Many sectors have already had their era of digital transformation from the likes of finance which suddenly became cool overnight when ‘Fintech’ became a thing, to education which immediately sounds more appealing now that ‘Edtech’ is a mainstream phrase!

Well now, it’s cricket’s turn.

This age of AI and digital democratisation in the sport is yet to be given its official name but we’d imagine ‘Crictech’ will be rolling off the lips of every investor from Manchester to Melbourne, with stop offs and detours to Mumbai, Massachusetts and maybe even Mount Maunganui along the way.

Technology On Steroids

You could make a fair argument that cricket was ahead of other sports TV coverage when it came to broadcasting as ‘snicko’, ‘hot spot’, ‘hawk-eye’ and the ‘red zone’ have been around since the turn of the century.

But as great as those innovations were for the armchair viewer, they did very little to measure performance, mitigate injury risk, or do a host of other useful things for players, coaches and teams from grassroots upwards.

This is not only a game-changer for amateur players, but also for those at the top table. Those professionals who embrace technology and take their game to a new level need to be at the front of your mind, particularly when looking at UK bookies and odds ahead of the up-coming Men’s Ashes series!

Batting

Imagine you’ve had a bad run of scores and you want to get into the nets to work on your batting. The only issue is that none of your mates or coaches are available to give you some throw-downs and besides, the nets are fully-booked.

Enter the world of Runmaka VR – a unique immersive training facility for batters. You don’t need a helmet, just a headset and you don’t even need your coach, as there’s a ‘Training Room’ where you can plan bespoke sessions and even view interactive coaching modules.

Emerging England keeper-batter James Rew has been spotted using Runmaka and could well find himself ‘Down-under’ in the Ashes this winter.

Also in this batting space is a new start-up called Playar. You don’t need a headset for this one but you will require someone or something to get the ball to you. Every shot is tracked from distance to landing spot and can be adjusted to any field setup.

Then there’s Str8bat, a smart-sensor on the back of your bat which tells you everything from power, speed and trajectory of your shots.

Bowling

Sometimes you need the best in the business to bring an idea to life and that’s certainly the case with New Zealand pacer Lockie Ferguson who is set to launch his bowling app Yorker during the up-coming home-summer in New Zealand and Australia.

The whole point of Yorker is to simply track the number of deliveries sent down by a bowler and help to prevent stress fractures and other common injuries in teenage and emerging players.

Umpires

TV umpires have had the kit for a while but now even those on the local village green have access to tech! Step forward StumpEye which has a host of features for all in the game but particularly for the umpires who can have DRS, as well as audio and visuals from the stump, all available on their smartphone.