Last Updated on 2 weeks by Charbel Coorey

BBL introduces new rules to spark competition | Big Bash League introduces three new rules to create excitement

The 10th season of Big Bash League is going to be quite different as three new rules have been introduced to spark the competition. The news comes a few months after administrators began considering some radical new rules to give more an edge to the competition.

Recently, Cricket Australia introduced league’s consultant Trent Woodhill innovations that will blow up the regular patterns of a T20 contest. Woodhill, Melbourne Stars WBBL coach has joined CA as a ‘player acquisition and cricket consultant’ for the BBL.

“I come from things from a high-performance perspective, rather than just a gimmick, so I like that these changes pass the high-performance test around strategy and elite performance. It’s going to put pressure on leaders and coaches. Having been involved in over 300 T20 matches in the women’s and men’s games, T20s have a pattern, and this will blow that pattern up. It’ll make players have to think on their feet a little bit, and … it’s forcing you on gameday to have a narrative that both fans and broadcasters alike will have to delve into and ask questions of the decisions being made, or not made”, he said to the board.

Here are the three additional rules introduced by the Cricket Australia board:

• The ‘Power Surge‘ is a two-over period during which the fielding team is allowed only two players outside the inner fielding circle. The batting side can call for this at any point from the 11th over of their innings. The fielding restrictions replicate those of the usual Powerplay at the beginning of an innings, which has been shortened to four overs.

• An ‘X-factor Player’, named as either the 12th or 13th player on the team sheet, can come into the game beyond the 10th over of the first innings and replace any player who is yet to bat or has bowled no more than one over.

• The ‘Bash Boost’ will be a bonus point awarded halfway through the second innings. The team chasing will receive the bonus point if they’re above the equivalent 10-over score of their opposition. If they’re trailing, the fielding side will receive the point. Teams will also now be awarded three points for winning the match, as opposed to the traditional two. While giving an example for the bash boost bonus point, Woodhill mentioned a match between Stars and Sixers from BBL’s ninth season.

“Last year the Stars got 220-odd against the Sixers, and the chances of the Sixers chasing that down were slim. They made a good fist of it and got 180-odd, but even though they only lost by 30 runs they were out of the game a long way before the 20th over. So with this rule change, (Sixers captain) Moises Henriques and (coach) Greg Shipperd might’ve decided to only chase the 10-over total – they might’ve been 9-101 after 10 and earned that one point, which at the back-end of a season can become pivotal”, he said.

These three rules are designed to push the players for better results and magnify the competition throughout the 40 overs of a match and rewards are also bestowed for those who perform against the odds.

Written by Anjali Jha. Follow Anjali on Twitter today.