Indian legend Virat Kohli was on his way back to the pavilion in Perth. And almost instantaneously, every Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports viewer had exceptional insight as to why.
By the time a bereft Kohli had left the centre wicket area in the first Test of the summer, the production team behind the Halo technology being used exclusively by Fox Cricket this summer had the images demonstrating what caused his downfall.
In the broadcast booth, former Australian captain Allan Border was awaiting confirmation of something he suspected Josh Hazlewood had managed to extract from the pitch with his delivery.
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Border’s instincts were as sharp as the reflexes he used to show when facing the ferocious West Indian attack and within the blink of an eye he had what he needed from behind the scenes. He had believed additional bounce was the key and so it proved.
The 80 cameras circling Perth Stadium had captured perfectly the surprise on Kohli’s face at the Hazlewood delivery that reared sharply into his rib cage before deflecting from the upper portion of his bat through to Usman Khawaja at first slip.
A graphic detailing the difference in height from the previous delivery, even though it landed on a similar length, was broadcast to viewers as Border readied himself to explain what had just unfolded.
“He is on the front foot and he makes himself a little vulnerable (and) was surprised by the extra bounce,” Border explained to the Kayo Sports subscribers.
Border marvels at the technology now available for viewers. As he explained to foxsports.com.au prior to the series, the detail provided by innovations including Fox Halo provides a phenomenal insight into what occurs in the middle.
That is a massive bonus for subscribers to Kayo Sports and Fox Cricket. Perhaps the only people not pleased with the intensive insights it provides are those who are holding the bat.
“There’s so much homework done on you as a batsman, about where to bowl. Now there’s so much footage of you batting on all sorts of services, against all sorts of bowlers, so you’re analysed,” Border said.
THE HOLY GRAIL FOR BROADCASTERS
Brad McNamara, who played 59 first class games for New South Wales and is now a senior producer of the Fox Cricket coverage, was conducting the process behind the scenes in Perth, just as he is in Brisbane for what shapes as a pivotal Test.
Standing a few metres behind Border, with more television screens than one would find at a Harvey Norman outlet between them, he alternated between whispering instructions to the Korean team operating the Halo system and letting the commentators know what was coming.
The broadcasting business has changed since “Buzz”, who is also a member of the Six & Out crew performing gigs at Tests throughout the summer, swapped his time in the middle for the Blues to help enhance the entertainment for viewers after his retirement in 2000.
He loves the context his team are now capable of delivering to lovers of the sport watching at home on Kayo and Fox Cricket and checking in with foxsports.com.au for on-line coverage as well.
Being able to deploy the groundbreaking technology, which is used in American baseball among other elite global sports, has added to his excitement broadcasting what is shaping as another nail-biting series between Australia and India.
“We’ve been able to do that before, but with another program, but it took about 25 minutes to stitch all those camera angles together,” McNamara said.
“This is ready within 15 seconds, which is extraordinary. We’re all about being live and being immediate and people these days, they don’t want to wait 20 minutes. They want to see what happened now.
“Our philosophy at Fox Sports, with all our sports, is to get it live immediately. ‘What happened? Why did it happen? What’s going to happen?’ And the quicker you can do that, that’s the Holy Grail for us. What once used to take 20 minutes, now it is immediate.”
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Champion Australian wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist has no doubt the technology, which was used by international broadcasters to cover the Paris Olympics, will improve the ability of former players to explain to subscribers the reason something has happened.
“It is going to be very interesting to analyse … the batting positions, the foot positions, the weight transferrals (and) to try and bring you people at home, wherever you are, out into the middle of these fine venues. It is fantastic,” he said.
Fox Cricket’s executive producer Joe Bromham told News Corp papers leading into the Adelaide Test the new technology was a big hit back in India as well.
“It’s really made for cricket. It’s an incredible innovation for analysis. Our coverage is going to the Indian audience through Star and they’re raving about Fox Halo,” he said.
“There was a cut shot from Yashasvi Jaiswal (in Perth) which just showed his footwork and his movement and when he contacted the ball, both his feet were off the ground. (Halo) just showed it perfectly.”
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THE CREW TAKING CRICKET TO THE WORLD
As impressive as the insights provided by Fox Halo are, it is just one facet of a massive operation aimed at delivering the best coverage the sport of cricket has ever seen.
From the expert analysts in the commentary booth in the grandstands to the camera operators out on the fence to the broadcast vans tucked under or behind the stadiums, it is an immense operation.
A quick view of the main centre of operation — a broadcast van where everything comes together before beamed around the world — would be mind-boggling for the average viewer.
Plugged into the back of the van is a tangle of blue, yellow, red and white cords resembling a nest of snakes, but every single link is critical to telling the whole story out in the middle.
In this van sits the director and about 10 other specialists viewing feeds from various vantage points around Adelaide Oval to decide what goes to air and when.
From one second to the next, decisions are made as to whether to flick from the top of the bowler’s mark to the vantage point of the keeper, or from the DRS graphic and out to the centre to get a close-up on the face of the batter anxiously awaiting their fate at the hands of the third umpire.
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Fox Cricket host Mark Howard provided an insight into the Flying Fox, which uses a Sony P50 camera weighing about 10kg, for viewers during a lunch break in the first Test in Perth.
It is, pilot Nick Linton said, one of about 30 systems in the world and it costs about $1 million to operate through a Test match. But the value to the subscribers watching is immense.
Howard said the quality of the microphones attached to Flying Fox made it easier to interview players and fellow Fox Cricket analysts before and during a day’s play.
“Originally when we started interviewing players in the middle, the player had to put on a headset to be able to hear the questions from commentary,” Howard said.
“But the way it has been developed now, there is an actual speaker on the camera, so the players no longer have to put the headset on.
“They stand next to the camera and they can hear commentary blaring out from the speakers asking all sorts of questions. Then you can see the microphone under the camera where we get the return audio from the players.”
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AN ANALYSTS DELIGHT
William Edwards is a broadcast operator in the Virtual Eye technology van, which is positioned about the length of a pitch away from the main broadcast truck. This van drips diamonds when it comes to providing insights as well.
The crew staffing the Virtual Eye truck have all played cricket at various levels and love the sport, and have also covered elite golf tournaments, top-level baseball and also the America’s Cup.
They aim to provide the best experience at every international event they attend and are delighted to be contributing to the broader Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports offering.
Edwards explains there are four cameras dedicated to tracking the ball every single delivery and the information provided enables various technologies that enhance the spectacle.
The detail features in graphics that portray, as examples, the DRS system, pitch maps, the wagon wheels as to where a batter has scored, the launch angle from the bat and so on.
It also uses two cameras dedicated to tracking the players for every single ball, which provides a mini-map to allow the viewers to know where the cricketers are positioned.
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At Adelaide Oval on the opening day of the Second Test, the Flying Fox added to the detail and accuracy of what was broadcast. A prime example was the footage used to decide whether Nathan McSweeney had managed to execute a fine catch to dismiss KL Rahul.
“If we didn’t have this technology and cricket broadcasted the way that we have it now, I probably wouldn’t watch cricket,” Edwards told foxsports.com.au.
“I’d probably find it a little dull, to be honest, but being able to show what players are up to and how they’re moving, along with their decision making and the process behind it, and why they’re doing what they’re doing, it adds to the excitement to the game.
“We’re trying to tell the most valuable stories that the general public wouldn’t be able to tell while watching the normal broadcast because we have access to dozens of cameras … and we can show this before anyone else can see it. We work very closely with the producers at Fox so we can tell those stories.”
Another innovation on the Fox Cricket coverage is HyperLayer, but the Virtual Eye team say this is only just the beginning of a new intelligence stream that will assist players, broadcasters and also the viewers to understand what is going on in the centre.
Already this technology is providing detail for graphics on ball and bat speeds, for example, but in time … well, it might just be able to tell us what is going to unfold based on probability.
“The whole idea is that it could end up predicting what play could be the right one to make, it could be the right field to place, it could be better decision making than the players themselves are capable of,” Edwards said.
As McNamara said, the aim is to provide the “Holy Grail” when it comes to broadcasting cricket. And in an intriguing series, the technology further magnifies the interest.
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