![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/81f2cb5f6fbfffd2a89d334510acbf60b0af7f71adfb142367e1e6f36e0df19d.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nPitch perfect for fans <\/p>\n
AI Insights targets one of cricket\u2019s biggest opportunities: helping audiences understand the story behind the live action. Cricket offers a rich landscape on which to unleash GenAI technology, which connects live matches to official records dating back to 1886.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt its core, this is about fan engagement,\u201d Eland says. \u201cCricket, like any organisation, is focused on growing its audience and building loyalty. What is powerful here is the ability to engage different types of fans in different ways, whether that is a statistics-focused fan looking for deeper insight, or a new fan who benefits from simpler, more accessible and engaging explanations of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
The experience is deliberately simple. A fan sees an Insight Card connected to the match and relevant moment in play, perhaps identifying a milestone, explaining its significance and prompting the user with suggested follow-up questions. Insights might give context to a historically significant partnership, for example, or relate a player\u2019s milestone to their performances in other formats of the game.<\/p>\n
Eland says AI Insights reflects the strength of HCLTech\u2019s long-running work with CA, a partnership that has been recognised with its real-time match companion making finalist in the creativity and entertainment category of this year\u2019s AFR AI Awards.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince 2019, we have helped Cricket Australia enhance its digital platforms and create more meaningful connections with fans, players, communities and volunteers,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cAI Insights takes that work further by using AI to turn live match data into clear, timely context that helps fans understand the significance of each moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Making each live moment more meaningful helps newcomers unlock the sport\u2019s many nuances, while giving experienced followers a deeper understanding through historical context. For example, more than 40 live match data points from each ball bowled can be transformed into real-time analysis, with Insight Cards landing on the user\u2019s screen within 30 seconds of the start of live play.<\/p>\n
Every ball in a match is loaded with information. At its simplest level this includes data relating to the batter, bowler, runs scored, wickets taken, extras, over number, innings stage, partnerships and match situation. AI Insights helps turn that data into something more useful for fans \u2013 not just what happened, but why it\u2019s relevant.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
HCLTech executive vice president Sonia Eland says AI app engagement can be tailored to each fan\u2019s needs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Driving engagement across all sports <\/p>\n
Personalisation is key to fan engagement in a competitive sports-watching market. Users can select a \u201cnewcomer\u201d, \u201chistory buff\u201d or \u201cstats guru\u201d level and receive tailored insights, reflecting growing expectations for digital experiences that adapt to different audience needs.<\/p>\n
\u201cFans now expect digital experiences to recognise that they are not all the same,\u201d Eland says. \u201cSome want deep statistical analysis, some just want a simple explanation of the moment, and others want historical context that helps them appreciate the significance of what they are watching.\u201d<\/p>\n
HCLTech\u2019s mission to make live sport feel more personal and easier to follow has a global reach, including helping improve how fans follow golf digitally on the DP World Tour.<\/p>\n
As official AI partner at MetLife Stadium, home to the New York Jets and New York Giants gridiron football teams, HCLTech is reimagining what it means to be a fan in the digital age. Closer to home, a partnership with Hockey Victoria and the Melbourne Cobras team is enhancing fan engagement.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat comes next is making these experiences more personal without making them more complicated,\u201d Eland says. \u201cThe challenge is to do that responsibly, with speed and accuracy.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Eland, AI Insights epitomises digital innovation\u2019s capacity to shape the future.<\/p>\n
\u201cCreating a model that learns the game of cricket and what drives fan engagement, combined with an interface that delivers the right type of commentary to each user, is a brilliant use of GenAI technology,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n