The Hundred and Sky join forces to develop an industry first augmented reality experience

Cricket competition The Hundred and Sky have joined forces to develop an industry first augmented reality experience by creating avatars using motion capture. Sky and The Hundred have captured players’ full range of movement in accurate detail, which will be used to enhance Sky’s TV broadcast coverage and at home fan experience via The Hundred app.

The Hundred’s ambition is to push the boundaries of sport, technology and entertainment and draw broader audiences into cricket. The avatar technology, housed on The Hundred app, will  provide progressive digital and mobile interactivity for fans to try out.

The technology is set to be used as a world-first in broadcasting on Sky Sports from 21 July during the opening game of Oval Invincibles V Manchester Originals, from 6pm on Sky Sports The Hundred channel (404). The technology will also be available for fans via Sky Sports’ digital platforms.

As the Sky Sports on air team use the avatars to enhance the coverage, viewers will be able to bring them into their homes via the app with the opportunity to engage with their heroes.

Heather Knight, Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali and Ben Stokes are just a few household names fans will recognise, as well as Sky’s coverage star and ex-England player Freddie Flintoff.

Alison Crowe, Director of Digital and Data, ECB said: “Through our partnership with Sky, the creation of our hyper-real avatars will bring fans and players together on an unprecedented level.”