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::: ricket is a very fast-paced, high-energy sport but it's also big business. Professional
'ii teams that belong to the lndian Premier League pay eaclt of their players, the
in
estimated value that could range from INR 20 lakh (INR 2 million) to INR 2 crore
(iNR 20 million) per year depending on his experience and stature. For that
ii amount of money, member teams expect a great deaT and are constantly on the watch for
ii:
:.r
ways crf improving their performance. During a S9-garrc season, every nuance a coacTt can
:) pick up about a weakness in an opponent's offense or the shots of one of his own players
: w111 translate into more runs on the scoreboard, more wins, and ultimately more money for
+
i: the tearn.
Tladitional cricket game statistics failed to capture all of the details associated with every
11
play and was not easily related to vide otapes of games. As a result, decisions about changes in
tactics or how to take advantage of opponents' weaknesses were based primarilv on hunches
and gut instincts. Coaches could not easily answer questions such as "Which types of plays are
hurting us?" Now professional cricket coaches and nanagers are taking their cues from other
businesses and learning hon, to make decisions based on hard data. The software available
with the Indian Tbam was very generic and did not produce any analytical inhrmation. For
the same reason, John Wright wanted to have quite a feu. reports to help him make decisions
based on the statistical data.
A company called Sports Mechanics has found a way to collect and organize fine-grained
statistical data and relale the data to associated video clips. Sports Mechanics employs just 5
people to match up video of each play with statistical information about every ball bowled
within the match. For example, who bolvled it, who is the batsman, who is the non-striker,
where did the ball pitch, what did the ball do, where was the ball hit, how man5, runs were
scored off it, who fielded it, how did he fie1d it, which end did he throw, what was the outcome
of the ba1l, etc. Once the tagging is done, when the query is done according to the tag, then the
relevant video plays. Queries can be done by multiple layers of fi1ters by bowler, by batsman,
by type of ba11, etc.
Each game is dissected and tagged, pTay by p1ay, using hundreds of descripttve categories
and these data are linked to high-resolution video.
Coaches then use an index to locate the exact video clip in which they are lnterested and
access the video at a protected Web site. Within seconds they are able to watch streaming
video on the protected site or they can download it to laptops, iPods, play stations, etc.
For example, if the Kolkata Knightriders have just lost to the Rajasthan Royals and gave up too
many runs, Knightriders coach can use Sports Mechanics' service to see video clips of every
Rajasthan Royals'batting performance in the game. He can also view every Kolkata Knightriders
transitional situation for the entire season to see how that game compared with others. According
to Kolkata Knightriders owner Shahrukh Khan, "the system allows us to look at every p1ay, in
every way, and tie it back to stats. So we can watch how we played every bal1, track our success
tate, and see how other teams are doing it."
The service helps coaches anaTyze the strengths and weaknesses of individual players.
For example, Sports Mechanics' system has recorded every offensive step of the Kolkata
Knightriders' Shoaib Akhtar since he joined IPL. The system can shor,r, how successfully he
is bowling in either home or away games, with the ability to break games and player
performance lnto increasingly finer-grained categories. If a user clicks cn any statistic, that
person will find video clips from any of the games of any season of IPL that show Shoaib's
p afiicu1 ar b owling move.

3
 Management Information Systems

Mr S Ramakrishnan, the Indian Crtcker

Team Analyst and the founder of Sports
Mechanics has since 2003 helped over 5,000
cricketers and provided analysis and soft-
ware lo ICC and 21 countries. About 7 teams
in the IPL; all except Royal Challengers have
aTready signed up for the Sports Mechanics,
sewice, and arc using it to help them scout
for promising national and international
players. Although nothing will ever replace
the need to scout players in person, the ser-
vice has reduced IPL teams' skyrocketing
travel costs.
Sources: Sports Mechanics; Base 1 USD = 50 tNR as of
11, January, 2009

rfr he challenges facing IpL teams

I show why information systems are
so essential today. Like other businesses,
professional cricket faces pressure from high costs, especially for team mem-
ber salaries and travel to search for new talent. Teams are trying to increase
revenue by improving employee performance, especially the performance of
cricket team members. The chapter-opening diagram cal1s attention to impor-
tant points raised by this case and this chapter. Management was unable to
make good decisions about how to improve the performance of teams and of
individual players because it lacked precise data about plays. It had to rely on
:]
]i "best guesses" based on videotapes of games. Management found a ne\4/ infor-
j
mation system to provide better information.
il
i
l,
:i
i
The information system is based on a service provided by sports
I
iii Mechanics. Sports Mechanics' staff members break down each game into a
I
series of plays and then categorize eachplay by players, type of p1ay, and the
outcome. These data are tagged to the videos they describe to make the
videos easy to search. IPL coaches and management can anaTyze the data to
see which offensive and defe nsive moves are the most effective for each
team player. Tearn members themselves can use laptops, play stations, ipods,
etc to download the videos to help them prepare for games. This innovative
soiution makes it possible for basketb all management to use objective statis-
ticaT data about players, plays and outcomes to improve their decision

. Lack of performance statistics

r Develop team strategy r HiSh cost of players
r Evaluate players o lntense competitive pressure
o Coach players

Match videos of plays

with statistical data
Tag and index plays

ti a Capture videos Analyze player

a Maintain protected perforrnance
Web site
Analyze team
Download video to iPods
performance