Hot Spot (cricket)

Hot Spot requires two infrared cameras on opposite sides of the ground above the field of play that are continuously recording an image.

Any suspected nick or bat/pad event can be verified by examining the infrared image, which usually shows a bright spot where contact friction from the ball has elevated the local temperature.

[1] The International Cricket Council announced that Hot Spot images would be available for use as part of its ongoing technology trial during the second and third Tests (March 2009) in South Africa.

[2] For the 2012 season BBG Sport introduced a new generation of Hot Spot using high performance SLX-Hawk thermal imaging cameras provided by UK-based Selex ES (part of Italian-owned defence contractor Finmeccanica, later renamed Leonardo S.p.A.).

[4] As a result, the upgraded Hot Spot system was able to detect much finer edge nicks than in previous seasons, essentially ending all earlier doubts about the capability of the technology.

A typical example of a Hot Spot display: the white "spot" on the edge of the bat indicates that it was struck by the ball (moving from right to left).