The 2024 Women's T20 World Cup, starting October 3 in the UAE, will be the first ICC event to feature the Smart Replay System. The technology was previously used in the Hundred and IPL 2024.
"The coverage will feature a minimum of 28 cameras at every game, and will be complemented by a variety of analytical and visual enhancements. The Decision Review System (DRS) will also be available at all matches, with a Hawk-Eye Smart Replay System in place that enables the TV umpire to instantly review synchronized multi-angle footage for accurate decision-making," the ICC stated in a release.
Under the Smart Replay System, the TV umpire will receive inputs directly from two Hawk-Eye operators who will be sitting in the same room as the umpire and provide her with images captured by Hawk-Eye's eight hi-speed cameras across the ground. The TV broadcast director, who used to be a conduit between the third umpire and the Hawk-Eye operators until now, will no longer be involved under this system. This also allows the TV umpire to refer to more visuals than she previously had access to, including split-screen images.
In case of a stumping referral under the Smart Replay System, the TV umpire can ask the Hawk-Eye operators for split-screen visuals. In case there is a visible gap when the ball passed bat, the TV umpire will not ask for the UltraEdge (to see if it was a caught behind) and instead directly proceed to check the side-on replay for the stumping. If the TV umpire doesn't see a clear gap between bat and ball, only then will she refer to UltraEdge.
For stumpings, the new system will show the TV umpire tri-vision - essentially footage from side-on cameras as well as from front-on in a single frame. The front-on camera angle is important because it gives an accurate picture of bails being removed. Previously the broadcaster would show the side-on angle from each side along with footage from Stump Cam. But Stump Cam records the action at a low speed of approximately 50 frames per second, as opposed to the Hawk-Eye cameras which record at approximately 300 frames per second, meaning there will now be more accurate footage for the umpires to base their decision on.
Like it was at the T20 World Cup last year, this tournament will also have an all-female panel of umpires and match officials.