So, what exactly is all the fuss about?
THE flashing Zing bails have failed to drop five times during this World Cup. Batsmen have always been reprieved if the stumps are not properly broken by the impact of the ball, and most club players can provide accounts of being on one end or other of such incidents. however, we have seen an unusually large number of incidents on the biggest stage of all, and the fear is of a repeat scenario at a crucial moment of a match as big as the semi-final or final.
IS THE TECHNOLOGY NEW FOR THIS EVENT?
No. The manufacturers and the International Cricket Council insist it is exactly the same.
NO CHANGES TO THE WEIGHT OF THE STUMPS OR BAILS OR DEPTH OF THE GROOVES, THEN?
Correct. Everything is the same as in recent World Cups, World Twenty20 tournaments, the Champions Trophy here in 2017, the Indian Premier League, Big Bash and Twenty20 Blast.
SO THE ZING BAILS WEIGH THE SAME AS A TRADITIONAL SET OF BAILS THEN?
Ah. No. The composite plastic ones, which have hidden low-voltage batteries, are slightly heavier but weigh less than the heavy wooden bails umpires use in windy conditions.
HOW DOES THE ZING TECHNOLOGY WORK?
A microprocessor in the bail sends a signal when both of its spigots have been separated from their grooves, leading to the illumination of the LED lights in the bails and stumps within one-thousandth of a second.
APART FROM VISUAL ENHANCEMENT FOR SPECTATORS, IS THIS OF ANY USE?
Without a doubt. The ICC only introduced Zings — manufactured in Adelaide, Australia — in 2013 after independent testing of the response speed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Such accuracy in adjudging when the bails have come off helps in run-out and stumping decisions taken by television umpires. It removes any guesswork, frame by frame, as to when the stumps were broken and has undoubtedly improved decision-making in this regard.
BUT WITH MANY EXPERTS EXPRESSING CONCERN OVER BATTERS SURVIVING ‘BOWLED’ DISMISSALS, WILL THE ICC CONSIDER A RETHINK REGARDING THEIR USE?
No. The official line is that the playing regulations are set out at the start and cannot therefore be altered mid-tournament, as it would challenge the integrity of the event.