I'm Not Saying Anything, But….

Well, this just isn’t Cricket.

Test matches should ebb and flow. Not fluctuate wildly between dominance with the bat and then the ball. Why do we keep seeing these dramatic batting collapses, alternating with huge partnerships, and so many low-scoring Test matches this summer? When both teams appear to be affected, there has to be a reason beyond technical competence.

Much was made in the first two Tests between Pakistan and England of the former’s inexperience and naivety, and they twice slumped to record-low totals of 72 and 80 all out. Yet, aside from one afternoon when a pair of England’s batsmen put on an uniterrupted 200 partnership, the home team’s performance was only marginally superior. Each day’s play would follow the same pattern; either wickets would constantly tumble, or none (perhaps one) would fall for an hour or more. Even during the second doomed Pakistani innings, they managed to survive almost an entire evening session without losing a wicket. That they also failed to score many runs in the process would have clouded the picture for most observers.

This odd scenario continued in the second match of the series; England’s total boosted by a litany of fluffed catches by the opposition (which themselves could have been a result of the “wi-fi” factor, and the loss of concentration and co-ordination it creates). Both sides appeared to be struggling with more than just each other. Pundits discussed the weather conditions at great length, and possible explanations for the bizarre nature of play were trotted out.

Nobody, quite understandably, had thought the electromagnetic radiation from the masts in the Cricket ground might be a reason.

Cricket’s susceptibility to the vagaries of nature are well established and accepted. Cloud cover, humidity, wind direction, even the dew on the grass….all these have an effect on a game. Tactics routinely take all these factors into consideration, as does team selection. If it’s overcast, better to have a bowl. Sunshine, and brace yourself for a fruitless day in the field. So, given the ability for electromagnetic radiation – including the kind pulsing from giant mobile telecommunication towers at sports events – to physically change the atmospheric conditions, is it really so strange to wonder if “wi-fi” might be causing new problems?

Phone masts do not emit signals at the same strength continuously; they are chaotic and randomly pulsing, yet follow certain patterns. Think of them as painful energy fields, stronger at different times duirng the day and peaking for 15-30 minutes at regular intervals. The prime distance from a mast to feel the greatest signal strength is approximately 100 metres. How far is the large mast currently erected at The Oval, for instance, from the middle..the strip of grass where the action takes place? If the boundaries are about 70 meters, then it is about 100 metres. The strongest signal is therefore going to land right on that 22-yard strip of dried grass. 

No matter which team decides to bat, the session which unfolds will yield either a clatter of wickets for 60-70 runs, or a score for the batting team during those two hours of 100-1. That is the defining characteristic of every innings of this current Test series. A combination of altered atmospheric conditions (the effects from the natural overcast weather heightened by the presence of wi-fi) and possible mental/physical impairment of the batsmen and fielders (poor decision-making, loss of concentration and motor skills again brought on by wi-fi presence) is producing Cricket in extremis ; if sporting ability is to become second fiddle to the lottery of who bats when the mast emissions are strongest, then what sort of game are we left with?