Sprite Cricket Next to discover rising ‘Gulli Star’
(Karachi, 23 June, 2010) Sprite proudly launched ‘Sprite Cricket Next’ – a technology driven sporting platform aiming to discover Pakistan’s best Gulli Cricketers – at an exclusive press meet held at UBL Sports Complex in Karachi. Kicking off in Karachi, the Gulli (street) cricketing campaign will be held across seven major cities in Pakistan. Spread over the next several months, the activity will be held in different venues to promote the accessibility and inclusivity of this new platform.
Photographer : Rizwan Qureshi
‘Gulli Cricket’ or ‘Street Cricket’ has long resonated with Pakistanis, irrespective of age, background and ethnicity and is often regarded as Pakistan’s true form of cricket. Sprite has always felt there exists a spark in every person who plays in the streets of Pakistan to be the best in the sport and with Sprite Cricket Next, it aims to discover and reveal this talent by providing these players with the opportunity to test their skills on a platform which till date was only accessible to professional players. The result is a truly unforgettable cricketing experience.
Expressing his views about the launch of this exciting new sporting platform, Rizwan U. Khan, Country Manager, The Coca-Cola Export Corporation, Pakistan & Afghanistan said that, “Gulli Cricket, in particular, is a form of cricket that is often neither recognized nor supported despite being the most played. With Sprite Cricket Next’s technology-infused version of the sport, we are giving the raw talent present in neighborhoods, schools and grounds across Pakistan an opportunity to showcase their skills.”
Fusing state-of-the-art cricketing technology ‘Pitch Vision’*, with raw talent, Sprite Cricket Next endeavors to discover and encourage Pakistan’s unsung cricketing heroes to embrace their talent. All participants will be able to measure their bowling speed, determine their batting sensibilities and style, and generate statistics such as the fastest ball, average score per over, wagon wheels, pitch maps and longest six struck. This campaign will culminate in a finale, at which the best Sprite Cricket Next players across Pakistan will be able to showcase their skills.
Yet another initiative undertaken by Coca-Cola to promote an active healthy lifestyle and a sense of community, Sprite Cricket Next aims to make a positive difference to cricket in Pakistan by taking a fresh, dynamic and sustainable approach to the sport by promoting and encouraging Pakistan’s potentially undiscovered cricketing heroes. It is through initiatives such as these that Coca-Cola lives upto its Live Positively philosophy.
Expect to see these cricketers across all popular television channels starting this summer showcasing their passion, thirst and desire on the Sprite Cricket Next platform. In the meantime, look out for Sprite Cricket Next in your city, neighborhood and grounds! For more info, please log on to www.spritecricketnext.com
Sprite Cricket Next Fact File
Sprite is proud to launch an exciting and innovative sporting campaign, ‘Sprite Cricket Next’ – a technology led competitive sporting platform, aiming to promote professional sporting techniques at the grassroots level and bring out Pakistan’s best Gulli Cricketers.
Expect a complete range of technology to measure cricketers’ skills setting Gulli cricket benchmarks and encouraging healthy cricketing competition.
Fusing Sport and Technology through Sprite Cricket Next:
o Just about anyone who plays sport loves to see statistics and receive performance feedback. Not only does it help identify key features of your game and how you might improve them, it adds a competitive edge to social play or to routine training.
o Television broadcasting in particular has made us all aware of what is possible in terms of the analysis of player performance and has given ‘sports technology’ a high profile.
o Yet despite the popularity and visibility of these systems virtually none of this technology is available to your local team, school or sports centre, neighborhood, let alone the average player until now.
o Sprite has brought in Pitch Vision technology, which is professional academy level technology available to everyone. From club players, juniors, schools and sports centre’s to your budding cricketers, i.e. Gulli cricketers.
o Pitch Vision really is shaping the market for cricket training and analysis in the 21st Century and Sprite is bringing the technology to our Gulli’s nationwide.
How the Sprite Cricket Next technology works:
o Each player’s data can be displayed online or on their mobile phone.
o Every training session can be stored to build up a historical data base and compared against past performance, peers and professional players.
o Whether you are interested in detailed summaries of your line and length, or just want to know how fast you bowl Pitch Vision simply and unobtrusively enhance every training session, generating better data – feedback, knowledge and participation.
o Custom designed, the sensor range caters for every style of cricketing training and skill testing and Sprite has brought this exclusively for the general cricketing enthusiasts to experience, free of any cost.
What the Sprite Cricket Next Technology will show:
o Pitch-Maps
o Footwork analysis
o Wagon Wheels
o Manhattans
o Colour Coded Charts
o Hawkeye View
Which cricketing skills will be tested:
o Bowling speed
o Economy rate
o Distance hit
o Runs scored
o Average Speed/Over
Sprite Cricket Next Rules:
Two cricketers will be pitted against each other, one will bat and the other will bowl.
After one over [6 legitimate deliveries] roles will be switched.
Total of 36 data points are available for 1 competition.
In case of level scores; the winner will be the player with the fastest legitimate ball.
In the case of a no-ball the standard rules of cricket will apply and the ball is bowled again and the runs scored will be added to the total of the batsman.
The player with the most wickets or most runs will proceed to the next level of Sprite Cricket Next.
Players can participate in the following fun activities while waiting:
o Test your speed
o Crazy catcher
o Fastest taper
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