New scoring apps a game changer

Chennai: Squabbling over the score after the match used to be an inevitable part of the ritual of cricket on the weekend.
Even a couple of years ago, scorers kept track of a match manually. But mobile applications such as Stumps and CricHeroes have changed the game. Even if an umpire or scorer is late for a game, the mobile app helps those on the ground keep track of the score.
And, even better, you get to impress family and friends who can catch your match scores live. Of course, the flip side is that you can’t fib about your exploits.
Anybody can download this application, register a tournament and start scoring for games.
L Pandian, one of the two co-founders of Chennai-based Stumps, which has more than 1 lakh downloads, told TOI that they first studied the cricket matches in Tiruvallur district. “We wanted to create a database for domestic cricketers so that they could get identified once they reached the next level,” he said.
For example, a prodigy in a remote corner of the city can show his scores and wickets to selectors while coming up the ranks.
Both these apps provide detailed analytics for performances as well; they are in use in different countries including South Africa, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. “We realised this as we started getting feedback from these countries,” Pandian said.
Stumps alone is used for at least 1,500 matches a day on weekends, Pandian said.
The popularity of such weekend matches has also helped sports gear shops scale up. M Darshan (22), a cricketer who started a cricketing equipment shop recently, said many buy from shops like his that sell quality non-branded equipment at reasonable prices. “Nobody plays these cricket leagues for time-pass, everybody is very serious and wants to do well,” he said.