Cricket

UK, Australia, India, South Africa, West Indies, Pakistan, Sri Lanka: Hawk-Eye has been implemented in all of these Test status nations. The technology was also in place at the ICC Champions Trophy in 2006 and Hawk-Eye sent four units to the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies.

It is in cricket TV broadcasts that Hawk-Eye first made its name. The technology is used by broadcasters to resolve LBW shouts and, as with its tennis counterpart, to generate easily-digestible statistics to enhance the viewing experience. Viewers now expect Hawk-Eye to show whether a batsman should have been given ‘in’ or ‘out’: the technology predicts the path of the ball as it comes out of the bounce, thus determining whether the ball would have hit the stumps.

Whilst it is not used officially by the ICC, Hawk-Eye’s six years of technical experience have made it a firm favourite with fans and players of the game. Teams such as England, India, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand analyse the data produced by Hawk-Eye during matches (e.g. pitch maps and wagon wheels) for training and tactical purposes, thus highlighting the obvious benefits of the technology as a coaching tool.

One thing is certain: Hawk-Eye is far more accurate than the human eye.

Hawk-Eye accuracy & believability. Click here to read more

Collingwood LBW decision against India at the Oval: understanding Hawk-Eye's verdict

Hawk-Eye on TV

Hawk-Eye has become a resident feature of cricket broadcasts across the globe. Although now familiar to cricket fans from all around the world, Hawk-Eye continually expands its arsenal of statistical features and seeks to incorporate slick new aspects to complement the mainstays of its television output.

Examples of Hawk-Eye statistics include:

LBWs

Viewers now expect Hawk-Eye’s verdict on lbw ‘shouts’; a testimony to Hawk-Eye’s reputation for accuracy and reliability. The company’s experienced operators will deliver the relevant trajectory, half-mixed with the equivalent video sequence, in time for the first replay. This gives commentators and viewers adequate time to discuss and digest the result before the next ball has been bowled.

Hawk-Eye helps to resolve the following three issues:

Would the ball have hit the stumps?
Did the ball pitch in-line?
Did the ball hit the batsman in-line?

Wagon Wheels

The singles, 2s, 3s, 4s and 6s that make up quick-fire 50s or vital centuries are represented by the different colours of the Wagon Wheel, which shows the areas of the field that the batsman has been targeting. Hawk-Eye now has the ability to display wagon wheels over photo realistic or virtual realistic backgrounds, giving broadcasters even more scope to taylor the Hawk-Eye 'look' towards the style of their production.

DeSpin

Hawk-Eye DeSpin Graphics demonstrate how far a delivery has deviated after pitching. Whilst the blue trajectory below represents a ball that does not spin or seam, the red ‘actual delivery’ shows just how much turn the spinner has achieved.

Pitch Maps

Simple yet effective; Pitch Maps make a useful pause for reflection after the frenetic exchanges of the opening overs and highlight a bowler’s consistency or expensiveness, line and length.

Hawk-Eye can now display comparative Pitch Maps in a split screen format, as shown in the example to the right.

Beehives

Beehives show where the ball has passed the batsman.As with the Pitch Map, the coloured balls correspond to the number of runs that the batsman has achieved from that delivery. Hawk-Eye Beehives can now be shown against a photo realistic or virtual realistic world, as with the Wagon Wheel feature.

RailCam

The ‘RailCam’ (side view) shot of the VR World can be used to represent differences in speed, bounce and delivery. The trajectories are animated, whilst the speeds provide further evidence of a bowler’s variation or a telling comparison between athletes.

Ball Speeds

Hawk-Eye now has the ability to supply ball speeds as reliably as a radar gun, as demonstrated during the ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa.

Reaction Time

A Hawk-Eye Reaction Time is a simple yet valuable tool for demonstrating how quickly a particular bowler is pitching. The graphic can also be applied to a catch, thus quantifying a spectacular replay or slow-motion shot.