Making Cricket History

Digital Creative Campaign - Hellosky & Sky Sports

Results

YouTube: 21,000

Client: Sky TV

Project: Sky Women’s Cricket 2026

Location: Lord’s Cricket Ground, London

Deliverables:

  • 1x Hero Longform YouTube Deliverable (Social)

  • 3x Episode cut-down (60 seconds) (Social)

  • 2x Influencer collaboration creative videos (Social)

Window Zebra did:

  • Creative Development of Original Concept

  • In House Team & Freelance crews

  • Pre Production

  • Production - 4 days of filming with two shooting crews

  • Post Production - Offline & Online Edit

Key takeaway:

Never get caught off guard with a Tea break

The Brief

Sky and Sky Sports were presented with a landmark opportunity: to broadcast and capture the first ever Women's Test Match at Lord's Cricket Ground. Window Zebra was commissioned to create a brand new serialised digital format for the occasion ‘In The Moment’ designed to document not only the historic event on the pitch, but also the women across the whole operation working in front of the camera and behind the scenes to bring it to life.

Two female cricket players in white uniforms with England's emblem walking on a cricket field, with a stadium and spectators in the background under a blue sky.

Pre Production

Window Zebra worked closely with Sky and Director, Alysia Judge, to identify the key individuals involved at each stage of the event and define the story arc, establishing what could realistically be captured on the day. As cricket Test Matches can run from two to four days or longer, we knew that the amount of time onset could reduce very quickly, so we needed to plan carefully to ensure sufficient coverage of interviews at key points in the match without overextending the team.

Liz (Senior Production Manager) became a great asset to the production team, supporting with introductions across the wider Sky broadcast team and outlining how each person was connected to build a seamless broadcast experience across a changing live event.

Close-up of an ornate black wrought-iron gate with a decorative crest, attached to a beige stone pillar with a clock and a small crown-like ornament on top, against a partly cloudy sky.

The core crew consisted of:

  • Director

  • Producer

  • DOP

  • 4x Camera Operators

  • 2x Sound Operators

  • 1x Live Editor

We were also supported by a large onsite team from Sky on the day which always makes productions flow slightly easier.  

For anyone who is interested, both concepts were shot with 4x Sony FX6 cameras on Zoom lenses. Our RED Komodo X made an appearance as our B camera for the main interview setup and the whole production was supported by the large broadcast cameras and spider cam provided by Sky. 

Two women in a stadium or outdoor event area, one wearing a red vest with white text and the other with sunglasses and curly hair, pointing towards something in the distance.

Production

Production took place over four days, with Window Zebra deploying two shooting crews working in parallel. One crew captured on-pitch action and conducted interviews in the general interview area, while the second crew captured interviews at Sky’s Osterly campus with their in-house directors to capture the broadcast perspective, before moving to Lord’s to focus on event coverage and Broll.

The first two days were the most demanding, covering the majority of interviews and on-the-ground setup. Days three and four focused on additional interviews, B-roll, and the film's closing sequence: the historic board signing, as the players' names were added to the honours board.

Photography studio with lighting equipment, cameras, and a green field visible through large windows.
Smiling man in a white shirt, black tie, and black pants standing on a sports field with a stadium and cloudy sky in the background.

Dom had to wear a full suit in order to get into certain parts of the grounds.

Post Production

Originally Sky wanted to get the video out very close to the broadcast, to align with other promotional events happening at the same time - leading to us bringing on a live editor who would ingest, sync and start cutting the footage while the game is happening. However, after the test match concluded, we agreed that the project was so historically significant that we didn’t want to rush the edit.

We produced multiple rough cuts over the following 8 days, refining the story arc significantly beyond its pre-production stage and reducing the film from a 25-minute full cut to a 12-minute final edit. The film then underwent sound post-production, grading, and graphics to reach a finished, release-ready state for YouTube.

We also produced a series of internal and external comms videos with Sky’s social media presenter, Paris Isaacs, to support the wider campaign.

Person writing '2026' and 'KRAN' on a pink tape attached to a wooden plaque with gold lettering of names and countries, likely in a hall or exhibition setting.
Women in cricket uniforms gathered in a huddle, engaging in a team discussion with one woman smiling, on the cricket field with spectators in the background.
A woman with short curly hair, earrings, and a gold necklace speaking into a blue and red microphone, wearing an earpiece, in a bright indoor setting.
A man with gray hair and a beard operating a professional video camera, wearing headphones and an orange safety vest.
Back view of a woman operating a television broadcast control panel filled with multiple screens, audio mixers, and equipment in a studio or broadcast room.
Close-up of a person's hand pressing buttons on a large illuminated control panel or video switcher with multicolored backlit keys.
A woman with curly hair, seen from behind, wearing a red vest with white text and a crown logo, standing on a sports field at a stadium with other people and photographers in the background.
Cricket players on the field during a match at a stadium with spectators in the stands.
A woman with dark hair tied back, wearing earrings and a red sleeveless top, is smiling and looking at someone in front of her, with a blue wall behind her and natural light coming from a window.