New Zealand Cricket Partners With BatFast To Bring Interactive Cricket Experiences To Fans Across New Zealand

Global sports technology company BatFast is delighted to announce a new partnership with New Zealand Cricket (NZC), bringing interactive cricket experiences to fans across New Zealand during one of the biggest international tours of the summer.

The partnership will see NZC and BatFast create unique fan experiences in New Zealand, working alongside NZC and its partners, including ANZ, to allow more fans to go beyond watching the game and actively participate in it.

The programme will launch with a community event in Christchurch on 21 October, and with the support of NZC’s Major Sponsor, ANZ, BatFast activations will feature throughout the BLACKCAPS v India series from 22 October to 1 December.

Across the tour, BatFast will be present at matches in Christchurch, Wellington, Auckland, Hamilton and Tauranga, giving fans around the country the opportunity to pick up a bat, test their skills and engage with cricket in a new way. At the heart of each free-to-play activation will be BatFast’s augmented-reality cricket simulator: a smart, connected system that combines digital gameplay with the physical thrill of facing and striking a real ball. 

Fans will be able to face a range of delivery types, with every shot mapped on a digital wagon wheel. Built-in registration and queue management will keep the experience moving, while live on-site and online leaderboards let participants compare scores. After playing, fans will receive a digital record of their score, wagon wheel and leaderboard position.

India’s tour of New Zealand comprises five T20 Internationals, five One Day Internationals and two Test matches, creating a major summer of cricket and an opportunity to connect thousands of existing and new fans with the sport.

Jack Roddick, Senior Commercial Manager, BatFast said:

“Sport is at its most powerful when people have the opportunity to participate, not simply watch. This partnership with New Zealand Cricket gives us an incredible platform to help turn the excitement around one of the biggest series of the summer into active
participation.

“We’re delighted to be working with NZC and its partners, including ANZ, and we’re particularly excited that we’ll be taking interactive cricket experiences across New Zealand and giving fans the chance to get involved throughout the series.”

For New Zealand Cricket, the partnership forms part of a wider ambition to create engaging experiences around international cricket and bring supporters closer to the game.

NZC Chief Commercial and Marketing Officer Glenn Critchley said: “New Zealand Cricket is delighted to be teaming up with BatFast and ANZ to bring the experience to our country for the first time this summer,” he said.

“We’re always looking for ways to connect Kiwis with the game, build on our match day experience, and our engagement with the community, and we can think of no one better than BatFast to bring a genuinely world-class experience to cricket fans across Aotearoa.”

The partnership reflects BatFast’s wider mission to increase participation in sport through technology, using interactive experiences to make cricket accessible and engaging for players of different ages and abilities.

From the opening community event in Christchurch through to the final Test at Hagley Oval, the partnership will put participation alongside spectating at the heart of one of New Zealand cricket’s biggest summers.