it can also predict the total time that a player will take before returning to competitive action.
The GPS vest is thus a high-tech advancement that improves player’s physical attributes that are necessary for competitive play.
