Hawk-Eye inventor develops 'snickometer' for club cricket

Paul Hawkins' invention has been used in cricket, football, rugby and tennis and has even earned him an OBE

The inventor of the ball-tracking system Hawk-Eye has developed a device to detect edges for use in club cricket.

Paul Hawkins hopes the sensor will replicate the capabilities of the 'snickometer' used in international cricket as part of the Decision Review System at an affordable cost.

The device - the size of a small coin - can be fixed to a bat and linked to an app on the umpire's smartphone.

It could also adjudicate LBW appeals.

It would show where the ball had pitched and whether it would have hit the stumps.

Hawkins, a former county player, told The Times the device was designed to stop batsmen standing their ground in club matches when they have hit the ball.

"More and more batsmen try and get away with not walking," he said. "But we experimented in the nets and found that even the smallest edge is detected."