June 22: Move over T20 and ‘Hundred’, there’s a new version of the shortest format of cricket: the ‘6ixty’, to be launched in St. Kitts, West Indies, this August.
“The 10th season of the Caribbean Premier League will launch with a T10 tournament named ‘The 6ixty’ which organisers hope will become a quarterly event that can be staged around the region and beyond. The inaugural season will take place from August 24 to 28 in St Kitts, immediately before the CPL season, and will feature matches between all six men’s franchises and the three women’s teams, with squads expected to be at 85% strength.
The format is predominantly a T10 competition but features several notable differences, reported ESPNcricinfo: “Each batting team has six wickets, rather than ten; Batting teams can ‘unlock’ a floating third powerplay over by hitting two sixes in the initial two-over powerplay; teams will bowl five consecutive overs from each end, rather than switching ends after each over; If teams fail to bowl their 10 overs within 45 minutes, a fielder will be removed for the final six balls; Fans will be able to vote for a ‘mystery free hit’ via an app or website.”
The tournament comes right at the time when I was getting bored of too much IPL matches, and too many low scoring games in the T20 format, with action picking up only in the last 6-7 overs. The 6ixty’s new rules are fascinating too. The temptation of ‘unlocking’ a third power play with couple of hits over the boundary will undoubtedly make this a run fest from the word GO!
