21st century cricket at Kingsmead

If last month's flirtation with indoor cricket in Melbourne took the game into the 21st century, the SuperSport Knockout Challenge, to be staged at Kingsmead on October 1, will underline the increasing role that technology has come to play in the sport.

The Challenge will pit four of South Africa's leading provincial teams against each other in two 25-over-a-side semi-finals with the winners playing each other over the same distance. In the draw made in Randburg on Thursday, Eastern Province will play Northerns Titans in the first game with KwaZulu/Natal meeting Western Province in the second match of the day.

All three games will take place on the same day in what is expected to be an orgy of big hitting. But while the cricket is unlikely to offer any significant guide to the prospects of the teams for the coming summer, at least some of the technological innovations could soon become common practice in first-class, one-day and international cricket.

The LBW mat, so beloved of television producers, will be employed in an official capacity, with the on-field umpires referring decisions to the third umpire and his monitor. Just hours after the announcement of the, the United Cricket Board confirmed that the mat will be used in provincial cricket during the South African domestic season, or at least in those games which will be covered by television.

The UCB was keen to use the mat during this summer's international matches against New Zealand. It is understood that New Zealand were willing to go along with the idea, but there was insufficient time to run the concept past the International Cricket Council.

So the SuperSport Challenge will feature the mat in official competition for the first time, and if anyone is still left in doubt over a decision, all three umpires will be wired up to allow television viewers to follow the reasoning behind the decisions.

By the same token, the captains will also all be hooked up to the commentary box to allow them to be questioned about their field placings, bowling changes and what they fancy for dinner. Incoming and outgoing batsmen will asked for their thoughts on the state of the game and their dismissals, although it is not entirely clear whether the microphones will be able to pick up the sound of bats being hurled around the dressing room.

There will be mixed feelings over the television camera's further intrusion into the game. For all the benefits offered by the increased use of the third umpire, the downside has been a steady and significant erosion of the confidence and authority of umpires.

The challenge that now clearly faces cricket is finding the balance between allowing the umpires to continue running the game while using technology to eliminate human error.

Still, on a day during which 150 overs are likely to be bowled, these considerations are likely to be secondary to the spectacle. And if the teams needed any incentive, the prize for the winners is an all-expenses holiday to Mauritius along with their wives or "partners". Enough reason, one would think, for all the participants to take winning and losing seriously.