All Things Cricket in Virtual Reality

February 15, 2019

Innovation is hard, but not impossible. Development of sport of cricket in the US need “out-of-box” thinking and a multi-dimensional go-to-market strategy. Technology is disrupting big industries and it also has a huge play in cricket development efforts across the globe.

We are doing our part in promoting the sport. We hope others will follow suit and where possible, lead.

Cricket + Technology

Strykers Captain Mohammed Hameed playing CricketClub in VR.

This week Strykers Cricket Club partnered with REM5 Virtual Reality Lab and introduced first known public implementation in the US of Cricket in Virtual Reality (VR). We are thankful to our partner REM5 for their efforts in making this initiative possible. The facility is now open for al cricketers to experience Cricket in Virtual Reality.

Over the last couple years, Strykers leaders have been exploring different avenues and channels to add more vibrancy to our outreach and engagement efforts. We have partnered with cities and introduced sport of Cricket to hundreds of kids over the last couple year. More recently, we have also experimented with bold initiatives like “Cricket on a Frozen Lake” right after the first polar vortex of the season.

Strykers Captain Talha Shahid playing CricketClub in VR.

If you have passion for development and outreach, cricket is possible, anywhere and everywhere.

We believe a big part of US Cricket go-to-market strategy has to include multiple technology initiatives including leveraging Xbox, PS4, and Virtual Reality channels. While several of our playing members are die-hard fans of Cricket games (Don Bradman Cricket 17), we yearned for an immersive cricket playing experience especially during the long winter season. We went on a hunt and stumbled upon various different cricket experiences. Our hunt ended with cross-platform experience CricketClub. Once we identified the target, we went to speak with recently opened local facility REM5 VR and presented a “value proposition” of adding “The Cricket Experience” to their catalog. We are happy that REM5 is a willing partner in promoting the sport of cricket to wider population.

For a personal experience, we recommend investing into a Facebook Oculus equipment. For a broader commercial application, there is nothing better than HTC VIVE though it has a higher price tag but you are paying for quality and unique immersive experience. 

How Can You Get Started in Your City ?

There are plenty of gaming-based facilities across the US. Many facilities that offer laser tags also offer VR capabilities. Talk to facility management and convince them to run a pilot with local cricketers. Setup a formal marketing strategy around this experience and bring groups down to experience the VR experience.

Reference: Checkout VR Facilities in Seattle

Our Advice: Look for partnership opportunities. Why reinvent the wheel if facilities already exist in your neighborhood ?

End of Session Reaction of Strykers Cricket Club Members

A special thank you to Strykers players and leaders (Sriram Sitaram, Haris Siddiqui, Pradeep Nalamada, Mohammad Hameed, Masaood Yunus and Talha Shahid) for making this effort a success.

Notable VR Mentions:

CricketClub Experience: https://www.oculus.com/experiences/rift/1800943179957282/

Facebook Oculus Balls! Experience: https://www.oculus.com/experiences/gear-vr/1393634417388939/

Balls! Virtual Reality Cricket – Trailer [VR, HTC Vive]

Connect with US

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Strykers Cricket Club on YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/user/mnstrykerscc

Strykers Cricket Club on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/strykerscc

Strykers Cricket Club on Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/strykerscc/

ABOUT STRYKERS CRICKET CLUB

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Founded in 2011, Strykers Cricket Club is a 501(c)3 organization and a premier cricket club based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Over a span of 7 years we have won more championships than any other club in the history of Minnesota Cricket.

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