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 publi ...

embedded in a

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

stump. 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 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 umpires may choose to consult with the t ...

; the microphone detects the sound of a batter hitting the ball in order to determine whether they should be given

out Out or OUT may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films *Out (1957 film), ''Out'' (1957 film), a documentary short about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 *Out (1982 film), ''Out'' (1982 film), an American film directed by Eli Hollander *O ...

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 catch ...

(or alternatively,

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

leg before wicket Leg before wicket (lbw) is one of the ways in which a Batting (cricket), batter can be dismissal (cricket), dismissed in the sport of cricket. Following an Appeal (cricket), appeal by the Fielding (cricket), fielding side, the umpire (cricket), ...

). 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 b ...

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

has expressed disapproval over sledging being caught on the stump mics, suggesting that sledging must be censored on television. Conversely, England cricketer Moeen Ali 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 global Sports governing body, governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from Australia, England, and South Africa. In 1965, the body wa ...

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