After Lillee and Sekhar it's now the turn of 'Silicon Coach'
Head coach of the MRF Pace Foundation TA Sekhar and visiting coach Dennis Lillee unveil 'Silicon Coach' the latest software aid for coaching.
Anand Vasu
22-Jun-2001
For once, the prime attraction at the MRF Pace Foundation
during one of Dennis Keith Lillee's visits was not the former
fast bowling legend himself. National selector and head coach
of the MRF Pace Foundation, TA Sekhar, a host of aspiring fast
bowlers and Lillee himself sat huddled around a lap top
computer as 'Silicon Coach', a new software for coaching fast
bowlers swung into action. The software helps coaches analyse
bowlers. By feeding video recordings of the players in action,
the software allows coaches to simultaneously view the side on
and front on pictures of a bowler.
The MRF Pace Foundation is the only academy in India to use
the software. First used in the Australian Cricket Academy,
Silicon Coach promises to revolutionize the way coaches
approach fast bowlers. "We capture the video in digital format
at a high frame rate, 50 frames per second. The split screen
allows us to see exactly where a bowler is going wrong," said
Sekhar. "With the zoom option we can zero in on particular
areas and even calculate the angles of the limbs," explained
Sekhar.
Playing back videos of an aspiring fast bowler from the
National Cricket Academy, the former Indian fast bowler
demonstrated how the software worked. "With this software
being used, we can track a player's development. Suppose a
player is injured and finds that things are not the same as
before when he returns, he can always go back to his tapes and
see what he's doing differently," said Sekhar. Seeing the
software in action made it amply clear that this was not your
run of the mill product. Developed by a bio-mechanics expert
in New Zealand, the software is designed keeping in mind the
various needs of both fast bowler and coach.
"The most important thing for a fast bowler is his technique.
To get everything just right technically, it's crucial to
study bio-mechanics. After all, absorption of forces and
movement of limbs and body are crucial to any fast bowler,"
added Sekhar. The use of `Silicon Coach' vastly enhances the
control a coach has over various different aspects of fast
bowling.
The gathering at the Pace Foundation included cricketers of
various nationalities, ranging from Australia to Bangladesh to
Sri Lanka. Mitchell Johnson from Queensland and Michael
Thistle from Western Australia, both of whom were recently
awarded contracts by their respective states went through the
paces at the nets. The quartet from Bangladesh included Test
cricketers Hasibul Hassan and Manjural Islam. Dilhara Fernando
represents the Lankans in the academy.
The MRF Pace foundation is leading the charge as far as
embracing new technology goes. With the software now being
distributed in India with a price tag of Rs 60,000 (Approx.
US$ 1275) there is no reason why it should not become popular
all around. With world cricket advancing at such a rapid rate
every day, no one can afford to ignore emerging technology.
The hand written sign on the board in the Pace Foundation gym
makes their stance in the matter very clear. "Even if you are
on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit
there," reads the quote attributed to humorist Will Rogers.
Well, the MRF Pace Foundation is certainly on the right track
and they aren't just sitting around