Tomorrow starts what will be 46 days of one of the most watched events in the world - the Cricket World Cup. England, the host country (with Wales), will play South Africa in the first match at the hallowed Oval grounds in London as the official app page below shows.
The Telegraph says
"The tournament is now the third biggest stand-alone world championship in any sport, below football and rugby, according to Sportcal, a sports market intelligence company. It will generate about £400 million for the International Cricket Council in broadcasting rights alone."
My own cricket is rusty. I played it when I was very young but have not kept up. The technology and the athleticism is so much better now. I have 4 games penciled in my calendar - the semis and the finals, and one game in person while in the UK. However, I asked a few friends in technology from around the world who are fanatical cricket fans the following questions and each, surprise, surprise has strong opinions.
a) Which team do you think will win the tournament? Who would you like to win the tournament?
b) Is there a player or two you think will dominate the tournament?
c) which technologies (on the field, in broadcast etc) will make this tournament more exciting from your pov?
d) how do you plan to stay productive across 46 days of this competition?
Thomas Otter who will be watching from Germany:
a) England are in theory the favorites. They have home grown advantage, and they looked impressive against Pakistan. As has been the case since 1896, England cricket reaps the rewards of immigration.Today their best batsman and captains is Irish, and their new exciting bowler is from Barbados.
I would like South Africa to win. It is time to deal with the ghosts of 1999. I’d like to see Afghanistan surprise a top side or two. The story of Afghanistan cricket is a most remarkable thing. A small slither of joy to emerge out the horrors of decades of war and strife.
b) Batting has dominated this form of cricket lately, so I’m hoping that the bowlers will get their chance to shift this. I’d like to see Kagiso Rabada (of S Africa) bowl Virat Kohli (of India) with a yorker first ball. The fielding keeps getting better but this still takes some beating.
c) The decision tech keeps Improving. It brings more fairness to the game. I hope that we talk more about the cricket than the tech though. Kohli’s cover drive is perfection, the tech still has a way to go.
d) I hope to catch a game live, but I’ll be watching a lot on TV. I will also watch some games with the cricket diaspora in Heidelberg.
Vijay Vijaysankar who will be watching from the U.S.:
a) Highest chance is for England. I would like India to win
b) Virat Kohli of India
c) Hoping for better Umpire Decision Review System (DRS) for LBW decisions (that's leg before wicket, one way a batsman can be dismissed)
d) By planning meetings around it as much as I can . Time difference is not terrible this time with the cup being held in UK
Dennis Howlett who is in England, so pretty close to the action:
a) England are favorites but the weather plays a huge part in how each pitch plays and it's an open question whether England has the temperament to stay the distance. I wouldn't be surprised if India did really well with their line up.
b) I don't really want to pick a stand out player at this point. There are so many that could shine. Relieving Root of the England captaincy in favor of Morgan could see some serious slogging but then you never know. Can Archer repeat his impressive start? Is he the next gen Anderson? I'd be delighted to see a player who has been a solid journeyman shine - for whatever team. And it's high time we saw a world class spinner emerge from at least one of these sides while playing in English conditions. On batting v bowling - it's all about the weather. Headingley (one of the venues) can (and has) produced some of the most exciting cricket of all time IMO - who can forget Botham destroying Australia in a test where the odds were 250-1 on an England win. I saw that. Or Viv Richards (of West Indies) smashing 135 before lunch one glorious Saturday morning. I saw that too. I doubt that will be repeated this year given the fixtures to be played there.
c) I'd like to see drones take a part in following the action. Example - you rarely get a full sense of swing from the TV position behind the bowler's arm but you can from above. Stump mics? Turn 'em up so we can hear the on-field sledging - always a fun part of the game for me.
d) I will try and make at least one of the Headingley fixtures. They are always incredibly good-natured with food and drink readily exchanged among competing crowds...unless it's India and Pak - then it's not quite so convivial. But that match isn't scheduled for Headingley so...but Sri Lanka v India could be a lot of fun. It's a helluva good way to spend a day out - whatever the result. If the weather holds, take your sunblock. And a poncho to save getting drenched by summer storms.
Play ball!...oh wait, I hope I still remember baseball rules after this summer.

Dean Kamen, Polymath
Dean Kamen keynoted at PowerPlex last week. I would have been content to just listen to him talk about his serial inventions which have earned him nearly 450 patents - the Segway, insulin pumps, prosthetics and countless other items.
However, in his talk he spent plenty of time on FIRST and how it has fired up so many of our young about robotics and STEM topics.
and that is about to get turbocharged with help from Disney
But to me even more inspiring was how he has helped revive Manchester, NH. That textile town is now a high-tech hub. This Politico article describes Kamen's role in the revival. So many other US towns could benefit from similar rejuvenation.
Just when you thought he could not do any better, he ended his talk with
"Us technologists solve problems...we can always wait for politicians or lawyers...but why wait?"
Indeed.
May 19, 2019 in Industry Commentary | Permalink | Comments (0)