A stump microphone, informally known as a stump mic, is a

microphone A microphone, colloquially called a mic or mike (), is a transducer that converts sound into an electrical signal. Microphones are used in many applications such as telephones, hearing aids, public address systems for concert halls and public ...

embedded in a

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

stump Stump may refer to: * Stump (band), a band from Cork, Ireland and London, England * Stump (cricket), one of three small wooden posts which the fielding team attempt to hit with the ball *Stump (dog): Clussexx Three D Grinchy Glee (born 1998), 200 ...

. It was originally developed by

Kerry Packer Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer (17 December 1937 – 26 December 2005) was an Australian media tycoon, and was considered one of Australia's most powerful media proprietors of the twentieth century. The Packer family company owned a controlling ...

for

World Series Cricket World Series Cricket (WSC) was a commercial professional cricket competition staged between 1977 and 1979 which was organised by Kerry Packer and his Australian television network, Nine Network. WSC ran in commercial competition to establishe ...

in the 1970s.Proudman, Dan (10 June 2014).
Gary Gilmour: Charisma at the crease
. ''

The Newcastle Herald The ''Newcastle Herald'' (formerly branded as ''The Herald'') is a local tabloid newspaper published daily, Monday to Saturday, in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. It is the only local newspaper that serves the greater Hunter Region and ...

''. Retrieved 11 June 2014. At first it was primarily for entertainment value: "television audiences could hear the rattle of stumps". Later, the technology became part of the

Decision Review System The Decision Review System (DRS), formerly known as the Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS), is a technology-based system used in cricket to assist the match officials in their decision-making. On-field Umpire (cricket), umpires may choose to co ...

; the microphone detects the sound of a batsman hitting the ball in order to determine whether he should be given out

caught Caught is a method of dismissing a batsman in cricket. A batsman is out caught if the batsman hits the ball, from a legitimate delivery, with the bat, and the ball is caught by the bowler or a fielder before it hits the ground. If the ball h ...

(or alternatively,

not out In cricket, a batter is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batter is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress. Occurrence At least one batter is not out at t ...

leg before wicket Leg before wicket (lbw) is one of the ways in which a batsman can be dismissed in the sport of cricket. Following an appeal by the fielding side, the umpire may rule a batter out lbw if the ball would have struck the wicket but was instead in ...

). This technology is called

Snickometer Snickometer, commonly known as Snicko, is a system used in cricket to determine whether the ball edged the bat, for a potential dismissal such as a catch or leg before wicket. It does this by showing a frame-by-frame replay of the footage of the ba ...

, with the later version being known as Real Time Snickometer (RTS). It was introduced at the 2007 World Cup for this purpose.

Audio analysis Audio analysis refers to the extraction of information and meaning from audio signals for analysis, Statistical classification, classification, storage, retrieval, Sound synthesis, synthesis, etc. The observation mediums and interpretation methods v ...

of the sound produced can distinguish between the "sharp sound from bat on ball" and the "muffled sound from bat or ball on pad". An important effect of stump microphones is that players are less likely to engage in sledging, although it is still done out of the microphone's range. England coach

Trevor Bayliss Trevor Harley Bayliss (born 21 December 1962) is an Australian cricket coach and former first class cricketer. He played for New South Wales between 1985 and 1997 before becoming a coach. Bayliss was coach of England from 2015 to 2019. He coa ...

has expressed disapproval over sledging being caught on the stump mics, suggesting that sledging must be censored on television. Conversely, England cricketer

Moeen Ali Moeen or Moein or Moien is a given name and surname. It is a Quranic name which means: helper, supporter, or provider of refuge. Notable persons with the name include: Persons with the given name * Moein (singer) (born 1951), Iranian singer * ...

suggests stump mics should be turned up, in order to deter players from sledging. As of 2019,

International Cricket Council The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the world governing body of cricket. Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, its members are List of International Cricket Council members, 108 national associations, with 12 List of Internation ...

guidelines say the volume of the stump microphones must be turned down when the ball is dead or not in play.

References

{{Cricket equipment Cricket equipment Cricket terminology Microphones