TV without frontiers

The Sydney Morning Herald reports on plans to expand TV technology ahead of the 2006-07 Ashes. It seems that many of the innovations used for Twenty20 will be tested. Heat-sensor cameras, scientific ball-tracking devices and "in game" player interviews are all being considered.

Steve Crawley, Nine's director of sport, said that the cricketers who were miked up during the Brisbane Twenty20 found the whole idea really interesting:

Our ultimate goal is to have the best cricket coverage in the world for the Ashes next year. We are working on technology that has never been seen before - some of it will come through, some of it won't. We're spending a lot of time on this. That's how big the Ashes are to us. There's scientific stuff with ball paths and a camera that shows heat off the ball. Real CSI stuff. It might come off.