As a very young schoolboy I can remember going down to watch the First XI play in Anglesea Road. Never having played cricket other than in the backyard I was nonetheless fascinated with the game. Wanting to get involved but not quite knowing what to do [in those days there were no organised youth sections for young kids] I volunteered to put up the numbers on the old scoreboard attached to the outside toilets.
I spent many happy afternoons managing the scoreboard [it was permanent summer with sunny days, warm weather and cooling breezes - though I cannot stretch the fantasy to include many Merrion victories] and in time progressed to learning how to do the scorebook. And then I started playing cricket – and there was no time for scoring.
An interest in computing [and electronic toys generally] has brought me back to scoring after fifty years. I have missed out on the changes in bookkeeping [the Bill Frindall method and variations thereon] that allow an experienced scorer to track every ball in an innings. And I never had the inclination to use more than one coloured pen to highlight events in the match. But on a wave of new technology I find that my interest has been renewed. So what are my impressions on where we currently stand in Leinster?
First of all scoring on a computer or tablet is not a substitute for the traditional book. While the software is now very reliable and even basic precautions [ensure your computer has power and/or is fully charged] will ensure that you do not suffer a computer glitch during the game, still Murphy’s Law applies.
Although it is now common practice for one scorer to do the book and a second to manage the electronic scoring I believe the better arrangement is for both scorers to maintain scorebooks and one to do the eScoring. It may sound like overkill and even too much work for one person but regular scorers, once familiar with the scoring software package, are easily capable of doing both. But why would they want to?
Electronic scoring offers a number of advantages that saves scorer's time, helps avoid mistakes and adds greatly to the value of the work that they do.
Operating a computer and a traditional scorebook in tandem provides an automatic crosscheck that enhances the confidence of the scorer that everything is properly recorded. At a glance the digital score on the iPad screen tells the scorer which batter is facing [important as players are now often disguised under identical helmets], how many balls there are to go in the over, what each batsman has scored, how many overs a bowler has left and so on. The distracting spectator who wants to be updated on all that has happened before he arrived on the ground can be directed to the iPad and told to check for himself. With eScoring it only takes a few seconds to fill in an over from the book if somebody else wants to check on what has happened up till then.
And of course between innings it only takes a second to press a button to complete the scorecard so that you can get into tea before the players and not after all the best sandwiches have been taken. At the end of the day it again only takes a few minutes to e/mail the match results to the relevant competition organiser and your work is done.
Electronic scoring makes available a lot more information about a cricket match and opens up opportunities for improvements in match analysis and player performance. Linked to the Internet, it can provide updates of scorecards and ‘ball by ball’ live scores so that anyone online or with access to a mobile phone can keep track of what is happening. Today the large scoreboard on the ground can be run from the computer – and in a few years you are likely to see LCD screens on club grounds that take their feeds directly from the scoring software.
The scorer has always been an integral part of cricket. No match can take place unless there is someone at all times maintaining the scorebook. But it is a skill and a role that has often been undervalued. I doubt it will be in the future. eScoring puts the scorer at the centre of the action and extends the skill set required. Hopefully it will also expand the interest and that a new generation of scorers will emerge to take on the new challenges.