Nine's Wide World Of Sports claim they will revolutionise the way Australian viewers watch cricket this summer when it unveils a range of innovations for its coverage of the Ansett Australia Test Series with Pakistan and India, and the triangular Carlton and United Series.
The network has spent almost $1 million developing new technologies to enhance its telecasts and take cricket coverage into the new millennium.
The innovations include Speed Guns, the Snickometer and the Strike Zone.
And the changes are not just technical, with former Australian captain Mark Taylor becoming a full-time member of Wide World Of Sports.
The Speed Guns will accurately measure the speed of bowlers' deliveries with information being instantly available as an on-screen graphic. The guns will capture Pakistani speedster Shoaib Akhtar if he breaks the 100-mile an hour barrier (160km).
The snickometer is a device that aims to demystify whether a batsman has made contact with the ball in often contentious appeals by fielding sides. Driven by a state-of-the-art computer program, the Snickometer will be used in conjunction with Nine's super Slo-mo cameras and sensitive stump microphones. The snickometer was created by eccentric English inventor Allan Plaskett, who will work with Nine this summer to further develop the technology.
The Strike Zone will give viewers an insight into LBW decisions. It highlights the area between the stumps, shows where the ball has pitched and, by removing the batsman from the picture, allows viewers to judge whether the bal might have hit the wicket. Developed by Orad international, the Strike Zone was originally derived from Israeli military technology.
