The inventor of the Hot Spot technology that "played a central role in the first two Ashes Tests on Sunday" plans to persuade the Int'l Cricket Council that his refined Snickometer "should be part of the Decision Review System in time for the winter Ashes series in Australia," according to Paul Rees of the London GUARDIAN. Warren Brennan, the founder of BBG Sports, the Australian company behind Hot Spot, believes that "the combination of infra-red and audio technology would all but eliminate doubt about whether a batsman has edged the ball, either on to his pads or for a catch." "Snicko" is a tool used only for TV, but Brennan's English partner, Alan Plaskett, has "developed what is called Real Time Snicko, an improvement on the previous technology which furnishes the third umpire with details within seconds rather than minutes." It was the "slowness of the old system, rather than its accuracy, that stopped the ICC adopting it." Hot Spot, which has been used by the ICC since '06, "is not cheap." The four-camera system costs around £7,500 ($11,537) a day, "three times more than" Real Time Snicko. The bill is paid by TV companies, with the ICC "so far reluctant to make a financial investment in the technology that is playing an increasing role in Test cricket" (GUARDIAN, 7/27).
