Cricket is to get an ultra HD makeover this summer when Sky Sports broadcasts the England vs South Africa four-test series throughout July and August in 4k for their Sky Q customers.
This is a a complete first for cricket, which up until now has been slightly behind when it comes to picture quality. Ultra HD quality is already available for all F1 grand prix events and 124 premier league matches in this season and the next.
Sky’s 4k high definition offers four times higher picture quality than regular HDTV. The move is part of the company’s “biggest summer of sports”.
During the summer, they will be showing more events than ever before, including live broadcasts of the British and Irish Lion’s tour of New Zealand, ICC Champion’s trophy, and the Golf Open. This is great news for anyone who likes to watch or track the odds on these sports, especially given that there websites offering live action specials for fans of events like the British Golf Open.
Not only will Sky Q members enjoy every single ball of the four tests between England and South Africa in ultra HD with multi-camera coverage, but they will also be able to take advantage of a number of other features. Viewers can enjoy Hawk’s Eye view, more interactivity and enhanced statistics.
Sky have made regularly contributions to the broadcasting quality of cricket since they began showing the game in 1990. They introduced the stump microphones, hi-motion replay and hot spot analysis among other nifty features, all of which have contributed to the overall viewing quality of the game. Ultra HD is the latest update that cricket fans can enjoy.
Bryan Henderson, Head of Cricket for Sky Sports says, “We can’t wait to bring you closer to the action, excitement and drama that the South Africa Test series will deliver this summer.”
Indeed, it should be an exciting test series. England have been showing some pretty good results recently, most notably winning all three of their One Day International Series matches against the West Indies, and scooping 328 all out to win by 186 runs on March 9th.
Meanwhile South Africa have been winning many of their games so far this year, mostly against Sri Lanka and New Zealand. In their last match on 18th March 2016, England beat South Africa by two wickets, but it’s also worth pointing out that South Africa won the last five matches before that.
The 2017 summer test series between England and South Africa begins at Lords from 6th-10th July. The second test will take place at Trent Bridge between 14th -18th July, and the third test will commence on the 27th July at Oval, lasting until the 31st. The final test in the series will be held at Old Trafford from the 4th – 8th May.
Only Sky Q customers will be able to enjoy the test series in 4K quality HD. Other cricket fans will still be able to watch the series in regular HD quality.
