da dobrowin： Head coach of the MRF Pace Foundation TA Sekhar and visiting coach Dennis Lillee unveil ‘Silicon Coach’ the latest software aid for coaching.
Anand Vasu22-Jun-2001For once, the prime attraction at the MRF Pace Foundationduring one of Dennis Keith Lillee’s visits was not the formerfast bowling legend himself. National selector and head coachof the MRF Pace Foundation, TA Sekhar, a host of aspiring fastbowlers and Lillee himself sat huddled around a lap topcomputer as ‘Silicon Coach’, a new software for coaching fastbowlers swung into action. The software helps coaches analysebowlers. By feeding video recordings of the players in action,the software allows coaches to simultaneously view the side onand front on pictures of a bowler.The MRF Pace Foundation is the only academy in India to usethe software. First used in the Australian Cricket Academy,Silicon Coach promises to revolutionize the way coachesapproach fast bowlers. “We capture the video in digital formatat a high frame rate, 50 frames per second. The split screenallows us to see exactly where a bowler is going wrong,” saidSekhar. “With the zoom option we can zero in on particularareas and even calculate the angles of the limbs,” explainedSekhar.Playing back videos of an aspiring fast bowler from theNational Cricket Academy, the former Indian fast bowlerdemonstrated how the software worked. “With this softwarebeing used, we can track a player’s development. Suppose aplayer is injured and finds that things are not the same asbefore when he returns, he can always go back to his tapes andsee what he’s doing differently,” said Sekhar. Seeing thesoftware in action made it amply clear that this was not yourrun of the mill product. Developed by a bio-mechanics expertin New Zealand, the software is designed keeping in mind thevarious 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 tostudy bio-mechanics. After all, absorption of forces andmovement of limbs and body are crucial to any fast bowler,”added Sekhar. The use of `Silicon Coach’ vastly enhances thecontrol a coach has over various different aspects of fastbowling.The gathering at the Pace Foundation included cricketers ofvarious nationalities, ranging from Australia to Bangladesh toSri Lanka. Mitchell Johnson from Queensland and MichaelThistle from Western Australia, both of whom were recentlyawarded contracts by their respective states went through thepaces at the nets. The quartet from Bangladesh included Testcricketers Hasibul Hassan and Manjural Islam. Dilhara Fernandorepresents the Lankans in the academy.The MRF Pace foundation is leading the charge as far asembracing new technology goes. With the software now beingdistributed in India with a price tag of Rs 60,000 (Approx.US$ 1275) there is no reason why it should not become popularall around. With world cricket advancing at such a rapid rateevery day, no one can afford to ignore emerging technology.The hand written sign on the board in the Pace Foundation gymmakes their stance in the matter very clear. “Even if you areon the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sitthere,” reads the quote attributed to humorist Will Rogers.Well, the MRF Pace Foundation is certainly on the right trackand they aren’t just sitting around