Secret tests conducted on Hot Spot have reportedly suggested that batsman can evade the technology by using silicon tapes on their bats as they can mask faint edges.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, even as the debate continued on whether the thermal imaging machines should be dropped from the Decision Review System (DRS), the results of the tests are expected to be provided to the ICC nest month.
The report further said that the Melbourne-based inventor of Hot Spot Warren Brennan, who has struck and agreement with the ICC to keep quiet before the Durham Test, is believed to have started the tests to discover Hot Spot's effectiveness when bats are left clean compared with when the edge is covered with one, two or three layers of tape.
According to the report, with different types of tape being used in the testing, including one used to reduce friction on the blades of helicopters, the primary results have shown that the technology does not detect contact with the ball when two layers of tape are applied.
Confirming that his research suggested tape could disguise edges on Hot Spot, researcher Dr Masood Khan said that the chemical composition of silicone tape makes it work as an inhibitor for most radiation, adding that the physical characteristics of silicon also make it insensitive to minor physical impacts.
Khan further said that silicon's chemical and physical features ensure an even conduction and dispersion of heat within its structure, meaning thermal changes caused by the impact of a ball as it hits the edge of a bat may remain unnoticed by a thermal infrared camera such as Hot Spot
The report also said that if the tests convince the ICC of the vulnerability of the Hot Spot, then it is possible that the law on materials that can be used on bats, which pre-dates DRS and permits tape used for protection or repairs, could be reviewed.
