Want to face Warne’s ball of the century? This is as close as you can get

“With the screen and the infielder, the best thing about being at bat is that you’ve gotten into a rhythm with the pitcher and you’re actually responding to the pitcher’s signals.”

Rogers believes the technology could have helped him in his playing career, especially when it came to England’s acclaimed bowler James Anderson.

“I remember facing Jimmy. I remember playing against him and just thinking how the hell am I going to be able to pick up the little intricate details of whether he’s throwing a swinger or an out-swinger?”

“I got better at how I did it. But if I had learned earlier on what it looks like with cues, it might have helped a lot with my own confidence.”

The technology was launched in England last year after 10 years of research and development by the Batfast team led by Jignesh Patel and Runish Gudhka. Ten locations are already in operation.

Former Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley is the chairman of Hitz Australia. Just as wave machines are helping to develop a new generation of surfers and golf simulators have allowed people to play the game differently, Hockley wants to introduce a new way to enjoy cricket.

“There has been a lot of new technology in cricket, but nobody has integrated it to really replicate the real-life game,” Hockley said.

“One of the main things that validated the technology for me was that I live across the street from Sydney Park and there are three beautiful new AstroTurf pitches that have been put in. I see parents bowling their kids over and over again and you think, imagine being able to go and actually train on your own, in your own time, and have your performance analysed.

“When I was playing club cricket I was never the best cricketer or the best batsman. On a Tuesday night you could have 10 minutes in the nets and by that stage all the bowlers are tired and the quality of the deliveries was different.

“So this technology only allows players of all abilities to produce 150 balls per hour, completely different variations with the same quality.”

Hockley believes the technology can also act as a key talent identifier across the country for boys and girls starting out in the game.

“The potential for identifying talent is huge and hopefully the net will widen [across Australia]national coaches will be able to ask players to go in, make an appointment and then submit their data,” Hockley said.

“Above all, we hope it will help the players improve and if this can be a way to find another Australian legend, that would be a fantastic outcome.”

Hitz co-founder Dominic Reed has spent years coaching some of England’s best under-age players, but always wanted something that would mentally disrupt the players when they stood at the crease and faced the bowling. Like many trainers, he used the throwing device widely known in Australia as a “wanger”, but wanted something more intuitive.

Coaches can now program the technology with unique deliveries and field settings for each ball, forcing batsmen to react. For example, if a player is struggling with a certain serve or field setup, it can all be pre-programmed into the machine.

“With a normal six-ball bowling machine, you know exactly what’s coming,” Reed said. “You just stand there and repeat the same shot, but once you’re in that net, you can pre-program 120 balls, but the batsman has no idea where the ball is going to land.

“When you come in as a player, say in the Sheffield Shield, and you’re going to face this next up-and-coming leg-spinner from NSW, you can go there and say: I want to face an eight-time leg-spin spell. I want it to be between 52 and 55 miles an hour. I want 80 per cent of the balls to drift and 2 per cent to go straight and 2 per cent to go into the pad.

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“You can put it all in at the start, press go and then it’s your eight overs.

Hitz’s ambition in Australia over the next year is to be in every major metro center while providing development opportunities for the country’s best players. Reed wants everyone to experience as close as possible to some of the world’s most iconic deliveries, be it Warne’s century ball or Jofra Archer’s super over in the 2019 World Cup final.

“It will be quite unique to Australia,” Reed said. “We want to be able to go and serve those cricketing communities that love their cricket in smaller areas.

“Smaller areas in Australia that love their cricket but don’t have access to the same facilities… we don’t want this technology to be limited to the affluent parts of Sydney or London. It’s about making sure everyone who loves their cricket gets a chance to enjoy it.”