In recent years, cricket enthusiasts have become familiar with the LED Wickets system, popularly known worldwide as the Zing Cricket Wicket system. It's worth exploring the development and functioning of this technology.
Cricket, being a beloved sport in many countries, often sees batsmen dismissed through run-outs and stumpings. To be considered a proper dismissal in cricket, both bails at the top of the wicket need to fall when the wicket is disturbed. However, due to the speed of play, it wasn't always possible to accurately observe these bails. In some cases, even if one bail fell, it was recorded as a dismissal. Such inaccuracies led to the need for a solution in international and league cricket.
The Zing company introduced a solution with illuminated bails and wicket stumps, ensuring the accurate detection of ball removal from the wicket. Bronte Eckermann, an Australian engineer, conceptualized this technology after his daughter encountered an LED bulb in a toy. As the director of Zing International, he developed the Zing Wicket system.
The LED Wickets system operates on low-voltage batteries, with each bail equipped with a microprocessor to detect when it falls from the stump. When the bails fall, it takes just a fraction of a second (1 in 1000th of a second) to illuminate the bulbs. The technology relies on an oscillator circuit in the bails, generating a strong electromagnetic field when connected to iron components on the stumps. When the bails are removed from the stump, the electric current is interrupted, activating the oscillator circuit and lighting the LED bulbs in as little as 1 millisecond.
The system follows the cricket rule that a batsman is out only when both ends of the bails are removed from the wicket. If both ends of a bail aren't removed, the LED bulbs won't light up, ensuring precise decisions regarding dismissals.
The Zing Wicket system, crafted from a plastic composite material, can withstand the impact of a cricket ball traveling at speeds up to 160 kmph. The International Cricket Council (ICC) approved this technology in 2013, and it made its debut during the Twenty20 World Cup in Bangladesh. Prior to this international introduction, the ICC had used it during the Big Bash League tournament in Australia for testing.
Thanks to the Zing Wicket system, cricket can now accurately determine whether a run-out or a wicket has occurred, ensuring fairness in the game.