MS Dhoni and Steve Smith spoke about the spidercam at their post-match pressers.
At the end of the 48th over of India’s chase, the game was nowhere close to over. The visitors still needed another 22 from the last two overs, and had James Faulkner’s 49th to deal with. With 10 crucial runs separating the runs required and deliveries left, the four ‘dead’ runs would have come to every Indian fan, spectator’s mind.
In these close chases and defences, more often than not these ‘denied’ or ‘dead’ runs could become all the more crucial. Say a close call of turning a six into a four or lack of conclusive footage denying a team a boundary. Before Faulkner marked his run-up, the talk was not how the ‘death specialist’ would bowl the crucial six deliveries but the little camera hanging by cables in mid-air.
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Yes, the spidercam had webbed a victim! Virat Kohli walked out to the middle in the 19th over of the innings. India’s Test captain was in the groove early – upper-cutting a short and wide John Hastings delivery. The ball flew off Kohli’s willow and met the spidercam on the full. Despite the contact, the ball raced to the ropes but Australians had their hands up for a dead ball appeal.
WATCH: Spidercam angles, views and more (App users click here)
On-field umpires called for a replay and there was enough evidence to deny Kohli his first runs of the match. Those runs didn’t matter much then. India were 123/1 in the 19th over and were approaching the 331-run chase in clinical fashion.
But towards the end, with Australia bowling brilliantly to keep the pair of MS Dhoni and Manish Pandey in check, these runs did come into picture. Pandey helped his team win in the end, but not without questions being raised on spidercams.
‘Traditional’ Dhoni calls for balance
At the post-match presser, Dhoni was questioned about the spidercam and the four crucial runs. India’s ODI skipper was okay with enhancing viewer’s experience but not at the cost of affecting action in the middle.
“I am quite a traditional guy,” Dhoni said. “I have always felt that… anything that disturbs the game of cricket I don’t like it. It all started right from the T20 where people would be like, ‘Why don’t you wear a mic?’, ‘Why don’t you wear a camera?’
“I have always felt there is a need for balance. At the end of the day it is a spectator sport, people watching on television, but at the same time four runs can matter, especially when it is a close game. Those four runs can be crucial.”
Asked about the possible penalties for such an incident, Dhoni, at his witty best, said, “Everyone gets penalised, why not have the same system for the spidercam? Say, ‘Okay if you get hit, $2000 per hit.’ Let’s make it interesting.”
Spidey returns!
This, however, wasn’t the first time that the spidercam took centrestage during a India-Australia fixture. During the Test series last summer, Steve Smith dropped KL Rahul during the fourth Test at the SCG and according to officials, he was distracted by the wires that supported the spidercam.
Steve Smith reacts after dropping KL Rahul.
On a day when Australia spilled crucial catches and were below-par with their efforts in the field, Smith, at the post-match presser, called the spidercam Australia’s best fielder.
“He was probably our best fielder tonight, Spidercam. He saved four,” said Smith, who was not best pleased with his team’s fielding display after Shaun Marsh and Nathan Lyon dropped simple chances.
Victim earlier, Smith had his share of suggestions to maintain the balance his Indian counterpart talked about.
“I just think we need to make sure it’s away when the ball is coming. We don’t need to see things like that where it’s a dead ball. Something like that can really change the course of the game. So I just think we need to make sure we get him out of the way when the bowler is coming in to bowl.”
Why spidercams?
They are just an addition to enhance the viewer’s experience. The shots taken by the camera hanging on wires are not generally used for live action but for various cut-aways, cut-ins for highlights, packages and features. They just add another dimension to production quality.
What the rules say?
According to ICC rules, ball hitting spidercam or any of its wires would be termed as a dead ball. In 2015, there were some amendments to the playing conditions and, according to New Clause 3.11 in DRS Playing Conditions, Clause 8 in the Third Umpire Playing Conditions, “The on-field umpire can now use the TV umpire to assist in detecting whether the ball has been in contact with any part of SpiderCam – the camera, its apparatus or its cables above the playing area.”
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