The ICC has confirmed that the inventor of Hot Spot, Warren Brennan, raised concerns with them this week over the effect of bat coatings on the technology, which detects edges using thermal imaging, but that he was warned against suggesting players were deliberately trying to cheat the system.
Although Brennan has not explicitly stated any such worries in public and has declined to comment, he sent a tweet on Monday to former England captain Michael Vaughan that said: “Michael, it’s time you investigate why players are using fibreglass tape on the edges of their bats.”
Channel Nine also reported on Thursday that Brennan had raised his “serious concerns” with the ICC about flaws in the system. The Channel Nine report stated that Brennan feared silicone tape on bats could fool the technology by dulling the Hot Spot and ensuring no mark shows up on the edge even if a batsman has nicked the ball.
Nine reported that testing was carried out, which showed that a second layer of tape had the dulling effect. Geoff Allardice, the ICC’s general manager of cricket operations, met with team management of both England and Australia in Durham on Thursday, and the ICC has announced Hot Spot will continue to be used for the rest of this series.
Allardice confirmed that he and Brennan had met in Melbourne on Friday to discuss the series and Brennan afterwards sent an email raising concerns