Channel 9's 3D venture aims to make Ashes history

Channel Nine plans to broadcast some action from this summer's Australia-England Ashes series in 3D, although not the Tests themselves, and plans to take cricket viewers where they have never been before.

After broadcasting this year's Origin series as the first three-dimensional sports event in Australia, Channel Nine is revolutionising its cricket coverage.

Skipper Ricky Ponting met with Channel 9 executives in Leeds this week mid-Test to discuss a "world first" blueprint to make the looming battle against England the most high-tech cricket series in history.

Ponting is a supporter of most of Nine's Ashes innovations, some of which are still in the planning stages, The Daily Telegraph reports.

"There is a lot of pressure on us to make it the best Ashes ever. The State of Origin really helped, a number of the Australian cricketers saw the different things we do there," Channel Nine head of sport Steve Crawley said.

"That includes some of the 3D stuff and the way we move around and talk to players and coaches. We are trying to adapt some of that to cricket. Ricky's attitude was really good to all of this.

"We won't be doing the Ashes Tests in 3D but there is an aspiration there to do something during the summer of cricket in 3D. We are changing a lot of things. We have got new graphics we are still working on ... they will be a lot different from what people have seen on Nine since 1978," Crawley said.

"We have got some new tricks and gadgetry for when we come on air showing the grounds, and there is some world-first stuff there," he added.

Channel Nine will double the amount of "hotspot" cameras at grounds to make cricket's controversial electronic eye more accurate.