Hotspot exposes Doug Bollinger's 'fake hair'; old video goes viral on social media

It is not a lie that technology, for all its fallacies, has revolutionized the game of cricket. From ball-tracker to the tv-umpire to ultra-motion to Hotspot, you name it. Not only has it helped eliminate the howlers to a certain extent, but it has also brought a sense of excitement to the game. For the uninitiated, Hotspot is an infrared imaging system used to determine whether the ball has struck the batsman, bat or pad.

Hotspot requires two infra-red cameras on opposite sides above the field of play that is continuously recording an image. Any suspected nick or bat/event can be verified by examining the infrared image, which usually shows a bright spot where contact friction from the ball has elevated the local temperature where referrals to an off-field third-umpire are permitted, the technology is used to enhance the on-field umpire’s decision making. But these days, Hotspot is making news for very different reasons.

Remember the tall lanky fast bowler from Australia who turned for the Chennai Super Kings between 2009-2012? Recently, a video was doing the rounds on social media where the Hotspot apart from doing its usual stuff went on to expose something Doug Bollinger wouldn’t have it will; His scalp.

Here’s the video:

The incident is from 2010 One-day international between hosts Australia and the West Indies. Australia, after batting first, posted 8-256 in 50 overs thanks to a half-century from all-rounder Shane Watson and valuable contributions from skipper Ricky Ponting [49], Michael Hussey [28] and Mitchell Johnson’s quickfire 20-ball-21. In reply, the West Indies got off to the worst possible start with the opening duo of Chris Gayle [7] and the deceased Runako Morton [3] falling to Doug Bollinger and Ryan Harris cheaply.

The incident took place in the first over of the West Indies innings. Windies batsman Dowlin wafted away at a delivery that was pitched outside off and was angling away from the right-hander, edging it straight to Cameron White at second slip. The Hot Spot confirmed what was a clear outside edge but it did not stop here. The technology went on to highlight a potential bald scalp on the fast bowler’s head; one which nine years later is still doing the rounds on social media.