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Hot Spot was not universally discontinued or banned by the ICC. It became uncommon in some broadcasts after broadcasters cited its cost and concerns about missed faint edges. The best-documented example is Australian broadcaster Channel Nine dropping it for the 2013–14 Ashes. The ICC playing conditions cited here still list heat-based Hot Spot as an approved technology, but approval does not mean a broadcaster deploys it in every series.
What Hot Spot does in a cricket review
Hot Spot uses infrared cameras to create a thermal image of the area where the ball contacts the bat or another surface. During a review, that image can help the television official assess whether the ball touched the bat. It is one source of evidence, not a decision-maker on its own. The ICC described it as giving the television official more information when assisting the on-field umpires.
Hot Spot is heat-based edge detection. Sound-based systems, such as Real-Time Snickometer or UltraEdge, are a separate technology category in the ICC playing conditions.
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Reported cost
Cost was one factor cited in coverage of Channel Nine’s decision. BBC Sport reported a historical cost of about £6,000 per day in a 2025 article. ABC News Australia reported in 2013 that the cost was believed to be $10,000 per Test-match day, and separately cited an estimate of about $250,000 per Test series. These are attributed historical figures from different reports and contexts, not a current price list or directly comparable quotations.
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Concerns about faint edges
BBC Sport reported that Hot Spot came under scrutiny during the 2013 Ashes after several faint edges appeared not to register. Contemporaneous Australian reporting also connected reliability concerns with the decision to drop it. These reports document concerns, not a measured error rate or proof that Hot Spot failed on every decision.
A broadcaster’s deployment decision
The widely cited withdrawal was Channel Nine removing Hot Spot from its coverage of the 2013–14 Ashes. That was a broadcaster choice for a particular series, not evidence of an ICC-wide ban or a decision by every broadcaster to stop using it.
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Other review technologies were available
The ICC lists sound-based edge detection separately from heat-based Hot Spot, so broadcasters and match officials had other technology categories available. The sources do not establish that one alternative alone caused Hot Spot’s decline, or that another system replaced it everywhere. They also do not provide a controlled, current comparison of accuracy or price between the systems.
Was Hot Spot technically abandoned as a failure?
No universal finding of technical failure is established. The ICC said in 2012 that developers had invested in improved cameras, and that host broadcasters reported clearer and more accurate results during the England–West Indies series. That earlier report sits alongside the later concerns about faint edges; it is a reason not to describe Hot Spot as having been proven universally unreliable.
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The ICC playing conditions set accuracy and time-efficiency requirements for technologies used in reviews. They also provide for removal if usage or testing indicates a system cannot provide accurate and timely information. The match referee makes the final decision in consultation with the ICC technical official, management and the competing teams’ governing bodies.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Is Hot Spot still allowed, and is it used in India?
The ICC playing conditions cited here still list Hot Spot as an approved heat-based edge-detection technology. That does not establish that it is being deployed in a particular match or currently used in a particular country. Availability depends on the series and its broadcast setup. The evidence here does not establish a current deployment status for India or for competitions in 2026, so a country-wide claim would go beyond what it supports.
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In short, “discontinued” is too broad if it implies a global ICC ban. The supported account is narrower: some broadcasters stopped deploying Hot Spot, with cost and reported reliability concerns cited in the prominent Channel Nine example.
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