The game of cricket has changed drastically with the introduction of T20 around the world almost 15 years ago. We used to see batter use a defence-first mentality and now it is an attack at all cost mentality. It’s natural that the digital world needs to keep up with the ever-changing cricketing environment.
CricHQ have been the leaders in digital cricket scoring starting in 2008. The ability to follow live scoring, leaderboards, players statistics as well as predictions in T20 games has become normal. With over 1.6 million users and presence in over 50+ countries, CricHQ delivers a platform that is both engaging and holds credibility with its statistics. With a concentration of CricHQ’s energy into mainly grassroots cricket, this has enabled the digital product to deliver all cricket without the headache of administration and paper trails. A player will get registered with all his or her information, then placed into a club/team and then linked to the scoring app when they play. All of this is in one place on one engaging platform. Every user and fan on average visits the site for over 6 mins and views around 13 pages. Proving that statistics, leaderboards and league tables are still live in the competitive hearts of every player. CricHQ collects all personal statistics and where it differs to other providers is that the credibility of the platform has hierarchal admin rights for leagues and countries which use it. Many governing bodies that use CricHQ will have the resource in place which will use the system to accept results and statistics as well as limit duplicate player information.
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CricHQ is the mandatory and preferred scoring provider for all grassroots cricket in New Zealand Cricket and the data is used to engage with its stakeholders and make objective decisions around the participation of the game. New initiatives like age and stage rules (children get 4 overs to bat each and can’t be dismissed, they get minus runs instead. Pitches are played off a shorter distance) can be mapped to see the progress and engagement from their stakeholders. All players and parents can be reached by email and pushed towards e-commerce sites and ticket sales to grow the revenue of governing bodies.
Enter 5G and the telco/data era. Data is cheaper, quicker and more accessible than ever. Mobile phones and screens in our pockets mean we can access content 24/7. For this reason, CricHQ’s streaming partner My Action Replay plays an integral part in the future of the company’s vision. Grassroots games can now be streamed online and watched by parents, grandparents, friends and fans from all over the world. Through the synergy of the CricHQ multi-million dollar platform known around the world as the Rolls Royce of cricketing platforms, highlights are collated and collected against individual player profiles. You can now revisit the game and watch all the wickets, 4’s, 6’s and pivotal moments. Remember that hattrick you got when you were 8 years old? Well, now those can be archived and kept forever by use of a fixed or portable camera!
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Not only is this great for children to engage in the sport but also creates talking points for their distant relatives who can view those memorable moments and share them. When mental health and wellbeing are front of mind for the future generation, sport is something which provides a fantastic foundation for soft skills and general health. We need sport to help grow communities. It is so evident as we find ourselves in a global pandemic with COVID-19. CricHQ is passionate about sport and passionate about using technology to grow sports in a positive way.
One of the key products ‘My Action Replay’ is at the forefront of is the streaming of county games in the UK. Lancashire, Surrey, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Hampshire all use the My Action Replay Boost system which is up to 5 fixed cameras and integrates with the scoring system, commentary system and even Slow Motion Camera as well as speed gun. It provides a low-cost streaming option but at engaging broadcast quality. So much so that Surrey County Cricket Club has partnered with Youtube Live. It is an automated system which replays 4’s, 6’s, wickets and key moments of the games as well as providing opportunities for advertising in a game which has breaks after every over. All of this is controlled by one man in front of a laptop. Once the Boost system is in place you can collect content for every game that is played at the ground and push it to your social media channels and this allows the broadcast to be scalable, as broadcast companies usually only have the resource to choose big games to cover. Now all games can be covered and video collected.
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The exciting thing for any governing body is to find that diamond in the rough. Through visual and statistical data this can be achieved. Imagine having Virat Kohli or Kane Williamson’s visual data from age 8. Where did they really accelerate their learning? Why were they so good? All these questions could be answered by the use of one platform providing the cricketing answers to elite player pathways and coaching analysis.
Every cricketing state needs a digital strategy and every governing body needs one. To engage with stakeholders, introduce a positive way to use technology and start mapping the cricketing landscape which is changing continually as our lives become more and more complex. Sport plays a crucial part and so do adults by encouraging our children to enjoy the life lessons that sport delivers.
**Written by former New Zealand all-rounder Grant Elliott