Sight Screen In Cricket – A Complete Guide: 2023

Sight screen is somewhat a cryptic or unknown term in cricket, particularly for those who are new to the game of cricket or for someone who doesn’t follow the game on a regular basis. It is in fact also possible that someone knows that something called a ‘sight screen’ exists in cricket, but is unaware of its purpose.

This article will be a one-stop solution for all things related to a sight screen in cricket.

What is a Sight Screen?

In plain and simple terms, a sight screen is a blank screen that is present on both sides of the bowler’s ends behind the boundary line to help the batsman focus on the ball properly, that is to make the life of a batsman easier.

To explain further, it is a screen, the color of which depends on the color of the ball which is being bowled, meant purely to help the batsman focus and concentrate on the ball and nothing else.

If it is a Test match when the color of the ball is red (or pink in case of a Day-Night Test match), the color of the sight screen is white, whereas in the case of limited overs cricket or white ball cricket, the color of the sight screen is black, so that in both the cases, the batsman can clearly see and focus on the ball when it is about to be delivered from the hands of the bowler and doesn’t get distracted or injured by not being able to see the ball properly when it is being released.

When the bowler starts to bowl, there should be nothing on the sight screen, just the color of the sightscreen, no object, no writings, and no ground staff or audience should be moving in front of the sight screen.

Uses and Importance of a Sight Screen in Cricket

Although the sight screen in cricket doesn’t play a direct part in the scoring system of a cricket match or in the result of a cricket match, it plays a crucial role in the context of the game, especially for the batsman, and thus from the definition of sight screen above, the following importance of a sight screen can be pointed out –

1. Helps the batsman improve concentration and focus on the ball.
2. Keeps away any possible chance of injury to the batsman because of improper focus.
3. Keeps the battle between the batsman and the bowler fair.

Is it Compulsory to Have a Sight Screen?

The direct answer is yes, it is mandatory to have a sight screen in international cricket or any professional level of cricket, without which the nature of the game will become unprofessional due to uneven contest between the batsman and the bowler.

The word ‘professional’ is key here as if any match is played without any proper governing body or authority or organizer, then there need not be any sight screen, but the moment it is any kind of a professional match there the sight screen is definitely mandatory. 

Size of a Sight Screen

Since it is mandatory to have a sight screen in cricket, it is also important to note that there is no official size or size limit of sight screen given by any cricket governing body to date, in fact there Re different dimensions of sight screen. The only compulsion is that the sight screen should be big enough to cover the entire breadth of any bowler’s bowling action and when the ball is being bowled, the ball should be clearly visible courtesy of the sight screen.

Types of the Sight Screen in Cricket

Since it is mandatory to have a sight screen in professional cricket, and there are no specific dimensions laid out for a sight screen, here are the possible types of sight screens –

1. Large cloth canvas – This is mainly seen in domestic tournaments (like the Ranji Trophy) where the sight screen is in the form of a large white or black cloth or canvas on both sides of the ground at the bowler’s end.
2. Roller type – Again, in domestic tournaments or grounds where there is not much infrastructure, the rolling sight screen can be seen where the sight screen is made of wood and has wheels and can be moved from one place to another.
3. Polycarbonate sight screens – These are professional sight screens made of polycarbonate, these are expensive ones and are seen in top-level international cricket and marquee domestic leagues like the IPL, Big Bash League, etc.
4. Digital sight screen – Digital sight screens are very large in size and are seen in top-level cricket like the polycarbonate sight screens, where one can see advertisements on it when there is no action on one end. But that advertisement definitely stops once the action takes place from that end. 

That’s all that the term ‘sight screen’ has to offer in the world of cricket.

FAQs on Sight Screen in Cricket

We hope this article helped you get a full insight into the use of sight screen in cricket.

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