Ongoing research at the University of Western Australia is using PitchVision technology to find ways of making net practice more intense and realistic for cricketers.

The research, conducted by PhD candidate Laurence Houghton, is looking into how batsmen are influenced by increasing tiredness at the crease. Normal netting rarely tests batsmen's endurance and so doesn't accurately reflect the effects of fatigue on the batsman's skill levels. To overcome this problem a net has been set up at the famous WACA cricket ground to force batsmen to bat, run and make decisions in a more realistic way.

The set up, which includes a complete PitchVision set, has a batsmen play in a 20 minute "scenarios". Each scenario is designed to reflect a match situation (for example the middle overs of a limited overs match). The batsman is instructed from a CD (the BATEX protocol) to score a certain number of runs in the over and is bowled 6 deliveries from a bowling machine. The batter must score those runs by playing shots and running. To add to the realism a batter can only run when they have played a shot that would realistically go for the required runs.

As the batsmen tires the researchers will monitor the reduction in skill level through the PitchVision system. PitchVision's ability to set a virtual field and make a "wagon wheel" of an innings is used to see if the batsman can still hit the ball as hard through the gaps or whether there is a drop in performance as tiredness sets in.

PitchVision Wagon Wheel

Houghton said "Using PitchVision we will get a measure of how many runs the batsmen score per 20 minute scenario. We are trying to relate physical fatigue to skill fatigue and because there is a field setting it will show us whether the batsman can still hit the gaps."

The applications of this research are not just academic. Using the BATEX protocol and PitchVision, any coach can use nets to work on fitness and skill under fatigue that is so hard to achieve in a traditional net.

For more information about PitchVision sensors contact Neil Fairbairn at miSport.